Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Ciabatta No. 2 : Free and Easy Bake-Along #20

My second Ciabatta, the theme of our Bake-Along this week. Thanks to Lena for picking this challenge, as it really is a challenge to me! 


The golden "slippers" !  :o)


Well, I did finally get the airholes that I was "searching" for! The crust is crusty with moist, soft chewy interior. My first Ciabatta, the previous post here, is all soft and spongy with an equally delicious crust, comparing these two, I prefer the first one. Making Ciabatta is really a challenge to me, I have tried three different recipes, second one is a total failure, as the dough is all too wet and I am unsure whether should I add in more flour as it says that it was more of a batter than a dough, which is really confusing as to what stage or texture would you consider it a batter in bread making! I'm not blaming on the recipe, it's more towards the understanding of Ciabatta making that I'm still learning!

For the Ciabatta above, I got the recipe from King Arthur Flour, here, the only changes was I reduced the salt to 1 teaspoon and I added in 2 teaspoons of Pizza Seasoning. And before baking, I spray some water over the dough.


The wonderful thing about Bake-Along is it gives us a chance to make and bake something that we would otherwise put on hold until "next time"! Ciabatta is definitely one of the items on my list of to-do, now I am happy to say that I have tried my hands at making these, though there are lots of room for improvement. Practice makes perfect, will try other recipes in my own time now until I achieve the perfect one! Have you tried making Ciabatta before, if not, give yourself a challenge, bake one and join us in our Bake-Along!

If you have not been to Lena's and Zoe's, hop over and see their beautiful Ciabatta bake, and also our friends who are baking along with us at the linky below. For our next Bake-Along, we will be baking Fresh Strawberry Cake with White Chocolate Chips, from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. If you do not have this book, try google for the recipe, I'm sure you will be able to find it, otherwise, you may bake any fresh strawberries and white chocolate chips cake. The linky for this will be open on 27 March and will stay open for a week. Hope to see you! Everyone's welcome to join in.




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18 comments:

  1. mmm... i really need to sum up my courage on this one. in the meantime, let me continue to admire yours.

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  2. aah, finally you got the holes that you are searching for!! i agreed that this bake along somehow has helped me to at least commit to something that i want to bake. Happy to see all different versions of ciabatta this time around!

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  3. congratulations and good job! I will probably bake this .... soon.

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  4. Success! You are really determined, love that!
    Rita

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  5. I must congratulate both you and Lena! Your breads look lovely and I too am thrilled you got the airiness you were seeking. Making Ciabatta would be a real challenge for me. I have yeastaphobia big time but I must say, I am contemplating a bread machine because all these heavenly breads have given me such a craving for home made!!!

    Thanks for sharing...

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  6. I told Lena I love this bread..so when you gonna bake me some?? I'll provide the filling!

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  7. Well done Joyce... Me too feel like making another ciabatta! Yeah definitely is a challenge. I agreed.

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  8. Joyce this is my first time seeing and baking ciabatta. The nature of the bread is a lil hard, chewy and a bit salty. Isn't it? I also wish to reduce the salt or else I dun add in the salt is it ok?

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    1. Hi Angeline,
      The first time I'm baking this too! From what I read, it has a crusty crust with moist, chewy interior and a honeycomb texture. Though from some of the pictures I saw, they are soft and light, there are a few versions of Ciabatta. But all versions I guess share the same characteristic, that is with large airholes. I did reduced the salt as I think that it is too much, if you omit the salt altogether, it will not be tasty enough as salt brings out the flavours in bread. Not only that, salt helps to control the activity of yeast and the gluten, so it is not advisable to omit it altogether. Hope this helps.
      This is indeed a challenge, learning as I was reading about Ciabatta from a few sources when I was "experimenting" with the bake! Have fun baking! Thank you for dropping by! Goodnight!

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  9. Delicious looking bread. Wonderfully soft and delightful.

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  10. I admire your passion and perseverance, Joyce! You keep on trying even though it's challenging and your efforts doesn't succeed sometimes. Keep it up!! Your bread looks great!! :)

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  11. These Italian slippers look terrific!

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  12. They look really awesome, the texture looks so good..

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  13. Both wonderful breads! I'm glad to know which one you liked better :)

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  14. That's lots of ciabatta baking! And you did very well for this one! Hurray!

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  15. Both Caibattas look fab and I admire your determination! Beautiful texture and photos, too. Have a lovely day!

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  16. Both look quite tasty. Just ready for dipping in olive oil or for making a hearty sandwich!

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