Ciabatta

Post by **Neil B** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:23 am

My latest joy is a bread making machine - no artificial additives (or less anyway). No air pumped into it by the shops to make it look bigger.
Taste - superb.

Has anyone got a recipe please for Ciabatta bread for a bread machine, but NOT using sourdough - I'm not even sure if it is possible.

The things that turn up in the Off topic Forum eh?

Zer · Post by **Zer** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:36 am

http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/ ... -using.asp

I don´t know if that fits your machine.

Counterparts · Post by **Counterparts** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:12 am

The main trick with ciabatta is to use some warm milk & olive oil in the mixture as well as the warm water, yeast and flour. You need to make the dough quite soft, such that it doesn't stick to the hands, but is still very soft.

Then let it rise to *three* times its starting size (in an oiled bowl) but don't knock it back like you would do with normal dough.

At that point, separate the dough into loaf-sized rectangular pieces and press down on them very lightly with your fingers and let them rise for another 90 minutes. They will only rise a little more during this period.

Pre-heat a baking sheet in the oven (200°C/400° F) for about 10-15 minutes. Take the sheet out of the oven and lie your loaves upside down on the sheet, taking care not to knock the air out. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown, spraying the loaves a few times in the first ten minutes with water.

Allow to cool and voilá!

Post by **Neil B** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:53 pm

Thanks to both of you for the recipes.
Neither makes use of a bread machine and it seems to me now that a starter or sourdough techniques is required for this particular type of bread.

Perhaps when I've got used to my machine more I can use it to take some of the hard work by using it up to the kneading stage and then use a conventional oven to finish off.

A big thanks anyway

ChrisWerner · Post by **ChrisWerner** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 5:33 am

1 yeast cube
1 teespon(tsp) of sugar
1/2 l water luke (I am your father) warm
1 kg flour type 550
3 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp pine nuts
25g dried tomatos
black olives cored

Crumble the yeast and dissolve it with the sugar in the half of the water.
Stir 1 tbsp of the flour into it. Cover it up and wait 15min.

Put this basic yeast approach with all other ingredients into your machine and let it knead till you have a homogenous dough.
Allow another time to let the dough grow and then bake it with your machine.
I don´t know the correct program because I don´t know your machine on a QVC machine it´s program one.

Once it is baked, let it cool down and enjoy it.

I hope this is a way for your machine manufactured ciabatta.

BTW:
Does this machine work with whisky additives?

Counterparts · Post by **Counterparts** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 5:39 am

As long as the machine doesn't knock the air out of the dough, then it might be possible to make ciabatta in one.

However, it is typically a flatter loaf than 'normal' bread and requires much gentler handling, so I'm not sure how you'd go about achieving that in a machine.

Chris, whisky bread?!

Post by **Neil B** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:23 am

Thanks guys

Royston - you can Ciabatta get packet mixes for bread machines so there must be a way - thanks

Thanks for the recipe Chris - by the way - did you notice how little Counterparts knows about you? He thinks that you'd put whisky in bread!! It hardly has time to stay in the bottle let alone get baked

Counterparts · Post by **Counterparts** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:24 am

Neil B wrote:Thanks guys

Royston - you can Ciabatta get packet mixes for bread machines so there must be a way - thanks

np, I'm an old-school hands-on chef myself, I like kneading the dough!

Post by **Neil B** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:27 am

I'm building up to kneading the dough - it's just so nice at the moment to throw the lot into a machine and eat real bread. Even the packet mixes taste better than purchased loaves.

Anyway - any particular whisky loaf you'd like? Speyside? Highlands? I'll work on one whilst sampling one of the ingredients

.

Counterparts · Post by **Counterparts** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:38 am

I'm definitely more of an Irish Whisky man myself, so Bushmills or Jamesons would do fine, thx!

Beer makes good bread too. And pancakes. Half wheat flour, half buckwheat flour and guiness makes a great batter

ChrisWerner · Post by **ChrisWerner** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:43 am

I am with Royston, you should see me when I prepare the dough for Schwaebische Maultaschen, Swabian Pasta Cases.

The meat stuffing wants to jump into the cases by itself.

Cooking is like composing music.

Anyway, a good whisky bread would be the ciabatta recipe plus a addition bottle of Talisker, for the chefs not the dough.

Zer · Post by **Zer** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:26 am

And I thought swabian pasta is known as Spätzle?!

Hm...but Maultaschen with whisky? Instead of meat in it?

Counterparts · Post by **Counterparts** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:02 am

Did you make any yet Neil?

The forum demands pictures!

Zer · Post by **Zer** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:15 am

Probably he is in need of a new baking machine right now

ChrisWerner · Post by **ChrisWerner** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:30 am

Probably it´s a coal extraction machine now?

Counterparts · Post by **Counterparts** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:42 am

Zer · Post by **Zer** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:46 am

Hmm....I might be some kind of perverted but I like my toast with a brown crust.

Post by **Neil B** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 5:31 am

Sorry folks - haven't got to the Ciabatta yet - tried a Cheese and Onion one today - just come out of the machine - smells ghastly

Zer · Post by **Zer** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 7:30 am

With vinegar?

Counterparts · Post by **Counterparts** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 7:38 am

Now I'm feeling slightly perverted

I do like a slice of bread with nothing but a little rice wine vinegar sprinkled on it.