Chapata

Whole Kitchen in their Savory Challenge for the month of November invites us to prepare an Italian classic: “Ciabatta”. I had been really wanting to make this recipe but I never thought it would turn out well, and… it turned out so well, yes indeed! It even looked like a real ciabatta. The recipe is slow because of the rising times, but it’s simple to make and the result is incredibly good.

What do we need?

(For two loaves)

For the starter:

• 2.5 g fresh yeast

• 150 ml (2/3 cup) water

• 3 tablespoons warm milk

• 1/4 teaspoon honey or granulated sugar

• 150 g (1.25 cups) bread flour

For the dough:

• 2.5 g fresh yeast

• 250 ml (1 cup) water

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

• 350 g (2.75 cups) bread flour

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt

How do we make it?

• First, we prepare the starter. Sprinkle the yeast into a large bowl with the water and milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then add the honey or sugar and stir to dissolve.

• Add the flour and mix to form a loose dough. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it ferment for 12 hours or overnight.

• Once the wait is over, we move on to the dough. Sprinkle the yeast into a small bowl with the water. Let it sit for 5 minutes; stir to dissolve. Add the yeast water and the olive oil to the starter and mix well.

• Into the bowl, add the flour with the salt and mix to form a wet, sticky dough. Beat continuously with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes; the dough will turn fluffy and start to pull away from the sides, but it will still be too soft to knead.

• Cover the dough with a kitchen towel. Let it ferment for about 3 hours, until the dough has tripled in size and is full of air bubbles. Generously flour two baking sheets and have extra flour ready to dust your hands.

• Divide the dough in half while it’s still in the bowl. Tip half of the dough onto one of the sheets.

• With your hands well coated in flour, shape it into a rectangular loaf about 30 cm (12 inches) long. Dust the loaf and your hands again with flour. Tidy and thicken it by running your fingers along the sides and gently tucking under the bottom of the dough. Repeat the same with the other half.

• Uncovered, let the loaves rise for about 20 minutes; they will spread out and grow in volume.

• Put them in the oven, preheated to 220°C (430°F), and bake for 30 minutes until the loaves have risen, are golden brown, and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Let cool on a wire rack.

Tips:

• It’s a very sticky dough that you barely have to work with your hands. That’s why, in the final steps, it’s important to keep your hands well covered in flour and not handle the dough too much, since otherwise half of it will end up stuck to you.

• I use the pressed baker’s yeast you can find in cubes in the supermarket in the bakery/pastry section, always refrigerated. I buy a bunch and freeze them, so I always have some on hand whenever I need it. That said, it’s important to keep in mind that frozen yeast loses a bit of its “power”, so you’ll need to add a little more than what the recipe calls for.

• When baking, I put both sheets in at the same time and after 20 minutes I swapped them so that both loaves cooked evenly on both sides.

Comments

Marisa (2012-11-22 12:51:05):

She brought a piece home for me and it’s awesome, delicious, amazing… mmm, I want more!

tía pi (2012-11-22 18:13:13):

It’s a pleasure how well you explain everything and the tips you give. I promise to make it and tell you how it turns out.

Angeles (2012-11-22 22:35:32):

It looks fantastic, just like an authentic Italian ciabatta.

marmota zampona (2012-11-24 19:27:46):

I’m going to give it a try right now.

**Whole kitchen en su Propuesta Salada para el mes de noviembre nos invita a preparar un clásico italiano “Ciabatta”. **Tenía muchas ganas de hacer esta receta pero ni de lejos pensé que me iba a quedar bien y… qué bien quedó, ¡sí, señor! Si hasta parecía una chapata de verdad. La receta es lenta por los tiempos de levado pero su elaboración es sencilla y el resultado es increíblemente bueno.

¿Qué necesitamos?

(Para dos panes)

Para la masa madre:

• 2,5 g de levadura fresca

• 150 ml de agua

• 3 cucharadas de leche tibia

• 1/4 cucharadita de miel o azúcar granulada

• 150 gr de harina de fuerza

Para la masa:

• 2,5 g de levadura fresca

• 250 ml de agua

• 1/2 cucharada de aceite de oliva

• 350 g de harina de fuerza

• 1 y 1/2 cucharadita de sal

¿Cómo lo hacemos?

• Primero preparamos la masa madre. Esparcimos la levadura en un recipiente grande con agua y leche. Dejamos durante 5 minutos, después añadimos la miel o el azúcar y revolvemos para que se disuelva.

• Añadimos la harina y mezclamos para formar una masa floja. Tapamos el cuenco con un paño de cocina y dejamos fermentar durante 12 horas o toda la noche.

• Pasado el tiempo de espera, procedemos a hacer la masa. Esparcimos la levadura en un cuenco pequeño con agua. Dejamos durante 5 minutos; revolvemos para que se disuelva. Añadimos el agua con levadura y el aceite de oliva a la masa madre y mezclamos bien.

• En el recipiente echamos y mezclamos la harina con la sal para formar una masa húmeda y pegajosa. Batimos sin parar con una cuchara de madera durante 5 minutos; la masa quedará esponjosa y empezará a despegarse, pero seguirá demasiado blanda para amasar.

• Tapamos la masa con un paño de cocina. Dejamos fermentar durante unas 3 horas, hasta que la masa triplique su tamaño y se llene de burbujas de aire. Enharinamos generosamente dos bandejas de horno y preparamos harina adicional para echárnosla en las manos.

• Dividimos la masa por la mitad mientras está en el cuenco. Volcamos la mitad de la masa sobre una de las bandejas.

• Con las manos bien recubiertas de harina, formamos un pan rectangular, de aproximadamente 30 cm. de largo. Espolvoreamos el pan y las manos nuevamente con harina. Acomodamos y engrosamos recorriendo los costados con los dedos y llevando suavemente hacia adentro de la masa por debajo. Repetimos lo mismo con la otra mitad de la masa.

• Sin tapar, dejamos fermentar los panes unos 20 min; se desparramarán y aumentarán de volumen.

• Metemos en el horno previamente calentado a 220ºC y dejamos 30 minutos hasta que los panes se hinchen, adquieran un color dorado y suenen a hueco cuando los golpeemos en la base. Dejamos enfriar sobre una rejilla metálica.

Consejos:

• Es una masa muy pegajosa que apenas hay que trabajar con las manos. Por eso, en los últimos pasos es importante tener las manos bien cubiertas de harina y no manosear mucho la masa ya que sólo conseguiríamos que se nos quedase la mitad de ella pegada a nosotros.

• Yo utilizo la levadura de panadería prensada que podemos encontrar en cubitos en el supermercado en la parte de panadería/pastelería pero siempre refrigerada. Compro muchos y los congelo, así cada vez que lo necesito lo tengo a mano. Eso sí, es importante tener en cuenta que la levadura congelada pierde un poco de su “poder” así que habrá que echar un poquito más de cantidad de la que nos indica la receta.

• A la hora de hornear, yo metí las dos bandejas a la vez y pasados 20 minutos las intercambié para que se hicieran bien los dos panes por las dos caras.

[English version] CIABATTA BREAD* *Ingredients:

(for two loaves)

For the sourdough (starter):

• 2,5 g fresh yeast

• 150 ml water

• 3 tbsp warm milk

• 1/4 tsp honey or sugar

• 150 gr strong flour

• For the dough:*

• 2,5 g fresh yeast

• 250 ml water

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil

• 350 g strong flour

• 1 y 1/2 tsp salt

* *

• *First, start by preparing the sourdough. Put the yeast into a large bowl with water and milk. Let the dough stand for 5 minutes and then add sugar/honey and stir well. *

• Add the flour until having a loose dough. Cover with a clean cloth and let ferment for 12 hour or the whole night.

• *After fermentation time, make the dough. Put yeast into a bowl with water. Let it stand for 5 minutes; stir well. Add this water with yeast and the olive oil to the sourdough. Stir well. *

• *Add flour and salt and stir well using a wooden spoon. The result will be a wet and sticky dough. Keep beating for 5 minutes until getting a fluffy dough a bit less sticky (but still too much to knead). *

• Cover with a kitchen cloth and let stand for 3 hours (the size will triple and some bubbles will appear inside). Scatter flour into two baking pans and in your hands.

• Split the dough into two halves. Put one of the part into one baking pan.

• *With hands covered by flour, shape the ciabatta bread (30 cm long) creating a rectangle. Repeat the same steps with the other half of dough. *

• *Let it stand uncovered for 20 minutes. They will become bigger and lose its perfect shape. *

• *Put into oven (preheated to 220ºC) and bake for 30 minutes until they are golden brown and bigger. Tap the bottom of the bread with your fingers and the bread will sound hollow when it’s done. Leave cool on a rack. *

* *

Tips:

*- It’s a very sticky dough very difficult to knead. It’s needed to have hands covered by flour and not kneading the dough too much. *

-  I usually use fresh yeast in cubes (sold in supermarkets). I buy several cubes and freeze them to use them whenever I want. However, you should take into account that frozen yeast will lose part of its “power” so you will need to use an amount slightly bigger than the amount indicated in the recipe.

*- For baking, I put both baking pans at the same time. After first 20 minutes I swaped their positions to have both loaves well done. *