Sourdough Ciabatta

ciabatta

 

Ciabatta. Old Italien baking tradition. Did you think so?
Well, I did. But to my surprise, I could read a few days ago, that it was invented as late as 1982 by two gentleman called Arnaldo Cavallari and Francesco Favaron.

It was a response to the French baguette that was very popular in Italy at that time, and the two bakers were determined to produce something equivalent.
One of them, I don’t know who thought that the shape reminded him of his wife’s slippers. Therefore, they named the bread Ciabatta, slipper in Italian.

Despite the low age, the bread has been very successful. You can find it almost all around the world.
And that is not so strange. It is a real crowd-pleaser with its thin crispy crust and soft crumb filled with oversized air pockets.
It’s the number one choice for all sorts of grilled sandwiches.

After reading this, I realized that It was quite some time since I baked Ciabatta. I couldn’t understand why.

 

ABOUT FLOUR AND STARTER

Below you will find the amount of flour and starter used for this recipe.

The total hydration of the dough is 77%

 

MIXING THE LEVAIN

A “real” ciabatta always begins with a Biga. A Biga is a starter based on flour, water, and yeast that is left to ferment for at least 12 hours. I prefer to use a mature and lively sourdough starter instead. But then it’s not allowed to be called a Biga anymore (according to real baking aficionados), so let’s call it levain instead. Making a levain is easy. You just mix water with flour and starter in a kitchen bowl. Be sure that all flour is hydrated. Cover it with clingfilm and let it ferment for 12 hours at room temperature. When it’s ready, it should look something like this.

Biga

 

MIXING THE DOUGH

Now it’s time to add the rest of the ingredients, except salt.
Mix everything thoroughly and let the dough rest for an hour.

Dough
Mixed and ready for autolyze.
After autolys
After autolyze.

There is one thing you should know before you start baking this Ciabatta. The dough is wet. Very wet. If you hate dealing with wet sticky doughs, you should probably try something else. The easiest way to deal with it is probably with a dough mixer, but not everybody has a mixer. Therefore I decided to use the stretch and fold technique. It worked pretty well. Just dip your hands in some water now and then. It will prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers.
After a while, you will feel how the dough changes and becomes easier to handle.

Stretch
Stretch
Fold
Fold

I repeated the stretching and folding once every half an hour during the bulk fermentation process. I added the salt during the first stretch and folding session.
After the last session, I let the dough ferment for an additional hour.

 

SHAPING THE LOAF

Now it’s time to stretch out the dough. Spread flour on your working surface. Don’t make the same mistake as I did. Don’t skimp with the flour. You will regret that later. I thought I had spread out tons of flour. But it was still not enough. I’ll come back to that later.

Ciabatta dough ready

Stretch out the dough to a flat rectangular shape. Be careful not to pressure out too much gas out of the dough.
Let it rise for an hour.

Ciabatta dough stretched

Now it’s time to cut the dough into pieces. Cut the dough in half lengthways and divide each half into strips.

Dough cut

It was at this point I started to face some problems. The dough was sticking to the surface despite all the flour I had spread on it. It also stuck to the bench knife I was using. The first Ciabattas looked like something made by an ape. And suddenly I remembered why it was so long ago since I baked Ciabatta.
But I didn’t give up. I cut the rest of the Ciabattas with a knife dipped in the water while I scraped them loose with the bench knife. The last ones looked pretty decent.

ciabatta

Lessons learned.

Next time I will use a bread mixer. The stretch and folding worked pretty well, but I think the structure of the dough will improve if you run it in a mixer.

Use more flour on the working surface.

About flour.

The hydration of this dough is about 77%. That may not sound like much. Especially if you’re living in the US or Canada. Remember that your bread flour is stronger than what we are used to here in Europe. The flour I used has 11.5 % protein. You may have to increase the water amount to get the same result if you are using a much stronger flour. I have found recipes from the US with 80% hydration.

Ciabtta

Sourdough Ciabatta

A sourdough Ciabatta that is perfect for all kind of Italien dishes or grilled sandwiches.
4.50 from 2 votes
Servings 8 Ciabattas

Ingredients
  

Levain

  • 250 gram Wheat flour
  • 250 gram water
  • 80 gram sourdough starter

Ciabatta dough

  • 420 gram water
  • 580 gram levain
  • 630 gram Wheat flour
  • 2 tabelspoon olive oil
  • 20 gram sea salt

Instructions
 

Levain

  • Mix water with flour and starter. Be sure that all flour is hydrated. Cover it with cling film and let it ferment for 12 hours at room temperature.

Ciabatta

  • Mix all ingredients except salt. Be sure that all flour is hydrated. Let it rest for an hour.
  • Add the salt and stretch and fold if you don't have a dough mixer. I repeated every 30 minutes, 4 times in total. I normally stretch 4 times each set. Total time for bulk fermentation was 3 hours. If you have a mixer you just run it on a medium speed until the dough is smooth and stretchy.
  • Scrape out the dough onto a floured working surface. Stretch out the dough carefully to a rectangular shape. Try to degass the dough as little as possible. Let it rise for 1 hour. Pre heat the oven to 480ºF / 250ºC with two oven plates. If you have a baking stone you should place it on the upper plate.
  • Cut the dough in half lengthways and divide each half into strips. Transfer the dough stripes to a parchment paper. Slide the dough stripes and parchment paper into the oven and bake for approx. 20 minutes. Pour water on the bottom plate to get some steam.
  • Let the ciabattas cool on a wire rack.
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Chicken fillet with creamy ricotta, pesto and tomato vinaigrette

Chicken with ricotta and pesto
Chicken with ricotta and pesto

Chicken with ricotta and tomato vinaigrette. That sounds very Italien/Mediterranean, doesn’t it? The chives also give a little Scandinavian touch.
I know. Chives are used in Italy too, though maybe not as much. Chives feel very “Swedish” for me.
But I found this recipe in an old cookbook named The Mediterranean kitchen, so let’s call it Italien.

This is a perfect recipe if you’re planning to invite some friends for dinner.
You can prepare everything in advance. When your guests arrive, you just have to put everything into the oven.
Then you can enjoy a welcome drink with your friends while you are waiting for the food to be ready. The only thing you have to check now and then is the temperature of the chicken. Overcooked chicken is boring, even if it’s stuffed with ricotta.
All your guests may tell you how delicious it tastes, but you know that they are lying. You can see it in their faces. They are desperately trying to find a polite excuse to avoid eating that dry piece of chicken.
To avoid this, use a thermometer. Always be sure that the inner temperature is more than 158ºF / 70ºC and less than 167ºF / 75ºC.

Let’s start with the tomato vinaigrette.

Ingredients vinaigrette
I know it can be hard to find decent tomatoes at this time of year,
especially if you’re living in the northern parts of the world like I do.

Try to drain them with salt. Salt reduces the amount of liquid in the tomatoes and gives them a more concentrated flavor.
Cut the tomatoes into small cubes and place them in a strainer. Add some salt and let them drain for 15 minutes.

Draining tomatoes. Picture fro another recipe.

While you are waiting for the tomatoes to drain you can mix the chive with the olive oil with a hand mixer or a blender. Add the tomatoes together with some lime juice and zest and put the vinaigrette in the fridge.

Combine the ricotta cheese with pesto. If you want to go the extra mile you do your own pesto. You will find a good recipe here.

PestoRicotta

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and fry them on both sides a minute or two, until they have a nice golden brown color.
Cut a pocket into each chicken breast and fill it with ricotta and pesto mixture.

You can prepare this far.

A suitable side dish may be potato wedges because they can be cooked in the oven together with the chicken. Just let them get 10 to 15 minutes in the oven before you let the chicken join them.

When the chicken is ready, you just pour some vinaigrette over it and serve it with your preferred side dish and perhaps a salad.

 

 

PS. Why not serve with a glass of with wine. Perhaps a Sauvignon Blanc.
Or a glass of Chianti if you prefer red wine.

Chicken with ricotta and pesto

Chicken fillet with creamy ricotta, pesto and tomato vinaigrette

Chicken fillet filled with creamy ricotta and pesto. Served with a delicious tomato and chives vinaigrette.
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 45 mins
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1,5 tablespoon pesto
  • 0.8 cup / 2 dl ricotta
  • 4 chicken fillet about 6 oz / 175 gram
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Tomato vinaigrette

  • 0.5 cup / 1.2 dl olive oil extra virgin
  • 0.5 oz / 15 gram chives
  • 1 lb / 500 gram tomatoes
  • 1 lime juice an zest

Instructions
 

  • Cut tomatoes in pieces and put them in a strainer. Add a teaspoon salt and let them drain for at least 15 minutes.
  • Mix olive oil with chives. Add the tomatoes, lime juice, and zest. Combine everything and put in the fridge.
  • Fry the chicken on both sides a few minutes. It should just get some nice golden brown color.
  • Place the chicken on a cutting board. Cut a deep pocket into each piece and fill it with pesto and ricotta mixture.
  • Pre heat the oven to 450ºF / 220ºC. Roast the chicken in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. The inner temperature should be at least 158ºF / 70ºC.
  • Place tthe chicken breasts on a plate and pour the vinaigrette over it.
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Chunky guacamole

Guacamole

One day when I was looking for tortilla bread in the grocery store, I was standing in front of the shelves with “Tex-Mex” products. I rarely buy any of these products, but this evening I was short on time. And the tortilla bread you can find is quite decent.
My eyes fell on a little paper bag with the words Guacamole seasoning mix. I picked it up and read the table of contents.
It contained 19 ingredients and additives. That’s more than there are ingredients in ordinary guacamole altogether.
The selling point was that it was so much easier to mix guacamole with this spice mix.

How hard is it to mix guacamole? You place avocado, coriander/cilantro, lime juice, chopped onion, garlic and jalapeno, and some salt in a bowl and mix it with your stick blender to required consistency.

Photo from Pixabay

 


Now, I don’t claim that this is the optimal way to make guacamole.
But it’s much better than using a seasoning mix. It’s just as easy, and you will get tastier guacamole with natural flavors. And you avoid any useless additives.
So please don’t buy this kind of product. Please?

Try this recipe instead. It requires a little more effort, but it will give you truly great guacamole.

Before we start, there is one thing I would like to mention. I know it’s obvious, but I’ll say it anyhow.
Only use ripe avocados.

avocado
Don’t try to make guacamole on any of those green and unripe ones. You will only be disappointed.
Why do I even mention this? Because I’ve been served such guacamole. And it’s not fun.

But how do you know that your avocado is ripe?

It can be a little hard to tell if an avocado is ripe. You don’t want any overripe either. Such avocados will only turn your guacamole into a brown disaster.
So how do you know if the avocado is ripe enough, but not overripe?
The first thing to check is the color. If it’s still very green is probably not ripe yet. Go for the ones with a dark brown color.

It looks good. But is it really ripe?

Take one in your hand and squeeze gently. If the avocado yields to the firm, gentle pressure you know it’s ripe. If it doesn’t yield but feels hard instead, it needs a few more days to ripe.

Squeeze gently

On the other hand, if it feels mushy and very soft, it’s probably overripe. Overripe avocados sometimes also have indents on the surface. It looks, well, a bit rotten.

You can speed up the ripening process by the way. Just place your avocado in a paper bag with an apple or banana for 2 to 3 days. Apples and bananas emit ethylene gas naturally, which speeds up the ripening process.

But let’s get back to the guacamole. Put white onion, garlic, salt, and jalapeño into a mortar and pestle. Add some coriander/cilantro leaves and mash everything into a paste.

Paste

Dice two avocados and mash them together with the paste to preferred chunkiness (real guacamole shall always be a bit chunky so don’t use the stick blender for this recipe).
Add some lime juice and make a taste test. Try to find a balance between the salt, heat from the chili, and the sourness from the lime. That’s it.
It’s not harder than that to make great guacamole.

If you want to add chopped tomatoes, please feel free to do that. But whatever you do, don’t add any sour creme or creme cheese. That must be considered to be a deadly sin, and you risk being lynched by an angry mob of Mexicans and other people who love this delicious dip.

But how much is enough? I choose to quote Jonas Cramby, a Swedish food writer to answer that question.

“If you are unsure of how much guacamole to do, it’s better to do too much than too little. You can’t make too much guacamole. It has never happened.”

Guacamole

Chunky guacamole

Avocado is one of the healthiest fruits around. So you can eat this dip with a clear conscience. It's also ridiculously easy to make and tastes delicious.
Prep Time 15 mins
Total Time 15 mins
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 avocado Be sure that they are ripe.
  • 1 tabelspoon white onion minced.
  • 1 tablespoon jalapeño or more if you prefer more heat. Minced.
  • 1 glove garlic minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 0.5/1 cup/dl coriander leaves/cilantro roughly chopped roughly chopped.
  • 1-2 tablespoon lime juice

Instructions
 

  • Mash onion, garlic, chili, coriander and salt into a paste. Use a mortar and pestle or a fork on a cutting board.
  • Cut the avocado into pieces and add to the paste. Mash coarsely.
  • Add lime juice to preferred taste.
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