Ciabatta, fluffy DIY goodness!

Ciabatta is the famous Italian bread with the silky almost translucent crumb and the crunchy and fragrant crust. Extra virgin olive olive infused with herbs combined with rustic Italia sea salt provides the crust with the crunchy texture and amazing taste!

You can make Ciabatta at home using the upcoming Italian Sourdough Bread Kit.

It provides you with the equipment and ingredients than you need to become an artisan baker at home! It combines top quality tipo 00 flour, Italian extra virgin olive oil and a mixture of dry herbs and coarse sea salt. The Kit includes a sourdough culture that gives the bread the light tart finish that characterises the farmhouse breads of old time.

The instructions are very simple:

Mix the flour with 700ml of cold water in a bowl

Add the salt and the sourdough culture on top

After 30 minutes knead the dough to full gluten development

Bulk ferment the dough at ~20C for 1 hour and then fold the dough

Rest the dough for another hour and then divide and preshape

Rest for 20 minutes and then shape the dough

Proof the dough for 1 hour

Finally score and bake at 250C using steam for the first 10 minutes Bake for about 40 minutes

Eat this bread by itself or use it to create gourmet and rustic sandwiches. A classic example is to use it with homemade mozzarella, freshly cut cherry tomatoes and basil leaves with some drips of extra virgin olive oil to create the ultimate Italian sandwich!

The FITC's Sourdough Bread Kit includes video with detailed instructions of the recipe.