Team USA Ciabatta

twinky's note: I wanted to make sure the online version of Craig Ponsford's
Team USA Ciabatta was the same recipe in Peter Reinhart's book, Crust &
Crumb, and it appears to be. I'm inserting the following useful information
from the book, that most of us will need (asterisked*). Hey fortune, I don't
have my notes close by, is this formula close to the one you're using?

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The Team USA Ciabatta recipe was originally posted by Scottie Kent. You can
view the document at:
The Village Bakery Recipe Bin
http://countrylife.net/pages/recipes/1053.html

Recipe and instructons for Poolish
Unbleached flour 100%
Water 178%
Instant yeast minimal

*Poolish recipe makes just over 3 lbs - you can freeze or use up the rest
over a few days of baking according to Reinhart
*4 cups (18 oz) unbleached bread flour (or whole wheat flour if making whole
wheat bread)
*4 cups cool water (65 to 75F degrees)
*1/4 teaspoon instant yeast, or 1/3 teaspoon active dry, or 3/4 teaspoon
fresh, crumbled yeast

1. Beat or whisk all ingredients in a mixing bowl until pretty smooth.
2. Cover bowl with plastic, and leave at room temperature for 4 or 5 hours
until nice and bubbly.
3. Refrigerate, well covered, overnight or up to three days before use.

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Recipe for Ciabatta
Unbleached organic bread flour 100%
Instant yeast minimal
Poolish 87%
Water 66%
Salt 2.5%

*Ciabatta recipe makes three 1lb loaves
*4 cups plus one tablespoon (18.25 oz) unbleached bread flour
*1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
*2 cups (16 oz) poolish-style pre-ferment
*1-1/2 cups cool water (65 to 75F degrees)
*2 teaspoons (0.5 oz) salt
*vegetable oil cooking spray

Instructions for Ciabatta
1. In a mixer with a paddle, combine everything except the salt. Mix on slow
speed until all flour is incorporated, appr. 2 minutes. add salt and mix for
an additional 4 minutes on slow, than an additional 4 1/2 minutes on medium.
At this point the dough will be very soft and sticky. Temp appr. 75F
degrees.
2. Cover bowl with plastic and allow the dough to rise for 3 hours (turn the
dough once an hour with paddle)
3. Line the top of inverted pan (one pan for each loaf) with parchment
paper, and dust liberally with flour.
4. Turn the dough out on a well floured counter and coat dough on all sides.
Form dough into rectangle 1 1/2 inches thick and cut into one pound pieces
with minimal handling. Transfer loaf to pan gently stretching pieces
lengthwise to about 12-14 inches. Let dough rise uncovered for 1-2 hours at
room temperature, until volume doubles.
5. With steam pan (with 1 1/2 cups water) on lower rack of oven preheat oven
to 500F. Slide loaves off of pan, parcment and all onto your baking stone
(if you don't have a baking stone , get one!) Spray oven walls with
additional water to create more steam. Bake 1-2 at a time.
6. Bake at 500F for 10 min, decrease to 475 for 15 minutes, open door and
continue to bake for another 15 minutes. Internal temperature of finished
loaf appr. 200 or higher. Let cool on rack for appr.1 1/2 hours for best
gastronomique pleasure. Enjoy, (the hassle is well worth it)