Perfect open crumb sourdough ciabatta!

Here is a recipe for a perfect ciabatta bread! Ciabatta means slipper because of the shape of the bread.

It is from Veneto in the north of Italy. It is a bread with a high content of liquid, with at least 75% of water on the full weight of the flour.

It's crunchy and brown on the outside and bubbly and fluffy on the inside.
  
This ciabatta bread makes great sandwiches or can be eaten even as a daily bread served just with extra virgin olive oil. 

This ciabatta recipe has a very high content of liquid, about 100% of water compared to the full weight of the flour! It is a very wet and sticky dough but do not be tempted to add more flour or it will change the dynamic of this great recipe and you will lose that perfect open crumb texture! 

This recipe makes 2 large ciabatta or 4 smaller ciabatta!

Ingredients:

• 140g sourdough starter (nice and bubbly) 
• 350g water 
• 400g strong white flour
• 25g extra virgin olive oil
• 10g salt
• Semolina for sprinkle 

Method:

1. In a bowl mix all the water and sourdough starter together well.
2. Add the flour to the bowl and with a wooden spoon mix well and vigorously for about 5 minutes.
3. After 5 minutes of mixing, add the salt and mix well for 3 more minutes so that the salt is fully incorporated into the dough. 
4. Transfer the dough to the table (make sure you scrape all of the dough out of the bowl with a scraper, leaving a clean bowl).
5. Add all the extra virgin olive oil to the same bowl and with both hands spread it all around. (Do not wash your hands at this point!)
6. With your oily hands pick up the dough and start to slap and fold the dough on the table. Do this for about 3 minutes. (If you don't know how to slap and fold the dough there are plenty of videos on YouTube for you to watch, it is easier to watch this process than try to explain using words!)
7. After 3 minutes of slapping and folding, place the dough back inside the bowl and cover. Let it rest for 30 minutes. 
8. After 30 minutes we need to start the coil fold technique. The coil fold technique is used in high hydration dough like this recipe and it gives a better structure to the final dough. 
9. Start the coil fold by removing the lid from your container and wetting both of your hands with water. Grab under the dough with both hands (not directly in the middle but a bit more towards you) and pull it up until the bottom part of the dough doesn’t stick to the container anymore and let the bottom part fold underneath the middle part. Do the same with the top half of the dough. Turn the container 90° and repeat the same folding. Cover the dough with a lid.
10. Repeat this coil fold 3 more times, resting the dough 30 minutes each time. The dough will strenghten more and more after each coil fold! Between the folds make sure to cover the bowl with the lid or cling film. 
11. After the final fold, leave the dough to prove in the same bowl for 6 - 8 hours at room temperature or slow down the proving process by just moving it into the fridge for around 18 hours. 
12. Once the dough is perfectly proved and fermented, turn the oven on to  230°C (fan) and place a small baking pan or a deep tray at the bottom of the oven.
13. Line a baking tray with baking paper and sprinkle some semolina. 
14. Take the dough and heavily flour the top of the dough and your work surface. 
15. Gently turn the bowl upside down to release the dough onto the floured work surface. Now sprinkle the top of the dough with some more flour.
16. Flour the scraper and divide the dough into 2 equal parts or into 4 smaller ones. Do not worry if they don't have a perfect shape, try not to handle the dough too much as you want to keep as much air in as possible for the perfect light texture. 
17. Bring the lined baking tray next to you and transfer all the shapes into the tray, keeping as much space as possible between each shape. 
18. Let them rest for 15 minutes. 
19. Now put your ciabatta in the middle of  the oven and straight after add half glass of cold water into the small baking pan at the bottom and quickly close the oven. This will produce steam which helps the bread to rise.
20. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Do not be afraid of the colour when baking bread, the ciabatta needs a proper crust or the structure of the crumble will collapse. 
21. Once the ciabatta is out of the oven, let it cool down on a cooling rack for at least 2 hours or even better overnight. 
22. Make a sandwich or simply drizzle some good extra virgin olive oil on top and enjoy!