These sourdough ciabatta rolls are light, airy, versatile and addictive. They're perfect slathered in butter, for dipping and of course sandwiches.
Day 1, Autolyse: Mix the flour and water in a bowl, cover and autolyse for a minimum of thirty minutes. (Autolyse can be stretched to a few hours; my target is one hour.) Tip: note the temperature of the dough at each step of the process to help gauge bulk fermentation time.
Add Starter: Add the starter to the autolysed dough and mix well using your hands until the starter has been well incorporated. Cover and wait thirty minutes. Note dough temperature
Add Salt: Sprinkle the salt over the dough and mix well with your hands again until it's evenly distributed throughout the dough. Cover and let sit another thirty minutes.
Stretch and Fold: (It's best to do this with wet hands.) Perform one set of stretch and fold by taking one portion of the dough and folding it over itself, repeating four times to make one set. The dough will likely be loose because of the high hydration and more so if the dough is on the warmer side (mid-70ºs F and above). Cover and let sit for thirty minutes. (If the dough falls flat sooner than the thirty minute mark, feel free to go on to the next step.) Note the temperature of the dough.
Coil Fold: (It's best to do this with wet hands.) Carefully lift the center of the dough and tuck the loose end under itself. Flip the dough 180º and repeat. Repeat the coil fold, lifting the dough from the middle and tucking one side of the long end under itself, repeating on the other side. These four coil folds make up one set. Cover and let the dough sit again for another thirty minutes and perform three more sets of coil folds ever thirty minutes. Again, if your dough is running warmer and it falls flat before thirty minutes, proceed with the next set of coil folds. With each set of coil folds your dough should gain structure and become smoother. If after four sets of coil folds your dough is still lacking structure, add another coil fold.
Bulk Fermentation: After the coil folds, leave the dough to continue bulk fermentation until it has grown roughly 50-60% (See Note). Bulk fermentation starts when you add the starter to your dough. For this batch, the average dough temperature was 76ºF so my total fermentation time was about six hours. Your total fermentation time could be shorter if your dough temperature is warmer and longer if it's cooler.
Cold Retard: Once bulk fermentation is complete, keep the dough in the bowl, covered and store in the refrigerator overnight.
Day 2, Divide and Final Proof: Turn the dough out on a generously floured surface and generously flour the top. Gently stretch the dough by taking a lifting from each corner and pulling it to roughly a 13" by 7" rectangle (be careful not to deflate the dough too much). Use a floured bench scraper to gently coax the dough into a rectangular shape then divide the dough into six roughly equal pieces using a bench scraper. If you have a couche, carefully transfer each piece of dough to a floured couch and cover. If not, you can cover the divided pieces of dough with a cloth towel and allow to proof for about one hour or until the dough has risen and bubbly on top. Some time into the final proof preheat your oven to 450ºF. If you plan to use a baking stone, allow it to preheat in the oven. Also, for steam, if you use lava rocks, let them preheat with the stone. Lastly, have some hot water ready to use for steam while baking.
Bake the Ciabatta: When you're ready to bake the ciabatta, transfer each piece of dough onto small rectangles of parchment paper. This will make it easier to lay then on the baking stone or baking sheet if that's what you are using. Arrange the ciabatta rectangles on the baking stone or baking sheet. Pour about one cup of hot water onto a baking sheet (with or without lava rocks) for steam. Lower the heat to 425ºF and bake for nine minutes with steam. After nine minutes, remove the pan with hot water and continue to bake the ciabatta for another four to five minutes or until the rolls are lightly golden and fell hollow when you tap them. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy.
Starter: I used rye starter here which resulted in 9.5% whole grain of the total flour in the dough. A small percentage whole grain will add flavor and will not hurt the crumb. Feel free to use whole wheat flour or straight white flour.
Bulk Fermentation: The idea for a 50-60% rise in the dough (instead of allowing it to fully ferment and double) is to allow for a final proof the next day without risking overfermentation. Especially if the dough is on the warmer side, it will continue to rise in the refrigerator before it cools down completely.
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