The Fresh Loaf

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Ciabatta still slightly wet after 20 min bake.

Juicegoose's picture
Juicegoose

Ciabatta still slightly wet after 20 min bake.

I have been baking the quick ciabatta reciepe on this website and can't seem to get the dough to fully cook. I know it's probably somethign simple but I'm a new guy at it.

 

I take the normal reciepe and bake two loafs instead of 3-4. I keep the oven between 450-475. 15 minute bakes weren't working for the interior doneness although the outside was a nice offwhite with shades of brown. I then went up to 20 minutes and although the crust is nice upon cutting the bread or even after pulling it from the oven the bottom center is just slightly gooey. Do i need to stretch my loaf out more into a rectangle (right now i keep it a round lump). Any words of advice would be appreciated thanks. Also I know I know the ole just bake it longer will come up but beyond that obvious point what could be a culprit.

 

Thanks.

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

what surface are you baking on?  how long is it pre-heated?

how are the bread rises?  Is the dough allowed to rise after shaping and before baking?

Juicegoose's picture
Juicegoose

I bake on a stone with a cilicone liner(forget the name now). The bread rises are great although the internal structure is a little tighter then I would like in a ciabatta. and I usually let the bread rise 30-45 minutes while the oven preheats. I normal pour it onto a counter from the initial rise cut the dough in half and let it rise. Then right before i place it in the oven i scrap it from th counter, flip it and put it in the oven.

flournwater's picture
flournwater

Bread is "done" when the internal temperature rises to a point suitable for the specific type of bread being prepared.

My Ciabatta is done at somewhere between 200 - 210 degrees F internal temperature.  I bake at about the same temperatures that you describe, on a baking stone and I turn the loaf after the first fifteen minutes to ensure even coloring overall.  Some of the other breads I bake are done at about 195 degrees, others can run as high as 210 degrees.

Trying to time a bake is, IMO, nearly impossible.

Darxus's picture
Darxus

Changing a recipe to only do a smaller number of loaves means there is more dough thickness the heat has to penetrate, which means you need higher temperature and/or longer time.  If the same temperature for a long enough time is burning the outside, maybe reduce the temperature?  Stretching your loaf out into one that's long and skinny would probably also solve this problem.

Juicegoose's picture
Juicegoose

What style of instant read thermometer do you use when measuring your loafs? An oven thermometer that has the probe that stays in the loaf at all times connected by a wire to a display outside or a simple single stick one?

flournwater's picture
flournwater

I use a single probe instant read thermometer.  It only takes a few seconds to sample the temperature so I don't use my more exitic "probe in the oven/electronics out of the oven" model.   The final temperature doesn't have to be so precise as to need that degree of accuracy.  Just gotta be sure you're into the center of the loaf and that you've got the probe inserted far enough to engage the entire resistive element in the probe.

Darxus's picture
Darxus

Resistive element?

flournwater's picture
flournwater

The resistive element is housed in the tip of the thermometer.  Actually, it's more than a simple resistive element but there's no need to be all that technical for our purposes.  The design of a lot of instant read thermometers includes a small mark (dent, scribe mark, etc.) somewhere along the length of the probe and the probe must be inserted to AT LEAST that depth to get an accurate reading.