Fruit and Chocolate Ciabatta

My wife and I learned how to make fruit-filled ciabatta when we took Harry Peemoeller's artisan bread class at Johnson & Wales in Charlotte. We decided to make it at home this weekend. Instead of all white flour, we used some spelt flour in the biga. We added chocolate chips, figs, dates, raisins, pecans and cranberries to the dough. We let the final dough proof in the refrigerator overnight, and baked the shaped loaves in the morning. This is a great bread for the holidays. We made a large batch to give as gifts to friends. For anyone interested, here's a link to my wife's blog which shows photos from the Johson & Wales class of the process of making this bread.

http://kitchenkathleen.blogspot.com/2007/11/making-fruit-filled-ciabatta.html

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Submitted by TableBread on December 20, 2007 - 8:49pm.

Kind of late

This is kind of late but I just wanted to say what an amazing ciabatta! I am so jealous you go to attend a Johnson & Wales class!

TableBread

http://tablebread.blogspot.com

Submitted by pedropan on December 20, 2007 - 9:07pm.

J&W

Thank you. That's very kind of you. We LOVED the classes at Johnson and Wales. We learned so much. Peter Reinhart is about the nicest guy you'll ever meet. He was so enthusiastic about bread, and his knowledge is staggering. Harry Peemoeller is a very underrated guy. I'd never heard of him before taking his artisan bread class, but he was very, very good. He also was extremely generous. He brought in some amazing cheeses and wine to have with our bread. If you ever get a chance to sign up for either Peter's or Harry's classes, do it. You won't regret it. My interest in bread has gone from curiosity to near obsession, as a result of those classes!