Someone tell me the science behind this loaf
I posted last week a question about real Italian ciabatta vs. American version of ciabatta and I received some good responses. My question was about achieving the texture on my ciabatta that I remembered the ciabatta I had in Italy having. The crust of my ciabatta is picture perfect and I'm able to achieve the large holes which I wanted. I used Peter Reinharts formula which by the way is excellent but here is the rub. The crumb always turns out "crumbly".not chewy. NOW-here is the question. I took a loaf last night and placed it in the microwave to warm it up while I finished off the ragu. I put it on 2mins. and a few minutes later I reheated it again for 2mins. When I pulled it out to cut it, it was perfect. The crust was chewy and crunchy; the inner texture was chewy just like the Italian versions I would get in Italy. Someone tell me what happened. Why did the microwave change the inner texture from crumbly to chewy and why did the crust turn out crisp, chewy and crunchy? Why the microwave? The science please!