Whole Wheat Sourdough Ciabatta
My first post :)
Hello all! First a little personal background. I've been baking on and off for about 5 years, picked up BBA about a month ago, and I am now completely obsessed :) While my wife definately enjoys the bread I've been making, I think this forum is the best place to share thoughts about this obsessive passion.
So, I'd love to share a recipe I just baked; inspired by the BBA pain a l'ancienne and poolish ciabatta, as well as ideas gleaned from this site. Basically, I used my whole wheat sourdough starter as the poolish in the BBA ciabatta recipe, upped the water a bit, and treated the dough like the pain a l'ancienne dough.
22.75 oz Recently refreshed whole wheat sourdough barm (poolish consistency, straight from fridge)
13.5 oz KAF organic AP
.44 oz salt
9.5 oz cold water
Mix all ingredients in bowl with hands acting as a dough hook for 6 minutes (very wet, clears sides stickes to bottom)
Refrigerate overnight
Ferment room temp (which was warm today) for approx 4 hours, about doubled
Shape into 3 slippers, proof for 40 minutes
Bake hearth style for 25 minutes
I really mutilated the loaves going into the oven, and used a spatula to pull them straight on the baking stone. To my surprise they sprung up real quick and nice.
Three loaves was a bit much for my stone and the loaves on the ends got a little char, but still quite edible :)
I think I was most pleased with the openness of the crumb considering the percentage of whole wheat, though the nutty flavor and mild sour character are equally satisfying :)