Getting my Ciabatta right
Hi all! Been a while, but I'm getting back into the bread swing. Last night I did a batch of Reinhart's ciabatta. The loaves were beautiful and delicious, but not what I was looking for. I'm hoping for some tips that will get me that last inch to the perfect ciabatta.
The problem is the crumb: it's not the caramelized, chewy interior I associate with ciabatta (like the gorgeous photos in PiP's Hybrid Ciabatta here [1]), but soft and light, almost like an enriched bread. I'll take some photos of the crust and crumb when I get home tonight.
Notes from the bake:
- Dough was made with a poolish
- Instant dry yeast was used
- Room temp is ~66-70F
- All water used was room temp
- Dough was kneaded in my KitchenAid with hook for ~8 minutes on medium speed (4 I think)
- Dough was *very* slack
- After the mixer, it was put on the counter and stretched-and-folded letter-style once.
- 30 minutes later, stretch-and-fold again
- 2 hours later, divide into 3, stretch-and-fold each once into slipper shape and put in couche
- 1 hour later, put on Fibrament stone that was preheated in 500F degree oven for 45 minutes
- Add water to steam pan, spray sides of oven several times
- Bake at 450F for 15-20 minutes
I got good rises at each stage, an excellent oven spring, and the internal temp was 209F when I pulled them.
Thanks for any suggestions!
-Joe