First Ciabatta

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I used Cook's Illustrated's ciabatta recipe with the following modifications:

I added two tablespoons of olive oil to the dough because I couldn't understand why it was left out of their recipe in the first place. Ciabatta without olive oil? Weird.  The biga rested at room temperature for 8 hours and then into the fridge for 12.

The bread came out pretty tasty. What do you think? How'd I do?

Looks great!

Focaccia always has olive oil but I don't think Ciabatta does.  I usually save the olive oil for dipping it in after I've baked it. :)

I think that formulae for ciabatta goes both ways, with or without olive oil.  I learned to make it without.  However, I  just recently I hopped on the back of Jason's Quick Ciabatta train to give it a spin.  I made it with and without olive and I believe that my olive oil version works much better with it. 

alan

The bread I've made with a bit of fat has a softer crumb, so it's probably a matter of preference. It is nice to get the preservative effect of an extra day or two of shelf-life when fats are added.

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Thank you both so very much! I can't wait to graduate to some more complex breads.