The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Ciabatta Height-Need help!

tothpianopeter's picture
tothpianopeter

Ciabatta Height-Need help!

Hello everyone, 

I have been experimenting with ciabattas lately, and the last one I baked turned out pretty nicely, see the attached photo at the top of the page. 

I am quite satisfied with the large holes and the light and open crumb, but somehow I think it is a little too flat. I know that ciabatta is supposed to be a rather flat loaf, but the one on the picture is only about 2 inches tall. It didn't grow much in the oven, there was little ovenspring. I wonder if it is supposed to be like this, or if I am doing something wrong. I used a hybrid method using both sourdough and yeast in very small quantities combined with long and slow fermentation. Here is the formula:

100% bread flour

80% water

5% levain 

2% salt

0.05% active dry yeast 

Mixed all ingredients, then did a few sets of stretch&folds in the first hour until it passed the windowpane test. Then let it ferment for about 14 hours at 66 F. In the morning, the dough was about 2 1/2 of its original size. I divided the dough into two pieces, and final proofed them for about 2 hours, then baked at 475 F for 30 minutes. 

I wonder why there was not a lot of ovenspring. Did I overproof the dough? 

I appreciate any comments and any help!

 

The Roadside Pie King's picture
The Roadside Pi...

Your Ciabatta looks picture perfect. Kudos on a very nice rendition of an old slipper. To elevate your concern even more, more than a few master Italian bakers have been known to dock (finger poke) the dough to avoid excessive rise. What I am trying to say is simply, forget the height, enjoy the great crumb! Smile...

Best regards,

RPK

tothpianopeter's picture
tothpianopeter
  1. Thank you so much for your comment, it makes me feel better :) I won't worry much about height then. When I looked at a few other ciabatta pictures, some of them were as flat as mine, but others were much taller, but they might be a more modern version of the ciabatta. 

When you mention the "docking": is it done just before placing the loaf in the oven or before the final proof? Should I just gently poke through the top of the dough?

The Roadside Pie King's picture
The Roadside Pi...

However, I gave you the link to the video I was referencing. Additionally, I am not sure if you are aware of our recent ciabatta community bake. (a wealth of information) I gave you that link too! By the way, feel free to post your great result in the community bake thread! One more link for you? Okay, why not, see the link to all the passed community bakes! 

Giorilli

Ciabatta community bake

Master list community bakes

tothpianopeter's picture
tothpianopeter

Thank you again. I wasn't aware of the Ciabatta Community Bake. I will check it out immediately, as well as the other links!