Stretch and Fold/ Ciabatta Help
Hello!
This may seem like a silly question but how big of a stretch should i do, during a "stretch and fold"? Will the dough benefit from stretching it out a lot or just enough to do the said stretch and fold? I've watched various videos of this technique but the amount of stretch varies depending on the dough. Is there a universal answer or do i simply go with what i feel is the right amount.
I've inserted a pic to what my current ciabatta looks like (this is my third attempt). This was done with minimal handling, an autolyse of biga with flour and water (as well as yeast) for 30 minutes, followed by mixing in of the salt and stretch and folds every 30 minutes. After the final fold it the ciabatta was left to stand for another hour before going into the oven. I feel like i could have gotten a much more even airy crumb if i would have pressed it down prior to the last hour but decided to not do so in order to see how it responds. I feel that i should also include that the ciabatta was gently flipped over before going into the oven. It tasted great and i mean really great, my question is; am i heading in the right direction?
I would love to hear some suggestion as to how i can improve my results! Also, some additional information is in order. I do not have a baking stone at the moment and am using a standard baking sheet. For steam generation i am currently using the wet towel method, which works wonderfully! Now, go easy on me, I've been doing this for only a month! ;)
Thanks!
Err, I forgot to mention that all together I had 4 stretch and folds!
That depends on the phase of fermentation that your ciabatta is in. All S&Fs that I do are inside of the container that it ferments in. My preferred container is rectangular and of adequate size to accommodate both the rising dough and also the room to S&F inside of it.
The first S&F can be somewhat aggressive, with a significant pull on each side due to the dough's moisture content and its elasticity at that stage. After that, the dough moves so fast and with each ensuing S&F the keywords are continuously more gentle S&Fs.
The first can be accomplished using both sets of curled fingers coming under the sides of the dough and using them to "hook" and pull up the dough for the fold. This should only be done for the first S&F. After that the dough will tear if you try this. For the next sets of S&F's gently come under the dough with your palm and fingers, both hands if the dough has that much bulk, and gently (there's that word again) fold it over onto the remaining bulk. The third S&F, actually just folds after the initial S&F, more gentle than the second...
A well developed ciabatta is incredibly sensitive to mishandling.
alan
Ah, thank you very much!
that is really loose, like it should be at 85-95% hydration, I like to use a technique like Alphonso showed this week in his video for baguettes. I like to do slap and folds first, maybe in 2 sessions, to get the gluten well along the development trail before doing stretch and folds to finish it off. Turning it over right before baking is the right thing to do too.
Nice looking ciabatta all the way around - well done and
Happy baking