Approx. 25g of salt. Mix it with the flour evenly.
900ml of water (room temperature is fine). Add the
yeast (crumbled) as well.
Mix...
... and mix, until smooth. It will take 10 min at
least. If you have a proper mixing device, use it.
Cover with a cloth and leave to rise for approx 4
hrs. It should double in volume (at least):
Place a baking stone in the oven and switch it on to
the maximum temperature (250 C in my case). If you don't
have a baking stone, leave the metal grid in the oven only
(the one you see in the picture under the baking stone):
Prepare 4 pieces of baking paper and place 1/4 of
the dough on each (this operation requires some manual
skills... Use a spoon to cut the dough):
Flatten the dough with the help of a spoon and leave
to rise for approx 30 min:
Slide the dough on top of a reversed baking tray...
... and the slide the paper + dough on the baking
stone (or on the grid):
In my oven the bread is ready in 8 min 30 sec, but
it may change with other ovens. When you remove the bread
from the oven, it will have a round shape. Leave it to cool
down slowly on some cooling tray:
When it is cold, it will flatten down. The outside
should be crusty, the inside should be soft, something like
the one in the picture (the top, opened one is cold. The
bottom bread is still hot, just removed from the oven).
I think ciabatta is particularly good for panini: open a
ciabatta, fill it with (proper) mozzarella, tomatoes, fresh
basil and olive oil, or with speck / Parma ham and some other
cheese (for instance, a mild taleggio), toast the whole thing
and enjoy (I have a sandwich press, that's perfect for this).
Homemade bread: ciabatta
10 g of fresh yeast:
1 Kg of flour (strong):
Approx. 25g of salt. Mix it with the flour evenly.
900ml of water (room temperature is fine). Add the yeast (crumbled) as well.
Mix...
... and mix, until smooth. It will take 10 min at least. If you have a proper mixing device, use it.
Cover with a cloth and leave to rise for approx 4 hrs. It should double in volume (at least):
Place a baking stone in the oven and switch it on to the maximum temperature (250 C in my case). If you don't have a baking stone, leave the metal grid in the oven only (the one you see in the picture under the baking stone):
Prepare 4 pieces of baking paper and place 1/4 of the dough on each (this operation requires some manual skills... Use a spoon to cut the dough):
Flatten the dough with the help of a spoon and leave to rise for approx 30 min:
Slide the dough on top of a reversed baking tray...
... and the slide the paper + dough on the baking stone (or on the grid):
In my oven the bread is ready in 8 min 30 sec, but it may change with other ovens. When you remove the bread from the oven, it will have a round shape. Leave it to cool down slowly on some cooling tray:
When it is cold, it will flatten down. The outside should be crusty, the inside should be soft, something like the one in the picture (the top, opened one is cold. The bottom bread is still hot, just removed from the oven).
I think ciabatta is particularly good for panini: open a ciabatta, fill it with (proper) mozzarella, tomatoes, fresh basil and olive oil, or with speck / Parma ham and some other cheese (for instance, a mild taleggio), toast the whole thing and enjoy (I have a sandwich press, that's perfect for this).