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Title: Ciabatta and Biga Starter
Categories: None
Yield: 1 Servings

1tsYeast
5tbMilk; warmed
1cWater; plus
3tbWater; room temperature
1tbOlive oil
2cBiga starter; *note
3 3/4cWhite flour
1tbSalt
  Cornmeal
  Biga starter:
1/4tsYeast
1/4cWarm milk
3/4cWater; plus
1tbWater; plus
1tsWater
2 1/2cFlour

*NOTE (see below), made 12 hrs before

By coincidence, my sister just gave me a recipe for ciabatta, a slipper-shaped bread from Lake Como, which she recommended highly. It's from an Italian cookbook, the name of which I didn't copy down. I made it last week, and it was very good, but it takes a long time to make!:

Stir yeast into milk; let stand until creamy, about ten min. Add water, oil and biga, mix until blended. Mix flour and salt, add to the bowl, mix for 2 or 3 min. Knead. Let rise until doubled. Cut dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a cylinder, then shape into a rectangle, about 10x4 inches. Place on floured baking sheets. Dimple with knuckles so they won't rise too much -- dough will look heavily pockmarked. Cover with dampened towels, let rise 1 1/2 - 2 hours, till puffy but not doubled -- the loaves will look flat, but will rise in the oven. Heat oven to 425 F, sprinkle loaves with cornmeal. Bake 20-25 min. , spraying 3 times with water in the first 10 minutes. Cool on racks.

Biga starter for Ciabatta: Stir yeast into warm water, let stand 10 min. Stir in remaining water and flour. Mix for 3 or 4 minutes. Let rise at cool room temp 6-24 hours -- the starter will triple in volume and be wet and sticky. Refrigerate until ready to use. It freezes well, needs 3 hours at room temperature to re-activate. Can be refrigerated for about a week.

makes about 2 1/3 cups

>From: Nancy Gandhi

Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V4 #7 by Bill Spalding on Sep 21, 1997

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