False ciabatta for the ladies...

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n145/beanfromex/ciabattawhole.jpg

This is the loaf I made for the ladies brunch yesterday in my home. It is Floyds ciabatta recipe with changes to the salt and yeast. I tsp yeast and 3 tsp salt. 

autolyse of 20 minutes in 76F kitchen.

Bring together, then into oiled bowl, flop dough, cover with oiled plastic then put into fridge.

Fold dough every two hours. I did this from noon when I made the dough until 10pm. I then took the dough out of the fridge at 3am, patted it down,folded it about 6 times,  shaped it and put it onto a cornmeal covered cookie sheet and covered it with plastic.

I let the dough rise for 3 hours , preheated the oven to the hottest I could get it, a bit over 500F. Removed plastic slowly, causing no tears. I then sprinkled cornmeal onto the top of the loaf. Placed it into the oven for 15 minutes, removed it and brushed on melted butter. Baked it another 25 minutes, slightly lowering the heat to about 425F. 

This did not have the holes of a ciabatta, but the crust was chewy and the inside was wonderful, It rose almost 4 inches. This is the best bread I have made to date. This will become my "daily loaf"

I served this with a squash and lentil soup, a plain salad with a vinagrette and assorted cheeses,and bran raison muffins (as per some Blog I had read)

The women who I served this to have asked that I teach them this recipe and technique in January when I return to mexico. They took BIG slices home to their families, so now I have no bread in my house...(smiling) 

Getting up at 3AM was worth it for the "oooahs and aaaahs" the loaf received....