February 11, 2011 - 2:29pm
Ciabatta with olive oil & Wheat Germ
I've been wanting to make this Hamelman bread for a while. I was hoping that the wheat germ would bring nutty wholesome flavors and the oil would soften the crust some.
I wasn't disappointed by the results, except for the crumb. I was careful in my non handling of the dough and it looked good before baking but I must have man handled it when transferring and inverting the three loaves.
The flavor is good and it's going to make a good sandwich later tonight.
Eric
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I see lots of nicely gelatinized crumb in the glossy sheen of the bubbles. I see a crunchy looking crust with a beautifully toasted golden hue, even with the flour ciabatta always pulls along with it wherever it goes. I see some nice loft to the loaves. Maybe you did not get as open a crumb as you hoped for, but I'll take one of those sandwiches tonight and no complaints. I'll bet they taste even better than they look!
OldWoodenSpoon
That's awfully nice of you to say. They did taste good tonight with some sirloin as a sandwich. I haven't made a good ciabatta in a while, maybe next week.
Eric
I like ciabatta, but I always thought that there are many holes in that bread that there's not much left to eat, really. Your ciabatta looks absolutely delicious, and adding the wheat germ sounds like a great idea, I must try it, too.
GA
Hi Eric, nice looking bread. It looks like a recipe I could try. It had to be delicious. Ray
Nice Ciabatta, Eric! I haven't made any ciabatta yet. I should try it one day!
There are so many Hamelman breads I seem to overlook because of my love of sourdough. Seeing your ciabatta is good inspiration to try it, Eric.
How did you toast your wheat germ? Oven or stovetop?
Thanks.
Thanks Lindy,
I've been using the stove top in a saute pan. I didn't want to heat the oven for that little thing but you have to keep an eye on it.
Eric
I suggest you start with one without any additives first. The important thing is development has to be done with stretch and folding and minimal handling, no shaping. You only touch the dough with quick fingers under or by scrapers. They taste wonderful and I'm sure you will like it.
Eric
when I grow up I want to have crumb like that!
When I made this recipe, I had similar results (although yours looks better than mine!). I assumed the oil was responsible for the change in crumb. No?
Brian
I think you are right Brian, the oil probably held back the open air crumb.
Eric