March 29, 2021 - 3:24pm
Ciabatta rolls proofing in tubs
My first post at TFL, blog or otherwise. Long time lurker. My favorite bread is ciabatta and my favorite form is the roll for sandwiches. I was buying the artisan rolls at Costco but wanted lighter, more ciabatta-like rolls. I found that making rolls is a lot harder than making ciabatta slippers, which I was getting pretty good at, thanks to TFL, before switching to rolls.
So I found these little pint size tubs online, 3" square on bottom, 4" square on top, 2 1/2" high, and thought these might work. So far, with 3 bakes, my rolls are more square.
Comments
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In my quest to make the process faster, easier, better, I tried my 30+ yo old Zo breadmaker (BBCC-S15) to mix and develop dough. I let it go until the end of 2nd kneading, about 1/2 hr total. Achieved strong window pane. Then proceeded with recipe as usual but eliminated lamination. Using my mixer, it takes me about one hour, gradually adding water and other ingredients. The Zo experiment is a big success. The buns were 1/4" higher. It was faster, QUIETER, required less baby sitting, less cleanup than using the mixer. I was inspired by Mariana to give the neglected Zo a chance.
Other note: Over the last week, tried local Cairnspring Mill Trailblazer flour for this recipe (using mixer). Failed X2. Turned to pancake batter consistency, never clearing sides. Think it has too much bran. Maybe add a small amount to poolish instead of using it for the entire dough.
update 5-8-21, still using Zo. Experimenting with lamination, folds, retards, flours, all yeast, etc. Also, with bake yesterday, managed to fit 6 rolls at once on parchment, not easily, and gentle use of a smaller floured bench scraper was a big help to nudge the dough squares into better positions.
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aargh, sorry for the repeat.
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Before using tubs, my bottoms were messy with floury seams. I did not use flour after placing dough in the lightly oiled tubs, so there is no external flour as in most ciabattas. But I got a lot of blisters, top and bottom, all around.
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Brilliant! I just made ciabatta buns for the first time yesterday, and the shaping ( or lack there of) was by far the hardest part of the process. These look perfect! The shape and crumb came out really nice.
Thank you. Yes, shaping these rolls is not easy. My first ones looked like amoebas. BTW, your rolls/buns looked great, more like ciabatta than mine. Perhaps, I should call mine artisan rolls as Costco calls theirs. Not really sure what makes something artisan.
I’m glad to have the honor of being your first replier. ?
LoL... Hear you on the amoebas. I had a couple too. They’re buried in the stack.
Vickie, these look great! I love the crumb and shaping idea.
I'm not going to be able to bake for a few more days, but when I do I may join you and Vickie and make some of these. Thank you both for the great tips!!
Mary
Whatever you bake, I'm sure it will be wonderful.
Vicky, those are lovely ciabatta buns, when formed obviously and with a nice crumb. Love the sheen of the crumb in particular. Well done,.
Benny
Thank you, Benny for your comments and for all you do here at TFL.
They came out Super!
These are the type of pans I use for my ciabatta rolls. They are about 2 1/2 inches deep, and about 6 x 6 3/4 in size. They actually are small steam pans you see in buffets. I buy mine at the Restaurant supply store. For some reason I can't seem to upload the picture of the pan. I'll keep on trying. I just made a new blog post for the Steam Pan so you can view it if you want.
I didn't realize steam pans were available in that size. Interesting ... Thanks for the info, dablues.
Costco Artisan on left
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