Chef Anna Olson loves baking bread, and her Ciabatta Bread brings out all of the flavors that you could ever want from this classic Italian bread. Follow along with the recipe below and you'll be on your way to flavor country!

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Recipe

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

Biga (1218 hours ahead)
1 cup (250 mL) lukewarm water
1 cup (150 g) bread flour
1 cup (150 g) whole wheat flour
pinch dry instant yeast

Dough
(180 g) Biga (half of above recipe)
2 1/3 cups (580mL) lukewarm water
3 ¼ cups (485 g) bread flour
1 ½ tsp (5 g) dry instant yeast
2 ½ tsp (12.5 g) salt

Directions

1. For the biga, stir the water, bread flour, whole wheat flour and yeast together in a bowl with a wooden spoon until evenly blended (the biga will be dense). Cover and set this aside on the counter for 1218 hours – the longer it sits, the better the flavor of the bread.

2. For the dough, stir the biga and water in a large mixing bowl, so that the biga dissolves into it, for the most part. Add the flour, yeast and salt and mix this by hand with a wooden spoon. The batter will be very wet, not like a traditional bread dough that can be kneaded by hand on the counter – this will have to stay in the bowl. If you have a bowl scraper or even a silicone spatula, stretch and slap the dough against the side of the bowl for a few minutes to build up elasticity. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter for 2 hours, until doubled in size. After the first hour, knock the dough down by patting it with a wooden spoon 45 times and then recover it.

3. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper and dust them with flour. On a wellfloured work surface, turn the dough out (it will be VERY stretchy and still sticky). Using your hands and lots of flour, divide the dough in half and shape each of the pieces into a rough rectangle about 1 ½inches (3.5 cm) tall. Transfer each piece to a baking tray and let the dough rest for 30 minutes, uncovered.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C). Dust the tops of the loaves with flour and bake the bread for about 20 minutes, until an even golden brown, then turn off the oven and leave the bread in for 10 minutes (this sets the crust). Remove the loaves from the baking trays to a cooling rack to cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.

The bread is best enjoyed the day it is baked.

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