ciabatta rolls ~

It's been awhile since I made Ciabatta Rolls ~ what was I thinking!  They're soooooo good :)

I believe the trick to good Ciabatta Rolls is the two day process.  Day One is making a starter ~ then Day Two is finishing up the process of making the rolls.

Here's my recipe:

Day 1

In a small bowl combine the following to make your Starter:

1 1/2 Cups of All-purpose Flour
1 Cup of Cool Water
1/16th of a teaspoon of Dry Yeast

Yes, you read that right ... 1/16th of a teaspoon ... just a little bitty pinch will do.

Cover with a cloth and let it rest for 24 hours to begin it's fermentation.  Day Two it will be all bubbly and yeasty smelling.

Day 2

Transfer your Starter into a larger bowl, preferably a mixing bowl with an electric mixer where you have a dough hook.  This isn't necessary; but it does make the kneading process a lot easier.

ADD:

2 teaspoons of Dry Yeast
3 Cups of Flour
2 1/4 teaspoon of Salt
2 Tablespoons of Dry Powdered Milk
2/3 Cup of Warm Water
3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil ~ or substitute with Melted Shortening

Beat at a medium speed with the dough hook for 7 minutes.  Or put onto a floured board and hand knead for 10 minutes.  The dough will be very soft and will become shiny looking as you knead it.

Grease a bowl large enough to hold the dough doubled in size.  Let it rise for 2 hours, deflating it gently by lightly shaking the bowl after about 1 hour of rising time.

This rising time is what makes the airy centers to the rolls that are characteristics of the Ciabatta Roll.  It's also what makes them so good for making sandwiches because it can absorb and hold fillings so nice :)

After the 2 hour rise period ...

On a floured board gently press the dough into a square.  Take a sharp knife and divide into 12 pieces.

Place the rolls onto a greased baking sheet.

With your finger tips ~ dimple the dough.

Let rise another 2 - 3 hours until doubled in size again.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Right before placing the rolls in the oven ... gently dimple them again AND lightly spritz with water.

BAKE for 18 - 20 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!

And you thought all I did all day was watch the critters out my window.

Well... today the pine squirrel came to peak in my window to see what I was up to.

Let's open the door and get a better shot:

Oh...

I'll never tire of baking up goodies or

 watching the wild life around here.

I must confess though ... I am getting tired of shoveling snow!

Until next time ...

So it goes in my neck of the woods.

~mel