Sourdough Ciabatta

Thick starter

• 190g sourdough starter
• 110g water
• 260g bread flour

Mix, place in a bowl, cover.

Rise for 12 – 15 hours – until it collapses.

Dough

• All the thick starter
• 320g lukewarm water
• 64g lukewarm milk
• 620g bread flour
• 30g extra virgin olive oil
• 11g salt
• 110g sundried tomatoes – drained & chopped – optional

Mix all with just a 1/3 of the flour and excluding tomatoes – slowly in a mixer.

With dough hook, start kneeding and add the rest of the flour slowly.

Kneed for at least 10 minutes until it goes all stringy.

Kneed in tomatoes.

Cover and let it rise until at least doubled (square 5 litre ice-cream tub)

Sprinkle surface and baking trays liberally with flour. Tip dough onto surface and split dough into 4 length wise after sprinkling top with more flour. (Quick and with as little handling as possible).

Let them prove on trays for another 30-40 minutes (not quite doubling in size).

Bake at 220°C (200°C Fan) for 25-30 minutes.

Brush off flour and cool completely.

! This must be done in a mixer – the dough is like mud 🙂