Ciabatta Rolls
Posted On 5 February 2021
A very wet dough makes these challenging, but worth it. Patience required.
Ciabatta Rolls
A very wet dough, a stand mixer is a must.
Servings: 12 rolls
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Square 4qt plastic tub (see notes)
Ingredients
- 400 grams warm water, divided
- 10 grams yeast, instant or active
- 36 grams olive oil (40 ml)
- 500 grams bread flour (38g vital wheat gluten, 462g AP)
- 10 grams sea salt
Instructions
- Put 300 ml (300 grams) of warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add the yeast. If using instant yeast, continue to the next step. If using active yeast, mix into the water with a fork then let sit for 10-15 minutes until bubbly.
- Add the oil, flour, and salt.
- Using the dough hook, mix on low to combine.
- Start adding the additional 100 ml (100 grams) of water a bit at a time and increase the speed of the mixer to medium. Mix for 5-8 minutes. This will be a very wet, very sticky dough.
- Lightly oil the square tub and put the dough into it. Cover and let rest for 2-3 hours until doubled or tripled in bulk. (See video below.)
- Dust your work surface with all-purpose flour and some semolina if you have it.
- Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. Dust with flour and semolina.
- Remove the lid from your tub and invert above your work surface. Be patient, but the dough should come out easily and form a square blob roughly 12" x 12" — nudge to get an even square if needed but don't knock the air out of your dough.
- Cut the square in half. Then cut each half again in half lengthwise. You should have 4 strips. Cut each of these into three equal pieces. With floured hands gently form each piece briefly to form a rectangle. Place 6 per sheet pan, spacing evenly.
- Loosely cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until puffy, maybe another 30-45 minutes.
- Heat oven to 425°F / 220°C.
- Remove the plastic wrap. If desired, dimple the tops with your fingertips, and spray with warm water immediately before popping into the oven. The water will give them a bit more crust.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Turn around and, if baking both at once, change racks. Bake another 5-10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let rest on the sheet pans for 5-10 minutes before removing to cooling racks.
Notes
- If you don’t want rolls and would prefer loaves, don’t divide into 3 after cutting the blob into strips. Transfer the strips — you’ll need a couple of bench cutters — to the baking sheets and gently nudge back into a straight form before covering and letting rest to puff up more.
- I use these 4-quart tubs.
- Something to try: Use 100g of discard sourdough starter and reduce the flour and water in this recipe by 50g each. (100g of starter should be 50g of flour and 50g of water, thus the reduction.)
