Ciabatta Bread

For years I've been trying to develop the best possible hamburger bun.  I tried lots of combinations of eggs, flours, milk, water, oil - you name it.  Then I decided to create a ciabatta recipe, and realized that it's 2-in-1.  This ciabatta bread makes not only perfect panini, but also perfect hamburger buns.  And there's no milk or eggs!

Now, I realize that "real" ciabatta is made from a much longer, more artisan-style process, sort of like a sour dough.  This recipe is just a simple double-rise yeasted bread dough.  I may try to develop a recipe for a more traditional process, but that will come down the road.  This version is simple and effective, and anyone can accomplish great bread in about an hour and a half.  

This bread recipe gives you the best hole structure and the most open crumb of any of my bread recipes.

Ciabatta Bread Recipe

Makes four 4-inch square ciabattas

For this recipe you will need:

- 225g gluten-free bread flour 
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 TBSP sugar

- warm water

- apple cider vinegar

- parchment paper

- extra flour - I recommend potato starch

In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together:

260g (1 1/8 C) warm water (100-115 degrees F)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Add:

15g whole psyllium husk or 10g ground psyllium husk

Whisk the psyllium husk into the wet ingredients until the mixture begins to thicken, 1-2 minutes.  Add:

225g gluten-free bread flour 
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp yeast

Mix the dough until well blended.  Cover and let rise for 30-60 minutes.  Punch the dough down, then knead for a few minutes, making sure that all the bubbles are out of the dough.  Place the dough on a sheet of parchment paper.

Flour the dough generously.  With a dough scraper or the side of your hand, cut the dough to divide the into four equal parts.

You can simply pat the dough into the shape you would like, or you can roll it out to form ciabatta shapes.

Be sure to brush off any excess flour on the inside of the folds.  Fold your rolled-out dough like a letter then flip it over to place it seam-side down on the parchment paper.  Press each shaped loaf with your fingers to get rid of any air bubbles. Dust each loaf with a little flour if desired.

Cover the bread and let it rise for another 30 minutes.  In the mean time, heat up your oven to 450 degrees.  If you have a pizza stone, place that in the oven to heat up.  If not, just use a regular baking sheet - no need to heat it up.

Once the bread has risen, move it to the baking sheet or pizza stone by using the parchment paper to convey it - no need to take it off the paper.  Bake for 20 minutes.  If the bread hasn't browned to your liking, you can brush each loaf with a little oil and turn the oven down to bake at 350 for another 2-5 minutes or until browned.  Cool the bread on a baking rack, then enjoy as sandwiches, buns or slice for snacks.