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Easy Homemade 3 Hour Ciabatta - The Brick Kitchen
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3 Hour Ciabatta

Ciabatta adapted from The Crepes of Wrath. 

It will be a very wet dough - see the step-by-step photos above for more help while making it. If possible, do weigh the flour - it is much more accurate than using cup measures. 

Course: Side Dish
Ingredients
Easy Homemade 3 Hour Ciabatta
  • 460 g (3 1/2 cups) all purpose flour + a couple of tablespoons extra if too wet
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (or 1 1/2 teaspoons active dried yeast)
  • 1-2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 460 ml (2 cups minus 2 tablespoons) lukewarm water
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
Beetroot Hummus
  • 1 large beetroot (300g) - cut into chunks, olive oil s/p, roast 40 min
  • 400 g can chickpeas
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1 large clove garlic
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • Ice cold water , to loosen
  • 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin , to taste
  • generous pinch of salt
  • to top -toasted hazelnuts , sesame seeds, dukkah, chopped parsley
Instructions
Easy Homemade 3 Hour Ciabatta

  1. Whisk together the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the lukewarm water and knead with the dough hook for 8-10 minutes. If making by hand, use a large spoon and stir vigorously. The dough will seem very wet and sticky, and should stick to the bottom and sides of the bowl - if it seems TOO wet, add a couple of tablespoons more flour (I have to do this occasionally - it seems to depend on the humidity and brand of flour!) 

  2. Flour your hands and for a further 4-5 minutes, ‘beat’ the dough with one hand by pulling at parts of the dough, stretching it up and slapping it back down on the bottom of the bowl, making a slapping sound. This is what creates some of the big air pockets in the dough.
  3. Oil a large bowl and transfer the dough over. Drizzle 2 teaspoons olive oil over the top of the dough, then cover with plastic wrap.
  4. Allow to rise for 2 hours (1 1/2 if it’s a warm day).
  5. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a large baking tray, then sprinkle with flour.
  6. Flour both hands and gently transfer the dough to the baking tray, being careful not to squash it and break the interior bubbles. Very gently shape into a long loaf. Sprinkle the top with flour.
  7. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool for a minimum of 20 minutes before slicing and eating!
Roast Beetroot Hummus
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Peel the beetroot, cut into chunks and place on a baking paper lined oven tray or oven dish. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil, season and roast for 30-40 minutes or until fork tender.
  3. Pour the contents of the can of chickpeas (including the liquid) into a micro-wave safe bowl and heat for a minute or two. Drain.
  4. Meanwhile, blitz the tahini, garlic and lemon in a food processor. Add the roast beetroot and the drained, hot chickpeas and blitz until smooth. If it starts getting stuck, loosen by streaming in a bit of ice-cold water (I usually end up using about a 1/4 of a cup). Process until smooth.
  5. Taste and season with salt and cumin.
  6. Top the finished hummus with toasted hazelnuts, sesame seeds, dukkah, chopped parsley and a drizzle of quality olive oil.