Whole-Wheat Sourdough Ciabatta

What great timing! This week Virtual Potluck has partnered with King Arthur Flour and Red Star Yeast and I am actually visiting the headquarters of King Arthur for a few days as part of their second Blog and Bake conference! You can follow along with some of my adventures on Facebook or Twitter for now and I'll be sharing some more on the blog as I go! For more of the Virtual Potluck activities this week, go check out the round-up from Donna at Cookistry.

Ciabatta Take Two

 

I made a Ciabatta bread back in January, but it was a more traditional flat dimpled bread that was made using a sourdough starter. It was a great bread but it took some time and effort to make, enough so that I haven't made it again. I came across this recipe in the local newspaper, it's adapted from Jim Lahey, now famous for his no knead breads. It is incredibly simple and produces a light airy bread with a perfect chewy crust. Like Jim's other breads, it takes time but minimal effort. Plan ahead and give yourself 18-24 hours before you want the completed bread.

Ciabatta Bread

Have you ever noticed how many of your memories are tied to a specific smell? For me it seems like the majority of my most vivid memories are tied to some kind of smell, usually from something great being cooked in the kitchen. Maybe that is one of the reasons I love to cook so much. Each time I do, I am usually reminded of some experience of cooking or spending time with friends and family. Homemade bread is certainly no exception and I believe that anyone that makes their own bread will agree that there is no better smell than walking in to your home after baking a fresh batch of bread.