Beer Ciabatta. Crisp, fragrant and incredibly good. The first time I made this recipe, I thought of Beppe’s bread, our trusted baker after moving to Piedmont. He, a true Neapolitan, made an amazing bread, as the saying goes. In the early morning, you had to go to the store, which was once on a street in the historic center of Asti, to queue to book. He arrived no earlier than ten or eleven in the morning, with an incredible aroma and a crust that you could hear crack just by passing your eyes over it. Men and women crowded to be able to collect that magical loaf. And then, everyone went back to their own homes to continue their lives. It was still hot when it arrived at the shop, as the bakery was not far, so it was km0. Making and kneading bread is a ritual for me, a passion; if you don’t do the right steps, if you don’t respect the times, the result won’t be optimal; doughs have an incredible variable, so I’m always ready to learn new notions.
This ciabatta calls for pure, genuine accompaniments. A sausage with peppers and mustard seemed like the right compromise to present you with this delight for the palate.
I suggest you other ideas for homemade baking.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 8 Hours
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 4 ciabattas
- Cooking methods: Electric oven, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
Flour, egg, honey and most importantly…Red beer!
- 2.2 lbs all-purpose flour (Plus extra flour for working the dough)
- 1 tsp honey (Chestnut honey if you like, otherwise a wildflower honey works fine.)
- 1 egg yolk
- 0.9 oz compressed yeast
- 1.4 tbsp olive oil
- 1.7 cups red beer
- 1.1 cups water (Approx. You should obtain a soft but not too yielding dough.)
- 0.7 oz salt
Useful Tools
Stand mixer or mixing bowl, work surface, cloths to cover, baking mats.
- Stand Mixers
- Bowls
- Baking Mats
- Knives
- Proofing Baskets
Steps
Four main steps between kneading and folding
In a bowl or stand mixer put 500 grams of flour, the honey, the yolk, and the yeast dissolved in 50 ml of water. Mix and
Add the beer little by little while you continue to knead.
Add the rest of the water and complete with the remaining part of the flour. Knead well and transfer to the work surface.
With your hands, spread the dough which will be very elastic and make a three-fold. Close forming a loaf. Let it rise until it doubles.
After the necessary time, divide into four parts. Take one part at a time, spread with your hands until you get a sheet of about 15.75 x 7.87 inches, fold in half and then in three parts.
Close well and arrange for the second rise. It will take about 3 hours for an optimal result.
Heat the oven to 392°F and before baking make the cuts. Bake for about 40 minutes.
You will obtain very crunchy and fragrant ciabattas.
Some more advice
Even with two good slices of mortadella it’s spectacular! It keeps longer if placed in bread paper. The ciabatta is the right compromise with the folds, you can make eight if you want individual portions. Rustic, good; it lends itself wonderfully for crostoni with liver or onions
