Reviewed: Aug. 6, 2005

I'm sure I'll make this again. It was pretty close to what I was hoping for; to be just perfect, I would have liked the bread to be a bit moister and chewier. It was just the slightest bit too dry for me. I am very surprised to see how many reviewers have commented on the sticky-ness of the dough. I followed the recipe to the letter (and double-checked over and over again to make sure I had done it right), and I kept thinking that the dough (the sponge especially) was not nearly as wet as I would have expected; I suspect that this is why the final product was a little drier than I would have wished. Who knows? Maybe it was just the weather around here. At any rate, the bread was good enough that I am willing to go through the process again. And let me just say that this bread makes wonderful toast and is absolutlely superb on a panini grill or counter-top grill for *delicious* sandwiches. Give it a try for sure. Next go-'round, I think I'll add fresh rosemary to the dough and a little coarse salt on top before baking.

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UNCLEBEN1980

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Reviewed: Aug. 6, 2005

I just made this for my two sister for dinner and it was scrumptious. I do not have an electric mixer so I just used my hands and I promise you it was not harder or longer to do. I only let the sponge proof for 5 hours and the bread was still full of amazing flavour. After I cut the dough into two pieces, I decided to cut them again into thirds to make ciabatta sandwiches. For dinner we had these stuffed with feta, roasted peppers, pumpkin and pesto. It was the most amazing sandwich I have ever had!

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MELIS1

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Reviewed: Jul. 12, 2005

Yum! I used all-purpose flour and it still turned out great. Dough is EXTREMELY sticky and therefore a bit difficult to work with, but worth the effort! I attempted to transfer from a cookie sheet to the baking stone without parchment paper (didn't have any) and ended up deflating one of the loaves in the process as it folded over on itself. It came out a bit dense but still had a crisp crust and a chewy inside. The other loaf turned out wonderful.

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MEHUNGRY98

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Newark, Ohio, USA

Living In: Kent, Ohio, USA

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Reviewed: May 6, 2005

Really very good! I used regular all-purpose flour and it still turned out very well.

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Wannabe Gardener

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Tuttle, North Dakota, USA

Living In: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 27, 2005

Absolutely delicious. Prewarm the 'sponge' bowl with the warm water and place it on a towel or similar rather than put bowl directly on a cold counter to rise. If you have a panini press, form dough into 5" round small loaves. After baking and fully cooled, slice 1/4" think for heavenly gilled Italian panini sandwiches.

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MYREDMR2

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Reviewed: Apr. 27, 2005

Awesome! Had the taste I was looking for. Perfect, thanks!!

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MinxyBaby

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Living In: Kingston, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Apr. 20, 2005

We tried this recipe 3 times with the same poor results. I would not recommend it. It would not rise, and had a strange unpleasant flavor.

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OCULTICA

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Reviewed: Mar. 19, 2005

This was my first endeavor with bread w/out a bread machine. I have never had 'authentic' ciabatta, so I had no way to compare, but found this bread to be good. The dough is SUPER sticky.....but from what I read from others, that is the case. Thanks for the recipe!

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Tamara Grimes Lemasters

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Plant City, Florida, USA

Living In: Tampa, Florida, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 10, 2005

Amazing! Just made my first two loaves last night and I can not wait to make this again. The dough should be very sticky with a mind of it's own, so try not to add extra flour. Thank you so much!

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KJ

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Reviewed: Feb. 3, 2005

I found this recipe about 6 weeks ago and have made it twice a week since then. It produces an excellent loaf, which makes the most phenomenal sandwiches, brilliant toast for french onion soup, ideal for baked goats'cheese salad, croutons, and dozens of other uses. I bake it until only just done, then freeze it and take it out and cook another five minutes in the oven to recrisp. I make loaves and also cut it into smaller chunks and make mini ciabatta. If you save a couple of tablespoons of the "sponge" when mixing the dough, and boost it with some more flour and water you can set it aside overnight again and the next day you are ready to make more bread. Note - this dough needs to be really floppy to work properly - you might need more water than the recipe states. Also, if you add wholemeal flour it gives a slightly different flavour, but it won't rise as much.

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Sandy

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Reviewed: Jan. 22, 2005

This is a wonderful recipe. The crust is how my family likes it, Crunchy!! My husband sliced it in half and made a nice sandwich with all Italian luncheon meats and cheeses. This is definitly a keeper!!

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EOlivieri

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Oct. 9, 2004

Benoit Hogue, You are my personal hero! I have tried various recipes for Italian style breads & no matter what I did, they always came out like doorstops. This recipe is exactly what I've been looking for. The bread came out perfect, light but with good texture & full of air pockets. I'll admit, I had my doubts about such a small quanity of yeast used, but this is a wonderful recipe. I'm making another batch tommorrow & shaping it into smaller rounds to use as bread bowls for homemade beef stew.YUMMY! Thanks again!

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jane910

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Reviewed: Sep. 26, 2004

This bread was ok, but it did not have the thick crust and inner texture I was hoping for.

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SUSAN_LINDBERG

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Reviewed: Sep. 20, 2004

After just having my woodfired oven installed, I was eager to start baking this recipe. I was however, worried when the mix didn't seem wet enough for ciabatta. Traditional ciabatta is full of air bubbles on the inside and my bread was firm.........what did I do wrong? The crust was incredibly crunchy, as it helps to spray water in the oven to create steam during cooking. I will try this recipe again until I get the right bubbly texture and success.

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CZARDAS

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Living In: Narre Warren, Victoria, Australia

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Reviewed: Sep. 6, 2004

Not a bad recipe, but it definitely didn't come out like ciabatta. It tasted great as regular bread though.

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KINXTRIX

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Albany, New York, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 21, 2004

This bread is awesome! My husband is from Italy, and we have been trying to find a good recipe for bread that is similar to the breads you get in Italy. THIS IS IT!! When my mother-in-law came to visit us from Italy, she didn't like the breads that we have here in the US. She thought they were too soft and too sweet. I just called her and told her she could come back - because I found a bread that she'd like!! I will be making this one every week. Thanks!

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KIMSCOOKINGNOW

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Little Chute, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: Kennesaw, Georgia, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 27, 2004

I haven't tried authentic Italian ciabatta but I can tell you that my husband who loves bread just raves about this recipie!!! We no longer have to buy bread at the store anymore...it's practically forbidden! For those that don't have the baking stones, simply splitting the dough into small casserole or baking dishes works well and gives the bread a nice form. Something else that has worked well is just to add all the yeast into the starter...the bread comes out just as good! Thank you for the recipie!!!

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MARAMCC

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Reviewed: Feb. 25, 2004

This is a keeper! What a great way to get a sourdough type bread without the prolonged starter process. Will definitely be making this over and over.

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TMCCARRELL

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Reviewed: Dec. 30, 2003

This recipe is a great introduction to using a starter that you make the day before baking the bread. I can't believe the difference a 24-hour wait makes in the taste of the bread--the flavor is so much more developed, slightly sour, and totally addicting. That said, I was surprised by how little the oval loaves rose on the second rise, but they did puff up pretty well while baking. I'm thinking that the next time I make this recipe, I won't make two loaves. Instead, I'll use all the dough this recipe makes to produce one, bigger loaf.

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MACKALLEN

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Reviewed: Oct. 17, 2003

Awesome recipe! It makes such a wonderful, crusty bread that it's tempting to eat the whole loaf! I didn't have parchment, or a baking stone, so I oiled a cookie sheet, and sprinkled cornmeal on it before making the loaves. They turned out great!

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