Tweet
Re: Hamelman's Poolish Ciabatta
First, salt definitely inhibits yeast, but not in a bad way. Whenever one type of dough is moving faster than all the rest, I usually find that it is because I forgot to add the salt. I've tried adding it at the beginning of the mix and part way through, but I haven't paid attention enough to make a judgment. One thing I have found is that the dough seems noticeably more sticky (not necessarily wetter or looser) before the salt is added. I suspect it's also doing something chemically to affect the protein structure. But anyway...
We use Hamelman's biga ciabatta, but with 3% olive oil, too. I add the yeast to the water, then olive oil, then mix in flour and salt, adding the biga in chunks as it comes together. After the initial mix, it sits for around a half hour, while I get everything else ready for the night (prepping other mixes, collecting wood for the fire). This rest has helped with a lot of our looser breads, seems to give a bit more structure with less mixing. This ciabatta tends to come out best when the dough is troublingly wet. After the final mixing, it goes straight in the fridge, but still gets 2 folds, roughly an hour each, but I let myself get behind schedule because it's in the fridge. After the second fold, it stays in the fridge until morning. Then, we come in, pull it out and let it warm up for 30 minutes or so while we tend to the oven, then divide it and proof. Coming from the fridge seems to be very helpful. I think it's easier to divide it without deflation, and (this is a good thing for us) it takes a lot longer to proof, so your window to load is longer, and I think it holds up to the loading better, too. In the winter, we proof for 2-3 hours, and it comes out very nice. I'll get pictures one day, but it's a very, very open crumb.
All in all, consider a rest in the mix (I think it makes the second mix more effective), don't be afraid to make it too wet, build strength through folding, and use the fridge. How's this for a t-shirt:
Real bakers put their bulk in the fridge.
First, salt definitely inhibits yeast, but not in a bad way. Whenever one type of dough is moving faster than all the rest, I usually find that it is because I forgot to add the salt. I've tried adding it at the beginning of the mix and part way through, but I haven't paid attention enough to make a judgment. One thing I have found is that the dough seems noticeably more sticky (not necessarily wetter or looser) before the salt is added. I suspect it's also doing something chemically to affect the protein structure. But anyway...
We use Hamelman's biga ciabatta, but with 3% olive oil, too. I add the yeast to the water, then olive oil, then mix in flour and salt, adding the biga in chunks as it comes together. After the initial mix, it sits for around a half hour, while I get everything else ready for the night (prepping other mixes, collecting wood for the fire). This rest has helped with a lot of our looser breads, seems to give a bit more structure with less mixing. This ciabatta tends to come out best when the dough is troublingly wet. After the final mixing, it goes straight in the fridge, but still gets 2 folds, roughly an hour each, but I let myself get behind schedule because it's in the fridge. After the second fold, it stays in the fridge until morning. Then, we come in, pull it out and let it warm up for 30 minutes or so while we tend to the oven, then divide it and proof. Coming from the fridge seems to be very helpful. I think it's easier to divide it without deflation, and (this is a good thing for us) it takes a lot longer to proof, so your window to load is longer, and I think it holds up to the loading better, too. In the winter, we proof for 2-3 hours, and it comes out very nice. I'll get pictures one day, but it's a very, very open crumb.
All in all, consider a rest in the mix (I think it makes the second mix more effective), don't be afraid to make it too wet, build strength through folding, and use the fridge. How's this for a t-shirt:
Real bakers put their bulk in the fridge.
in the backround...hot dog rolls...we haven't figured out how to make them yet...working on it though!
Comment