Mixed Grain Seeded Ciabatta #BBB

When you leave something to the last minute, you hold your breath and cross your fingers and toes and hope it turns out!  Our Bread Baking Babes choice for this month, hosted by Bread Experience, did not disappoint.  I have made ciabatta before, but with all white flour, and an overnight rest.  It is one of my favorite recipes from a former Babe.  This was a more whole grain and seed inclusive choice, with grains and seeds of choice both within and without the bread if desired.  I went with a little toasted black sesame (for its amazing flavor), a good quantity of millet, and pepitas.  I had not used the sesame within bread before, only on top, or in other applications like toasted sesame shortbread, but I definitely will use it again this way.  The kids, which have sometimes turned up their noses at breads they consider too highly textured, loved these soft, light, and moist crumbed loaves.  They sliced a dream too, not as chewy as I expected, but that could be from the little bit of soft wheat in the poolish.  They did turn out an exceptional texture that is hard to keep out of.  My half batch will not last more than two days, I guarantee.

I might not soak the millet seeds another time as they tend to break down easily when moistened.  But they do impart great flavor, regardless.  My suggestion for increasing the hydration to get that shiny crumb is to hold back a good 20% of the water, which is done here, and also to develop the gluten structure really well before adding in that extra water just a little bit at a time.  It works in amazingly well given a little kneading, going from loose and a bit sloppy, back to a soft and elastic dough.  And I just realized I used the full batch amount of poolish after deciding to make a half batch of dough, so that also increased the hydration a bit.

We would love to have you try out this tasty bread with us this month and share how it turned out!  New recipes are posted every month on the 16th. Check out our Facebook group to see the participants' baking results during that time.  If you would like to post your results with a Buddy badge on a blog, let us know in the comments or on the Facebook page.

Mixed Grain Seeded Ciabatta
Makes: 4 loaves (~280 grams each)

Poolish:

45 g water
45 g whole wheat flour (such as red fife or spelt)(I used fresh ground peeled wheat which is soft wheat)
15 g sourdough starter or a pinch of dried yeast

Final Dough:

400 g all-purpose flour
150 g whole wheat flour (I used fresh ground Edison hard white wheat, sifted)
350-385 g water, divided (I hydrated mine more than this, full amount plus a bit)
Poolish (all of the above)
½ tsp instant yeast
10 g salt
30 g extra virgin olive oil
90 g mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, fennel, sesame, millet, poppy, etc.)
~½ cup water for soaking the seeds
1 cup ice cubes for steam

Make the poolish:

The night before you plan to make the bread, mix the 45g whole wheat flour, 45g water, and sourdough starter (or pinch of instant yeast) using a wooden spoon or dough whisk. Cover, and set aside at warm room temperature (75ºF / 25ºC) for 12 - 14 hours.

Roast the seeds:

The night before, or a couple hours before you prepare the final dough, preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Spread the seeds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 7 to 10 minutes.  Depending on the type and size of seeds you choose, it could take more or less time.  Watch the seeds so they don’t burn.  (Seeds can also be dry pan toasted, which requires vigilance to prevent burning.)

Immediately transfer the roasted seeds into a small bowl and cover with ¼ to ½ cup of water. Let the seeds soak for 2 hours.  Drain the excess water before incorporating into the dough.

Make the dough:

You can use a stand mixer to mix this dough, but isn’t necessary.  (I used a stand mixer, really reduces the time necessary to develop the gluten and incorporate the extra water, but this can also be done with extra folds and time.)

In a large bowl, mix together the flours and 325g water.  Cover, let rest 15 minutes.  (My flours required a couple extra tbsp water to fully hydrate.)

Add the poolish, along with the salt and instant yeast and mix well.  The dough should be slightly sticky.

Drizzle in olive oil and mix until incorporated.  Fold in the seeds.  Add in additional water, a little at a time, if necessary and continue to mix until you have a smooth and elastic dough.

Place dough in oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.  (I don't often oil a bowl, but for a highly hydrated dough like this, it preserves the structure when turning out.)

After the first hour, uncover and fold the dough. Recover and let rest for 1 hour.

Dust a work surface with flour. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (~280 grams each).  Fold each piece over itself and stretch into a log.  Cover the dough pieces with a damp towel and let rest 15 minutes. 

 Take one piece of dough. Leave the other pieces covered. Using the palm of your hand, flatten it very gently.  Fold a third of the dough (long side) toward the center and press along the edge with your fingers or the side of your hand. Fold the other long edge towards the center and press the seam closed with your fingers.  Continue shaping the other 3 loaves the same way.  (I would not do the fold over, as I think it deflates some of the nice bubbles. I simply divided and very gently stretched the dough into the traditional slipper shape.)

If desired, coat the loaves with additional seeds (not soaked).  Transfer the loaves seam side down to a parchment lined baking sheet or seam side up on a baker’s couche heavily dusted with flour. 

Cover with a damp cloth and let the loaves proof for 1 hour.

During the final proof, preheat the oven to 460ºF with a baking stone on the lower middle rack and a steam pan or iron skillet on the top rack.

Transfer the loaves (on their baking sheet) to the baking stone and immediately place 1 cup of ice cubes in the steam pan.

Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan partway through for even baking.  The loaves should sound hollow when thumped lightly on the bottom.

Remove the loaves from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Brush lightly with olive oil.  (Oops, forgot that part.)

The rest of the Bread Baking Babes

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
  
• Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
• My Diverse Kitchen - Aparna
• Bread Experience - Cathy
• Thyme for Cooking - Katie
• My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
• Feeding My Enthusiasms - Elle 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories - Karen