Another one of Peter Reinhart’s recipes from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice book.  Adapted from the Wild Mushroom Ciabatta recipe on page 141, I used the Poolish version and doubled the recipe.  I ended up with 3 smaller loaves that were tasty and chewy but without the coveted “holes” inside the bread.  According to Reinhart, this is the most popular bread among his students.

Poolish (makes 23 ounces)

• 11.25 ounces of unbleached bread flour (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 12 ounces water at room temperature (about 1 1/2 cups)
• .03 ounces instant yeast (approx 1/4 tsp)

Stir together flour, water and yeast in a mixing bowl until all flour is hydrated. Dough should be soft and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours or until sponge becomes bubbly and foamy. Immediately refrigerate and will keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Mushroom Ciabatta

Ingredients:

• 22.75 ounces poolish (about 3 1/4 cups)
• 13.5 ounces unbleached bread flour (about 3 cups)
• .44 ounce salt (1 3/4 tsp)
• .17 ounce instant yeast (about 1 1/2 tsp)
• 3 to 6 ounces lukewarm water (or milk) 6 tbs to 3/4 cup
• cornmeal flour for dusting
• 1/4 cup drieed shiitake mushrooms broken into pieces, soaked in about 6 tbs of water
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or mashed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Make sure poolish is at room temperature before using.
2. Stir together flour, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl.  Add poolish and 6 tbs of water. Mix until all ingredients form a sticky ball. Add additional water as needed if there is still some loose flour.
3. Continue mixing for about 5 to 7 minutes or until dough is smooth and the ingredients are evenly distributed. Reinhart’s book explains in detail how to mix if using an electric mixer or by hand.  I used my hands and just repeatedly dipped them in cold water before working the dough.
4. Sprinkle enough flour on your workspace. Using a bowl scraper or spatula, transfer sticky dough to bed of flour and proceed with stretch and fold method. I am still working on perfecting this part so I suggest you search the internet for videos or illustrated instructions on how to do it. I have yet to come up with ciabatta that has “airy, irregular holes”  like this one made by Jude.
   
5. Mist the top of dough with oil, then dust with flour and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 3o minutes. Stretch and fold again and then cover with plastic wrap. Let ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  It should swell but not double in size.
6. In the meantime, saute the garlic in olive oil over medium heat until soft. Strain shiitake mushrooms and add to the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside to cool.
7. Back to the dough, carefully remove the plastic wrap from the dough and divide into 3 equal pieces.  Stretch and fold again, sprinkling some of the sauteed mushrooms on the dough every time you fold until all have been incorporated between the folds. Mist with oil, dust with flour and cover.
8. Proof for 45 to 60 minutes at room temperature or until dough has noticeable swelled.
9. Preheat oven to 500F. Make sure you have an empty steam or broiler pan on any of the shelves.
10. Generously dust the back of a sheet pan with cornmeal. Lift the dough from each end and tug out to a length of 9 to 12 inches. If it bulges too much in the middles, gently dimple it down with your fingers to even out.
11. Place sheet pan with dough in oven. Pour 1 cup of hot water into the steam or broiler pan. Immediately close the oven door.
12. After 30 seconds, open oven door and spray sides of oven with water.  Close the door, lower the temperature to 450F and bake for 10 minutes.
13. Rotate loaves 180 degrees and continue baking for another 10 minutes or until done. The bread should register 205F in the center and should be golden in color.
14. The loaves will feel quite hard and crusty at first but will soften as it cools.
15. Transfer to cooling rach and allow to cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing or serving.

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