Saturday’s Ciabatta Bake-Along: 269 Comments, Zero Gatekeeping Yesterday we did something different. We all baked the same bread, at the same time, in the same thread. No “post when you’re done. ”No “see you next week.” Just real-time problem-solving, flour everywhere, and a comment thread that hit 269 replies. THE BREAD Quick Ciabatta. The 2-hour version. No overnight poolish. No three-day ferment. Just flour, water, yeast, and a willingness to trust wet dough. Recipe:https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/quick-ciabatta WHO SHOWED UP @Linda Glantz made smaller portions and nailed the silky dough texture. @Dave Whitney was first out of the oven with a heart-shaped ciabatta that made @Ann Snow’s day. @Debbie Piette said she’d never participated in something like this and loved every minute. @Candi Brown-McGriff fought through the flour dust and pulled off a beautiful open crumb. @Tracy Havlik went rogue with jalapeños and sharp cheddar. @Donna Angelo brought out her fancy couche and delivered bakery-quality results. @Jen Dolan’s crumb shot made everyone stop scrolling. @Sania Nicoson baked twice, once on Friday and once on Saturday, pushing for that perfect crumb. @Beth Erickson asked every question she had, which is exactly what that thread was for. @Angela Sides-McKay turned a pillowcase into a couche because “I don’t have the right equipment” wasn’t going to stop her. And @Ann Snow couldn’t bake with us because she was traveling, but she stayed in the thread cheering everyone on anyway. WHAT WE LEARNED Wet hands for sticky dough. Every single time. This is the ciabatta mantra. Water creates a barrier. Stop fighting the dough and work with it. Flour is your insurance policy. When @Dave Whitney said, “When Henry says a lot of flour, he means A LOT of flour,” he wasn’t exaggerating. Ciabatta will stick if you’re shy with flour. Speed isn’t the enemy. This bread went from bowl to table in under two hours. The crumb shots proved you don’t need a 72-hour timeline. The bread doesn’t know how long it took.

So I have been working on baguettes forever to try to get them perfect. I think today’s the closest I’ve come to getting my wanna be.

Good morning, bakers. Today’s Ciabatta Bake is happening, and I just posted the recipe above. If you’re baking along and run into questions, weird dough behavior, timing issues, or just want a second set of eyes, leave it right here in this thread. Recipe: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/quick-ciabatta?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share This will be our working chat for the day so everyone can see the questions and the fixes in real time. I’ll be checking in all day. If it makes sense later, I may pop open a short live, but for now this is home base. Let’s bake.

This one still tasted delicious, but I think it has a number of issues. I started it yesterday and baked off at 6 this morning and was juggling a dozen different things. Before I tell you what I think I could have done better, I'd love to hear what you think. 900g pre bake/ 72% hydration 85% white malted bread flour (11.5% protein) 5% WW 2% dark rye 20% stiff starter (50% hydration) 2% salt 450F in DO for 25 minutes/ uncovered for 20 minutes

Marge is 2 weeks old now. Predictably doubling, or more for a week. I'm transitioning from 12 hr feedings to 24 and changing the ratio so she moves slower. Also want to reduce discard. She's doing great! Problem is I have too much bread! I can only bake once a week or two. Just can't eat that much (and I have 4 small loaves in the freezer) I'd like to move Marge to the fridge but I'm unsure when. So much info out there! And I've seen a few articles saying a new starter shouldn't go into the fridge until 6 or 8 weeks! Because it's not mature enough. Is this true?