Ciabatta - bread at its most versatile?

This versatile bread was reputedly devised quite recently as an Italian alternative and rival, to the French baguette. Made following the traditional Italian bread making method of using a preferment called a 'biga' and with a high water content almost guarantees a tasty open texture and the elongated shape ensures you get a high proportion of chewy crust. 

I often make Ciabatta as I love to eat this tasty mini loaf in so many different ways - to dig shards into pasta sauces or lasagne, as a robust vehicle for whatever sandwich filling you can cram in; or split and toasted, rubbed with a garlic clove and topped with tomatoes or almost any other topping of choice, to make the best bruschetta.  This time? Bacon sandwich.

Recipe: Richard Bertinet, Crust.

Fruit & Cinnamon Sourdough

Taking some inspiration from a recipe I found on the Sourdough Companion website (sourdough.com) I used up some left over dried fruit (raisins, sultanas and apricots) to make these fruity loaves; one for the freezer and the other for breakfast this weekend.  

Up until the shaping stage was the same as my usual sourdough method but after the dough had been rested (3 hours in total at room temperature) the fruit needed to be added.  I flattened the dough as gently as I could and folded it around the fruit for as long as I dared, conscious of the need to distribute the fruit evenly but at the same time not wanting to damage the structure created whilst the dough had rested.  After gentle shaping and another 2.5 hours rest I baked them for 45 mins @230c.  Where the dough burst and expanded this exposed some fruit to the full heat of the oven burning it black, but these brushed off and left some good looking, moist and not at all dense bread - perfect for toasting!

French T65 flour mini-baguettes

For some time I have tried to replicate the texture and taste of French bread that I've had when holidaying several times in Normandy.  I have been able to make some satisfying mini-baguettes (170g - size and length dictated by my domestic oven) and this has been through the use of preferments and high hydration recipes.  However this has been using my usual strong white flour rather than the lower protein French flours that are available.  

On my first attempt using T65 French flour it appeared to take longer for the dough to come together when mixing/kneading but ultimately produced some mini-baguettes with a crispier crust and a soft and open crumb.  I shall definitely be turning to French flour in the future when trying to capture those holiday memories!

World Bread Awards - Ale Sourdough

I've made my own bread at home for several years. Initially this was as a result of receiving a bread-making machine as a present.  Later through curiosity and a desire to experiment this evolved to hand-made loaves guided by a variety of books and information found on-line. I've had a lot of fun exploring the world of bread, graduating from the basics to sourdough and I've even installed a wood-fired oven which is great fun, for pizzas in particular. 

When I heard about the World Bread Awards and that there was a category for amateurs to enter I couldn't resist the temptation to formulate a recipe and send off a couple of loaves.  I combined my love of bread with another of my passions, beer. Although a simple recipe I enjoyed the process of experimenting with different proportions and a few beers, finally settling on using dark and malty Brown Ale to give both extra colour and taste to the crust and crumb.  

My expectations were not great so I wasn't too disappointed to receive an e-mail saying that my entry was not one of the finalists but I was curious to find out whether I had done enough to get an award for my loaves. After spending the evening of the awards following twitter updates about the winners of each category I was amazed to find out that my bread had received a Gold award! Of course I enjoy eating my bread and have had some appreciative comments from family and friends (the experimenting process in particular meant I produced plenty to share) but to get this kind of feedback from experts has given my confidence an enormous boost. Congratulations to this year's winners and I can't wait to have another go next year! 

http://www.worldbreadawards.com/competition/winners/