DOUGH (DOH!)

I have been dabbing my hand in bread making again. However there is no dabbing in this dough, there should be a warning in Paul Hollywood's book "How To Bake" saying DO NOT ATTEMPT TO KNEAD BY HAND! Why, you may ask.. Well, it's messy and very very gooey and wet. Mixing Ciabatta dough should only be done in a mixer. 

Saying that, and after A LOT of cleaning up I realised how wonderful and easy this dough is. After it has been mixed you place it into a well oiled (olive oil!) rectangular container. Then leave it to double, even triple, in size, once it has grown significantly you tip it out onto a floured surface and cut the dough into four strips, stretch out a little, pop onto the baking tray, leave to rest, in the over for twenty minutes and DONE. Easy? Very!! 

This recipe makes four ciabatta sticks and my batch was gone by the next morning. Most of it was enjoyed warms with spicy sausage casserole and a glass of red, it could not have been more perfect. This is definitely one to make again. 

If you're a baking fan, I have only recently bought this book and have also purchased the Leon Baking and Puddings book and cannot recommend them highly enough. Both are filled with tons of hints and tips to get the best results and I can see that both of them will spend most of their time on the worktop and not on the bookshelf!

L x