We love Bread. Often we tell people that we are on the Non-Atkins or Carb overload diet. We especially love Artisan bread. In Logan, Utah, our favorite bakery was Crumb Brothers . In the mornings, I would go to the Logan recreation outdoor pool – A great and sorely missed 50-yard pool with steam rolling off in the early dawn – and after a great swim, I would stop and usually buy a lemon scone. Tasty scones! If by chance you happen to be in the Northern Utah region make the trip to Crumb Brothers and buy a scone, but get there early, they go quickly. Last time we happened to be in Logan, we stopped. They were out of delicious melt in your mouth lemon scones, so instead, we picked up a ciabatta loaf. Most of that loaf was eaten on our drive from Sardine Canyon to Happy Valley. I always craved not only the taste but the ability to make my own Artisan bread. It can’t be too hard, right? All you need is flour, yeast and water. So, recently we invested in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice cookbook. I then set a goal to make a respectable loaf of ciabatta.

Ciabatta is known for a couple of things: big and shiny holes (the distinctive crumb), slipper shape (the derivation of its name), and the acidic yeasty flavor. These three things define a respectable loaf of ciabatta and became my goal.

Attempt #1:The dough for ciabatta is a wet dough. I am apparently still an apprentice with wet dough. I have yet to master the correct hydration for this bread. The bread is supposed to be 33% water. My first loaf did not meet the standard. My loaf puffed up and appeared bloated, therefore losing the slipper shape. The crumb remained only on the top portion of the loaf, revealing my tendency to degas a loaf. But, the taste of this loaf was good, not great, but tasty, similar to ciabatta, edible.

 

Attempt #2: In my first attempt, I thought I had messed up on the kneading portion of the bread. In an attempt to remedy the situation, I fouled up the hydration of this loaf. Simply stated, I needed more water. There was no crumb to these loafs. The slipper shape was good, yet the taste and look make this artisan bread appear to be nothing more than a normal loaf of white bread. Good, but not great. One great thing about making this bread is the sound of cracking after the bread comes out of the oven.

The third attempt to making this bread is in the works. Sorry, I know you were anticipating a triumphant story. There is some good news to come, but, with the ciabatta, I now know that hydration is key, I hope. But I had to write and trumpet a success. My success today was Pain de campagne or “country bread” in French. It is a sour bread, but not as sour as American sourdough. I tried the Epis shape for this bread. It is meant to resemble a sheaf of wheat. It was delicious and is gone! This bread is easier to make then the ciabatta and the flavor was perfect.

A success for the books and hopefully the price of flour plateaus so that we can continue our artisan bread making.

- Doug