Ciabatta Bread from Scratch!

On Michael Ruhlman's blog, he is dedicating this month to bread making from scratch. A recipe was posted here for a fabulous recipe from Two Sisters Bakery up in Homer, Alaska for Ciabatta bread from scratch. The pictures were mouth-watering, and I just knew I had to try my hand at it.

It was a great success! The process is a bit fussy, but I think alot of that was my lack of confidence that I wasn't royally f***ing everything up. Was my starter too dry in this Utah air? I think it looks funny! Oh good, it wasn't dry at all. Will the starter break down enough when I add the rest of the dough ingredients? Is it rising properly? Did I stir it down enough? Blah, blah, blah... but as Carri from the bakery said "Trust the process... it works!". It really does as long as you follow the recipe, which I hawked over throughout the entire process.

I was probably never buy another loaf of bread again (well, maybe French Bread, since that one is a little beyond me right now). Once I got over the insecurities I had, it was a remarkably easy process. And the end result was AMAZING! When my husband tried it he started to think of a hundred ways he could enjoy it. :-) It's chewy, and light, and has a delicate flavor (and the holes are even an appropriate size, considering how dry it is here in UT). Do it!