These ciabatta rolls or buns have a crispy, crackling crust, open pores, and a delicate crumb, giving them a distinctive flavor and texture that is truly a delight to eat.
In a large container with a lid add lukewarm water, and sprinkle in the yeast. Mix the two together.
Dump in the flour followed by the salt and bring it all together to form a dough using a wooden spoon.
Once the flour is all mixed in, close the container with a lid and let it prove for 3 hours in a warm place or simply on your countertop at room temperature.
After 3 hours, you would see that the dough has risen well with excellent yeast activity that is so visible. At this stage we will start doing the stretch and fold technique to develop gluten structure. In the span of the next 1.5 hours, we will be doing the stretch and fold technique 3 times.
Wet your hands and then lift the dough from one side that is stretch it from one side and bring it to the center to fold over. Repeat this from all four sides of the container by giving it a quarter turn each time.
Close the lid and allow it to prove for the next 30 mins. After which come back and repeat the steps all over that is wet your hands, do the stretch and fold in all 4 directions, prove for 30 mins. So in all, you do 3 sets of folds in a total of 1.5 hours.
Shaping
After the final proof time, tip the container over a well floured work surface. You do not have to do anything, the dough would slide down on its own.
Slowly and gently stretch the dough to bring it to a rectangular shape. Then divide it into 6 rectangles using a bench scraper.
Gently lift them up using two bench scrapers at a time and transfer the dough to a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
Baking
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to the highest temperature available. In my case, it is 250 degrees Celsius. You would also require hot boiling water while putting the bread to bake so keep that ready too.
After 30 minutes, first, place a baking pan filled with hot boiling water on the lower rack of the hot oven and then place the proofed bread dough on the middle rack.
Add some ice cubes in the bottom of the oven to create steam, or if you have a spray bottle, you can spray some mist of water on top of the dough too.Just remember to work quickly so that the temperature doesn't fall.
Then quickly close the oven door, and reduce the oven temperature to 210 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. You can bake for an additional 4 to 6 minutes to get an extra-crusty crust if desired.
Once baked transfer it to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely before slicing and enjoying.
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Notes
No matter which bread recipe you are making, make sure that you are using ingredients in the right order and right temperature. For example, always use lukewarm water - not too cold nor too hot. Yeast and Salt should never be added together as salt retards yeast activity.
This being a high-hydration sticky dough, it is not possible to knead the dough. So make sure you are giving ample time for slow fermentation which results in better gluten structure forming air bubbles while the dough rise leading to a chewy texture and airy crumb.
Always use (a) wet hands while handling the dough, (b) dust the dough with enough flour in the shaping stages and (c) use a bench scrapper with gentle hands when needed. This would make it easier to do the stretch and fold technique as well as to shape the dough.
The best part is you need not worry about shaping the bread dough. The more rustic the shaping is the more artistic the final output would be. Just note that in the process you are very careful about not deflating the well-risen dough.
Do not forget to use the preheated oven. The bread dough has to hit the hot oven to get the crusty top.
Add steam to the oven. This is crucial especially in the initial few minutes of baking for the bread to get a good oven spring. You can do this by adding ice cubes to the bottom of your oven or by adding a mist of water on top of the bread dough. Whichever method you choose make sure to act quickly so that there is minimal fluctuation in the oven temperature.