Chef John’s Whole Wheat Ciabatta

by

Description

I decided to give the old no-knead ciabatta a higher-fiber makeover. Since I don’t have much whole wheat baking experience, I did what any good chef would do: I didn’t do any research and just tried to figure it out. I was quite happy with the taste and texture, and going 50/50 with the all-purpose flour provided just enough of that crusty, chewy ‘normal’ bread experience.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup warm water
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup whole wheat flour
  • ¼ cup rye flour
  • ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup water at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons shelled sunflower seeds
  • 1 tablespoon polenta
  • 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
  • 1 ¾ teaspoons salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, or as needed
  • ½ teaspoon cornmeal, or as needed
  • water as needed

Instructions

  1. Stir 1 cup warm water
  2. 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  3. 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  4. 1/4 cup rye flour
  5. and yeast together in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit until the sponge bubbles and doubles in volume
  6. 5 to 6 hours.
  7. Stir 1 cup all-purpose flour
  8. 1 cup whole wheat flour
  9. 1/2 water
  10. sunflower seeds
  11. polenta
  12. flax seeds
  13. salt
  14. and honey into sponge with a wooden spoon until a very sticky dough ball forms
  15. about 3 minutes. Scrape down the the sides of the bowl
  16. cover bowl with plastic wrap
  17. and let dough rise until doubled in volume
  18. 10 hours to overnight.
  19. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust parchment paper with 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour and cornmeal.
  20. Scrape dough out of bowl onto a lightly floured work surface
  21. press down to remove air
  22. and form into a smooth oval loaf. Place dough on the prepared baking sheet. Dust top of loaf lightly with flour
  23. cover with plastic wrap
  24. and let rise until doubled in size
  25. about 1 1/2 hours.
  26. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a baking dish filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven.
  27. Remove plastic wrap from risen dough and mist the top of the dough with water.
  28. Bake loaf in the preheated oven
  29. misting the top of the loaf with water every 8 to 10 minutes
  30. until loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped
  31. 30 to 35 minutes total. Transfer bread to a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing.

Prep Time: 45 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 18 hrs 15 mins

Servings: 12

Leave a Comment