I was scouring the internet one day, a few years back, looking for a solution to a computer problem and on a tech site I ran across this recipe. I’d been wanting to make bread, from scratch, and thought if a bunch of computer geeks could do it, then this domesticated mama could.
The recipe was called 1 Minute Bread and it sounded too simple to turn out good. Luckily I was very much wrong.
I’ve renamed the recipe to Fast & Easy Ciabata Bread – as the consistency is very much Ciabata like. I hope you give this a try and enjoy it as much as we have.
Here is the basic recipe, but give some herbs and spices a whirl – you almost can’t go wrong!
Fast & Easy Ciabata Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
4 C Flour (I used regular ol’ All Purpose)
2 C Warm Water
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
Directions:
Mix water, yeast & sugar in a large mixing bowl. Let proof. (Not sure what it means to proof the yeast? See below for details.) Meanwhile measure out your flour and salt. Once the yeast is proofed, add your dry ingredients. Just dump and stir. Mix into a heavy batter and don’t worry too much about it being lumpy and ugly at this stage. Cover with a greased sheet of plastic wrap and let rise in a warm location until double in size. In the meantime, prepare your baking sheet by moderately sprinkling it with a 25/75 mixture of flour and cornmeal. When the dough is risen, flop it out onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until done. Let cool on a cooling rack, cut and enjoy!
Proofing the yeast: Basically it means allowing the yeast to activate and start working in order to “prove” the yeast is still good and that your bread will rise. Once you’ve mixed your yeast, sugar & water, let sit for a spell. The active yeast will go to work on the sugar and a bubbly foam will start to form on the surface from the carbon dioxide being released. This foam is proof that the yeast is active, and once you see it, you can add the yeast to your bread dough.
Re-Inventing Vintage 