🪷Recipe for Italian Biga • 25% Whole Wheat Ciabata Bread ("Super High Moisture Content Bread")

Mix whole wheat flour and high-gluten flour evenly.

Pour the yeast into the water, stir well, and then pour it into the dry powder.

Without kneading, use chopsticks to stir until it forms dough flakes and there is no dry flour left in the bowl.

Pour the dough into a storage box, seal it, and let it ferment at room temperature for 5 hours.

Transfer to refrigerate overnight for fermentation for 46 hours, up to a maximum of 72 hours. This is the state after 5 hours of room temperature fermentation, for a total of 51 hours, resulting in a very strong alcoholic aroma. 👍

Prepare fine salt and yeast, set aside.

Take out the fermented whole wheat Biga starter, add water and knead the dough. Add 156 grams of water in 3-4 batches, do not add it all at once.

Knead the dough for about 4 minutes, then add 10 grams of salt and knead for another 7 minutes. Add 5 grams of dry yeast and knead until the dough is just about to separate from the bowl. The dough temperature should not be high! The dough should be moist but not sticky! (Xiaomei: Kneading mode/9 minutes)

It has a moisture content of 88.33%, is very soft, but clumps together well.

Very wet but not sticky to the spatula, it clumps together.

Take out the dough and fold it in half 15 times. The gluten should not break easily, it should not stick to the work surface, and the dough should be smooth, firm, and have a good curve without collapsing. If the gluten breaks, it means the dough was not kneaded properly. You can refrigerate it for a while and knead it again, paying attention to the dough temperature.

Grease the fermentation container

Proof at room temperature (24℃) for 1 hour and 50 minutes. It is best to ferment in a rectangular box to facilitate shaping.

The risen dough will jiggle. Preheat the oven to 230℃ (at least 30-40 minutes).

Sprinkle with dry flour and invert the dough to release its shape.

Sprinkle more dry flour to prevent sticking

Divide into 6 equal parts, each weighing approximately 105 grams. Precision is not required for each part to be exactly the same weight.

Shape the dough using a very gentle technique, without pressing to release air. Technique: Hold the top of the bread with your left hand, and use a plastic dough cutter in your right hand to push the dough inward at a 45° angle until all four sides are smooth.

After shaping one, turn it upside down onto a leavening cloth sprinkled with dry powder.

For regular ovens without steam or a baking stone, consider preheating a cast iron skillet. After searing in a cast iron skillet, no parchment paper is needed as the bottom is non-stick. Place the skillet in a cold skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes, then transfer it to an oven baking tray to bake.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 230℃ for 8 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and bake for another 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Let it cool completely before cutting.