Ciabatta Rolls

Ingredients:

Biga:

• 4 ounces water

• 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

• 5 ounces whole wheat flour

Ciabatta:

• 17 fluid ounces water

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast

• 20 ounces whole wheat flour

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

• cassava flour for dusting

Utensils:

• mixing bowl

• wooden spoon

• kitchen towel or plastic wrap

• stand mixer and dough hook

• mixing spatula

• parchment paper

• pizza stone or 2 baking sheets

• bench scraper or pizza wheel

Instructions:

1. prepare ingredients

Biga:

1. get a mixing bowl and stir together 4 oz of water and 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast

2. add 5 oz of flour to the bowl and stir together to form a thick paste

3. give it about 50 vigorous stirs to build up the gluten

4. cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set it to the side at room temperature for at least 8 hours or overnight; by the next day the biga will look soupy and bubbly

Ciabatta:

1. in the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together 17 oz of water with 1 tsp of active dry yeast

2. add all of the biga into the water and break it up with your spatula to loosen it up into stringy blobs

3. add 20 oz of whole wheat flour to the bowl

4. add 2 tsp of salt to the bowl and mix it together until a thick, wet dough forms

5. set the bowl aside for 10-20 minutes to give the flour some time to absorb the water

6. fit your stand mixer with a dough hook and place the bowl on the mixer

7. mix the dough at medium speed for 15-18 minutes

8. around the 7 minute mark the dough wills tart to pull away from the bottom and sides of the bowl, collect around the dough hook, and will regularly slap the sides of the bowl. If it doesn't then turn the speed up on your mixer; if the dough starts climbing the dough hook, stop the mixer and scrape it down

9. at the end of kneading, the dough should be smooth and creamy with a glossy shine

10. cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rise at 70°F-75°F for 2-3 hours until tripled in size

11. dust your work surface heavily with cassava flour

12. set 2 pieces of parchment paper near your work surface

13. scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the floured surface, taking care not to deflate it too much

14. dust the top of the dough with more cassava flour

15. use a bench scraper to cut the dough in half then cut each half into 6 equal pieces; you should end up with 12 rolls

16. brush your hands with cassava flour and work gently to scoop the rolls one at a time equally onto the two pieces of parchment paper

17. press your fingertips about halfway into the dough to dimple the surface and very slightly flatten the rolls

18. let the rolls rise, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes or until they look pillowy with many big bubbles just beneath the surface

19. while the loaves are rising, preheat the oven to 475°F and place a pizza stone in the oven now if you have one

20. when the loaves are ready for baking, slide the loaves still on the parchment directly onto a pizza peel or the baking sheets

21. transfer them to the oven either on the pizza stone or keep them on the baking sheet if you don't have one and bake at 475°F for 20-30 minutes until puffed and golden brown

22. slip the parchment paper out from under the loaves and cool completely before eating

Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter or in the fridge to last longer. Use the rolls for sandwich buns or as a roll to serve on the side with pasta or soup.