Emila, Emilia, who the f* is Emilia?
Just in time before the baking activities take the pre-Christmas spin towards cookies and Panettone, I have another Mediterranean and “highly explosive” content for you here on #brotokoll.
Crumb, crust, aroma, open crumb included – here comes a new ciabatta creation with “big bang effect” !
L’esplosiva
This ciabatta is the best example of the fact that in a recipe sometimes only one type of flour may be enough to pull an entirely great result in every aspect out of the oven: flavor, fermentation, freshness, lightness, juiciness, crunch…
The new “Grande Dame” of the flour scene is beautifully called “Emilia”.
Emilia – Italian Tipo 2 flour by Molino Pasini
Emilia (available at bon’gu) is the result of my unspoken and unofficial activity as a flour-truffle hog (quote: Manfred Schellin). The reason is simple: I am always chasing “new material” in the wide and big flour universe.
What I was missing in the Italian squad for a long time was a Tipo 2 flour with great strength, good stability, high water absorption and tolerance for long fermentation times (in terms of milling, Tipo 2 is the preliminary stage of wholemeal flour in Italy and is most comparable with Austrian W1600 or French T80).
“Emilia” (spotted at Molino Pasini) convinced me already at the very first bake (the name is derived from the region of its origin: Emilia Romagna) and I’m very happy that you all finally have access to this flour-sweetheart via bongu.de.
Ciabatta with Pasta Madre Biga
Emilia’s fantastic aroma, the ability to absorb a lot of water, the resistance during long fermentation times – not to forget the great extensibility of the doughs…all those facts were literally roaring for a new ciabatta recipe.
But this time we don’t just rely on a Pasta Madre Biga to leaven our dough… no, we go for 100% Pasta Madre Biga…..whaaat?
100% preferment
This ciabatta dough is in fact made of 100% preferment (Pasta Madre Biga).
Our Biga first ferments for 24 hours at 5 degrees Celsius, followed by another 18-20 hours at 17 degrees Celsius. Then only water, salt and olive oil are added to the Biga. Not a single gram of flour. How awesome is that??
Watch out for a deep dive and all hints on how to set up a great Biga in the recipes: “WTF… What The Foc-accia: Open Crumb Focaccia with Pasta Madre Biga” or “Il Baguettino”).
Hit me baby one more time
Also the mixing method is much different than the one you might be used to: In this recipe, the gluten develop comfortably over about 40 hours during the Biga’s fermentation. In the main dough it is then just a matter of tickling out all the remaining gluten-potential that is still in play.
The water is not added gradually, but right at the start and in the entire quantity.
The kneading (rather beating this time) is done at the highest speed-level during the whole mixing phase (see all details below in the recipe notes ).
And remember: this Ciabatta dough will ferment much faster, because you already have 100% pre-fermented dough in your hands!
You see? L’ esplosiva has it all in several ways.
And at the latest with the first bite it is clear: Emilia, Emilia, yes…we know who is Emilia!
Tag your results with #brotokoll on Instagram & Facebook. I can’t wait to see your results!
For even more tipps, tricks and recipes, join me in one of my upcoming workshops! Check out my #brotokoll workshops overview. For individual workshop requests (individual coaching and /or live baking via WhatsApp, Zoom & Skype) send me a message!
Happy baking!
I have to mention at this point that this is an unsponsored blog post – however, as for transparency reasons I inform you that the * marked links are affiliate ones. The final sales price for you doesn’t change in any way!
- 405 g Emilia (Italian Tipo 2, W390) available at bongu.de
- 344 g Water
- 12 g Pasta madre (Lievito madre) 1-2 times refreshed
- 12 g Oliveoil
- 11 g Salt
TA (Hydration) 188 (88%) Ingredients
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170g Water (cold, use the described formula for calculation!)
12g Pasta Madre
The required Pasta Madre amount for the Biga is taken from the (weekly/daily) refreshment of your Pasta Madre (Lievito Madre) ! To balance the acidity correctly, 1-2 refreshments will be necessary.
The refreshments are done at a 1:1 ratio with 45% water. That means (e.g. 20g of your Pasta Madre/Lievito Madre/stiff starter): you feed 20g of your starter with 20g flour and 9g water. The water temperature should be around 25-27 degrees Celsius.
Before the first feeding (right after taking your Pasta Madre out of the fridge) I recommend to do a so called „bagnetto“, in order to get rid of the high acidity load, which was built during the days without "fresh food" in the fridge. For the bagnetto you simply soak the Pasta Madre (cut into slices) in water (water temperature: 18 degrees Celsius - the water amount should be around three times the Pasta Madre's weight, you are going to soak) with a bit of sugar for 15-20 minutes. Now, squeeze out all the water and proceed with the feeding (adding fresh water and flour).
After each feeding let your Pasta Madre mature at 27-28 degrees Celsius until the Pasta Madre at least doubles in size. As described above, 12g of your matured Pasta Madre (after the first or second refreshment - depending on your Pasta Madre's strength) will be used for the Biga.
Now let's proceed with the Biga: The Biga requires a consistently stable fermentation temperature of 18-20 degrees Celsius (those who are not equipped with a wine refrigerator will find this ambient temperature in the cellar or e.g. in the garage). Depending on this temperature, the water temperature for the Biga is calculated. This is easily done with the following formula:
55 (fixed value) minus ambient temperature (the said 18-20 degrees Celsius) minus flour temperature (usually this is your room temperature or the temperature of the room where you store your flour). Calculation example: Garage with 18 degrees Celsius, kitchen temperature (or storage temperature of your flour) 22 degrees Celsius. The required water temperature is therefore: 55-18-22= 15 degrees Celsius!
For the Biga, you first dissolve the Pasta Madre with your fingers in the indicated amount of water (don't forget to calculate the temperature as explained before!). Then add the flour and mix everything by hand.
Attention! Gluten should not yet be developed when mixing the Biga! However, it is important that all particles come into contact with the water (similar to the autolyse of our doughs). In the end only walnut-sized lumps should remain (as you can see in the article above). If too many of these lumps are already stuck together, simply tear them apart with your hand. Make sure that no loose flour is left over - this would not ferment and your Biga would be "farinosa" ("floury").
Now put the Biga into a container and cover it with cloths or a lid (not airtight!). The container is then moved to the 18-20 degrees Celsius room of your choice and the Biga rests and ferments for 18-20 hours.
For an even deeper aroma profile, let the Biga ferment at 5 degrees Celsius (the 5 degrees have to be considered when you calculate the required water temperature) for 24 hours, followed by another 18-20 hours at 17 degrees Celsius!
174g Water (cold)
10g Salt
12g Oliveoil
First, knead the Pasta Madre Biga and the entire quantity of water for about 2-3 minutes on slow speed level with your kitchen machine. Then, add the salt and increase the speed to its maximum! After about 10 minutes the dough should be completely detached from the bowl. Now you add the olive oil at medium speed and continue kneading until it is completely absorbed by the dough.
Pour the dough into a well greased container, cover and let it rest for about 30 minutes at 25 degrees room temperature.
After 5-10 minutes of waiting time, turn each Ciabatta over with a quick (but careful) movement with a dough scraper (the Ciabatta's bottom becomes the top). Now take a second dough scraper (or use your hand, but very gently) and carefully lift the ciabatta onto a piece of parchment paper (floured and slightly larger than the Ciabatta's size).
The indicated recipe quantities are for 3 Ciabatte of 260g each.
Don't miss the Biga and Pasta Madre Biga info-section in the recipe: WTF...What The Foc-accia!
Do you have specific questions or issues? Contact me via the contact form. I am happy to help you.
