Homemade Ciabatta Bread

First, make the easy dough. Set up a stand mixer with a dough hook and pour the flour in. Then add the yeast and salt, but keep them separate in the bowl. Finally, add about a cup of the cold water and turn the mixer on low speed. Slowly add more water until you have a soft dough. You may not need all of the water. Continue to let the dough hook do its work for 8–10 minutes. Then get out a large (at least 3 1/3 liter) square container with a lid and lightly drizzle it with olive oil. Turn the dough out into the container and make sure it is even. Put on the lid and set it aside at room temperature to almost triple in size for 1 1/2 hours.

When the time is up and the dough is huge, dust a clean work surface really well with more flour and semolina. Also get out two sheet trays and line them with silicone mats. Dust them well also. Turn the dough out gently onto the work surface gently, without deflating it or making it lose its shape. Dust more flour and semolina on the top. Cut it lengthwise into 4 equal loaves, then stretch each of them out just a bit to be a little longer. Transfer two loaves to each of the prepared sheets and set them aside to rise for another half hour to 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425ºF when loaves finish rising. Bake loaves for about 25 minutes—they should become crisp on the outside and sound hollow on the inside. Let them cool completely on racks, then serve immediately! It will also freeze well to use as you need it.