Ciabatta Bread!

I made ciabatta bread on Sunday and it was such a success that I made a double batch today. Ciabatta is a semi-flat, chewy, Italian type bread. I saw them make it on American's Test Kitchen and gave it a try. It was AWESOME! I've been trying to figure out how to make a rustic, European bread for years and I think I'm onto something...

So you start the bread with a "biga" or sourdough starter...it's just flour, yeast and water that's sat on the counter for 8-24 hours, then you put it in a mixer bowl with the remaining ingredients, more flour, more yeast, more water, salt and a little milk. You mix it for 6 minutes with a paddle, then attach a hook and mix it for 10 minutes until it gets shiny, sticky and clings to itself:You let it rise for 2 hours, folding it in on itself 2 different times during the last hour.Then you dump it out on a floured counter, divide it in 2, gently shape each half with floured fingers into a 12 X 6 inch rectangle. Then you fold the rectangle into thirds and allow it to rise 30 minutes on parchment paper. (This is a double batch, so there's 4 loaves.) Cute little bubbles start to form on the top of the loaves as it rises. That's a good sign.You preheat the oven to 450 degrees, mist the loaves with water, then slide the loaves onto a pre-heated pizza stone. Mist the loaves twice more during the first 5 minutes, then allow the loaves to cook for a total of about 22 minutes.The loaves should look kind of like this when they're done.The bread should have lots of little holes and a chewy texture. I guess it's good for sandwiches...we haven't had it last long enough for a sandwich yet.