Ciabatta Rolls

I have a serious food crush on ciabatta bread. I think it is the light, airy inside paired with the lovely chewy, firm crust. I'm big on textures with my food, sometimes I just don't feel like the meal is done until I've had something crunchy. I like anything that combines multiple textures.

I have been looking for a good ciabatta roll recipe for a while. These are fantastic for any kind of sandwich, as well as for simply using them as a side with butter. I particularly like them for tuna sandwiches with a healthy amount of lettuce and tomato. The recipe is fairly easy, there is no sponge to prepare the day before, so you can start these at lunch and be eating them at dinner! Plus, you use a KitchenAid to do the kneading so no messy hands and flour all over the kitchen.

Ciabatta Rolls (makes 6-8 rolls)
4.5 C bread flour
2 cups water
2 teaspoons yeast
3 teaspoons salt

1. Mix together all the ingredients in the bowl of a KitchenAid mixer (or similar brand) with a paddle attachment until just combined. Let rest for 10 minutes.

2. With the paddle, beat dough well. When the dough combined and working like a very sticky dough (climbing up the paddle), change to the dough hook. Continue beating dough until it separates from the sides of the bowl and is almost coming off the bottom of the bowl.

3. Place into a well oiled container and let it triple. (about 2.5 hours)

4. Empty onto a floured counter and cut into squares. Spray with oil and dust with flour. Let rolls proof for about 45 minutes. During this time, preheat oven to 500° F.

5. After 45 minutes rolls should be puffy. Pick up and flip over onto a parchment covered baking sheet. This distributes the bubbles in the dough so you get even bubbles in the roll. You want to do the flip in one gentle motion so as not to disturb the bubbles too much.

6. Bake at 500° about 15-20 minutes, rotating halfway through. Check on them often, you want to take them out when they are golden. The oven is ridiculously hot, so it may be better to base your baking time off of color than the timer. Transfer to a rack. Try to allow them to cool a little before eating, but good luck with that!