Ciabatta
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Ciabatta (Template:IPAc-en, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; Template:Literally)<ref name="Oxford Companion"/> is an Italian white bread created in 1982<ref name='baking-history'/><ref name='briccosalumeria'/> by a baker in Adria, Veneto, in response to the popularity of French baguettes.<ref name='baking-history'/><ref name='briccosalumeria'/> Ciabatta is somewhat elongated, broad, and flat, and is baked in many variations, although unique for its alveolar holes. Ciabatta is made with a strong flour and uses a very high hydration dough.<ref name='Guardian-1999-1'/><ref name='briccosalumeria'/><ref name='baking-history'/>
EtymologyEdit
The name was given to the bread because of its flat, oval shape. In Italian, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means 'carpet slipper'.<ref name="vocabulary" />
ItalyEdit
Ciabatta bread was first produced in 1982,<ref name="baking-history" /><ref name="briccosalumeria" /> by Arnaldo Cavallari, who called the bread {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} after Polesine, the area he lived in. The recipe was subsequently licensed by Cavallari's company, Molini Adriesi, to bakers in 11 countries by 1999. Cavallari and other bakers in Italy were concerned by the popularity of sandwiches made from baguettes imported from France,<ref name="baking-history" /><ref name="briccosalumeria" /> which were endangering their businesses, and so set about trying to create an Italian alternative with which to make sandwiches.<ref name="baking-history" /><ref name="briccosalumeria" /> The recipe for ciabatta came about after several weeks of trying variations of traditional bread recipes and consists of a soft, wet dough made with high gluten flour.<ref name="Guardian-1999-1" />
Many regions have their own variations on the original recipe or a bread that closely resembles ciabatta and has become accepted as a variety of ciabatta; the ciabatta from the area encompassing Lake Como has a crisp crust, a somewhat soft, porous texture, and is light to the touch. The ciabatta found in Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche regions varies from bread that has a firm crust and dense crumb to bread that has a crisper crust and more open texture. In Rome, it is often seasoned with marjoram.<ref name=theartisan/>
New variations of the recipe continue to be developed. Whole-wheat ciabatta is known as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and when milk is added to the dough, it becomes {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name=theartisan/>
Other countriesEdit
Ciabatta bread was introduced to the United Kingdom in 1985 by Marks & Spencer, then to the United States in 1987 by Orlando Bakery, a Cleveland firm.<ref name='Guardian-1999-1'/><ref name=orlandobaking/>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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