Instructions

1. Choose a ciabatta recipe from a reliable book or website, and mix it as directed. You can do it by hand in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon, or use the paddle attachment -- not the dough hook -- of your stand mixer, or the dough cycle of your bread machine.

2. Cover the dough and let it rise until nearly doubled in bulk, or as directed in your recipe. When it has fully expanded, dust your work surface heavily with flour and turn out the dough. It will spread into a wide, flat oblong.

3. Wet your hands under cold water, so the dough won't stick to them. Reach under the dough, then lift and separate your hands to stretch the dough. Don't press down on it, as you would with conventional bread, because you don't want to squeeze out any air unnecessarily.

4. Fold the dough from both sides to the middle, then from the top and bottom to the middle, to make a compact bundle. Return it to your mixing bowl, and let it rise again. Some recipes recommend repeating the stretching and folding process a second time, which improves the length and quality of the gluten strands.

5. Turn out the dough a final time after the second rise, or third rise if you've done one. Stretch the dough as before, then moisten the blade of a thin knife or dough scraper and use it to divide the dough into rough rectangles for each loaf.

6. Fold each rectangle of dough as you would with a letter, bringing the outer third from each side to the middle. It should form a loose oblong with its seam on the top, rather than on the bottom, to inflate properly in the oven and make the classic "slipper" shape.

7. Bake the loaves as directed in a hot oven, so they'll puff and create the ciabatta's signature open network of large holes.