Very pleased with how my ciabatta loaves came out today. Credit where due: Paul Hollywood’s lavishly (loave-ishly?) illustrated book 100 Great Breads (Metro Books, 2004) is what first made me believe I could conquer this tricky Italian dough. I’ve since revised the recipe to my own needs, thus:

Start at bedtime.
Put one cup white flour, one cup whole wheat flour, one package yeast (I’m partial to Hodgson Mill Active Dry Yeast for Whole Grains, which is currently on sale at my neighborhood Stop & Shop) and one cup of water in a big mixing bowl.
(I honestly don’t know if the usual don’t-use-metal-equipment rules which govern sourdough recipes apply here. I have a lovely big red ceramic bowl, and I use that, with plastic or wooden spoons.)
Mix until smooth and goopy. Cover with a dishcloth. Let sit overnight.
In the morning, the mix will be an expansive bubbly mass which could win a starring role in a horror movie. Dump two more cups of white flour and one more cup of water into it and whack it back down to a doughy form. The mixture will still be goopy and unkneadable by hand. Add two or three tablespoons of olive oil. Stir it hard for several minutes. Keep scraping the sides of the bowl so it takes on the form of a wet oozy ball.
Let rise for at least two hours. (Today, I left it for something like five.)
The operative verb for what you do next is “tip”–that’s from Hollywood’s 100 Great Breads book, and it’s perfect. The dough is so fluid and sticky that you have to sluice it out of the bowl carefully with a spoon, dividing it in half as you “tip” it onto a floured wooden surface. Stretch each half of the dough (it’s more like batter) to a French-bread shaped lump about a foot long. Dust with a lot of flour on top, then lay a dishcloth over it and let rise for an hour or two.
After the time has passed , push each half of the sloppy mass back into some semblance of dough. Divide each half in two. Take these four pieces and put them on a dusted baking pan (I use a breadstone; they’re really worth the expense), shaped into long eight- to ten-inch loaf-shaped blobs. Cover with the dishcloth again and let rise another hour (or more). When the rise has hit the 45-minute mark, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Bake for just 30 minutes.
The ciabatta comes out airy and soft inside and crusty outside. Excellent with butter and cheese, also sturdy enough for peanut butter and jelly. Distinctive sour taste, and the olive oil also shines through. But it’s that texture which is the true achievement. Too much flour in the dough and it ends up acting like a lot of regular breads. Keep it batter-like and marvel at the difference.