ciabatta recipe

I found the recipe below on this newsgroup, dating back some five years. Sounds good, so I'll give it a go. Just one question -- it mentions King Arthur all-purpose flour. I'm not familiar with either brand or 'all-purpose' description, being in Australia. Would good old bakers' flour be OK?

Ciabatta

This rustic Italian loaf is filled with irregular holes, all the better to trap a drizzle of olive oil. Cut lengthwise, ciabatta makes a wonderful Italian-style sandwich.

Starter

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast 1/2 cup water 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Dough all of the starter

3/4 cup water 2-2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast 1/2 teaspoon diastatic malt (optional) 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Starter: Mix all of the ingredients until well-blended. Cover the starter and leave it at cool room temperature for 12 to 16 hours; it will become very bubbly.

Dough: Combine the starter with the remaining dough ingredients. Mix vigorously until the dough begins to hold together (about 4 minutes); it should be very slack (wet).

Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl. Let it rise for 1 hour, then gently deflate it. Let it rise another hour, then turn it out onto a liberally floured worktable and sprinkle lots of flour on top. Flatten the dough to about 3/4-inch thick and cut it into two pieces, each about 4 x 10 inches. Cover the loaves with a proof cover (or heavily oiled plastic wrap) and let them rise on well-floured boards or parchment. Inverted baking pan works very well for support. and bottom of bread gets nice and brown.

I did not use a stone, i did use the steam by putting a pan with water on top shelf. I also let the bread rise for about and hour or more, trying to get the big air holes.

While the dough is rising, place a baking stone in the oven and set the temperature to 500=B0F. Allow oven to heat for 30 minutes. Transfer the bread to the stone and lower the oven temperature to 425=B0F. Bake the ciabatta until it's a deep golden brown, approximately 18 to 20 minutes.

All-Purpose is just plain flour but, and it's a big but, it won't have the same characteristics as plain flour elsewhere. In the Northern US and Canada, AP has a protein content of ~12% and that makes it suitable for bread although there are stronger bread flours available with higher protein contents. Softer, cake and pastry flours are also available. When I lived in Perth, WA (35 years ago) I found the plain flour to be quite strong so it may be OK. Bakers' flour is a loose term. Here, in western Canada, it is usually a strong bread flour. Therefore, check the protein content which is a rough indicator of the gluten content. Sorry if this is all confusing. Visit:

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