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 FlourDough 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 saltStarter: 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.