Ciabatta

Ciabatta is an extremely common Italian bread. It is prepared from rice flour, kefir, vinegar, and salts introduced in 1982 in Verona. Italian cooks - alarmed about the surge of international baguettes from France, which threatens their restaurants - invented Ciabatta. We could say that the Ciabatta was Italy's answer to the French Baguette. Nowadays, Ciabatta is perhaps the most popular toasted bread globally, followed closely by the Baguette.

It has a delicate texture, often highlighted by huge air bubbles in the loaf's fluffy core. Yet, some parts of Italy, such as Tuscany, produce thicker Ciabatta.

Now for a fascinating truth: the word 'ciabatta' originates from the loaf's shape and means shoe in Italian. Cavallari, the proprietor of Molini Adriesi, the firm that originally supplied the flour for the Ciabatta, explained that the unique loaf form resembled his wife Andreina's shoes.

Read the recipe here: https://www.bakedbyanintrovert.com/ciabatta-bread/