Chef John's Whole Wheat Ciabatta

Ingredients

• Servings: 1
• sponge:
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup rye flour
• 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup water at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons shelled sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon polenta
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, or as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon cornmeal, or as needed
• water as needed

Recipe

Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 30 mins Ready Time: 18 hrs 15 mins


• stir 1 cup warm water, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup rye flour, and yeast together in a large bowl. cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit until the sponge bubbles and doubles in volume, 5 to 6 hours.
• stir 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 water, sunflower seeds, polenta, flax seeds, salt, and honey into sponge with a wooden spoon until a very sticky dough ball forms, about 3 minutes. scrape down the the sides of the bowl, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let dough rise until doubled in volume, 10 hours to overnight.
• line a baking sheet with parchment paper. dust parchment paper with 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour and cornmeal.
• scrape dough out of bowl onto a lightly floured work surface, press down to remove air, and form into a smooth oval loaf. place dough on the prepared baking sheet. dust top of loaf lightly with flour, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
• preheat oven to 450 degrees f (230 degrees c). place a baking dish filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven.
• remove plastic wrap from risen dough and mist the top of the dough with water.
• bake loaf in the preheated oven, misting the top of the loaf with water every 8 to 10 minutes, until loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped, 30 to 35 minutes total. transfer bread to a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing.