Ciabatta is a bread sold in many bakeries, and any bread lover has surely tried it. Today we have listed 5 interesting facts about ciabatta for you to enjoy.
1. The Name Ciabatta
Ciabatta is an Italian bread. The word "ciabatta" means "slipper" or "shoe" in Italian. Its creator was inspired by his wife's shoe, which resembled the bread's flat, wide, rectangular shape.
2. The Creator of Ciabatta
Ciabatta was born in 1982, when Arnaldo Cavallari created a bread with the same main ingredients as a baguette, or French bread: wheat flour, water, yeast and salt. What made it different was its shape, wide and rectangular, giving Italians another bread to choose from.
3. Spreading Across the Country
Ciabatta originated in Polesine, where its inventor Arnaldo Cavallari lived. In 1999, Cavallari's company, Mollini Adries, licensed the recipe to bakers in 11 countries, which helped ciabatta become better known among Italians.
Many regions have their own traditional versions of ciabatta. Ciabatta from the area around Lake Como, for example, has a crisp crust and a fairly soft, porous, light crumb. Ciabatta found in Tuscany, Umbria and Marche ranges from loaves with a firm crust and dense crumb to loaves with a crisper crust and a more open texture. In Rome, it is often flavored with mint.
4. Worldwide Fame
Ciabatta was introduced to the United Kingdom in 1985 by Marks & Spencer, then to the United States in 1987 by Orlando Bakery, a Cleveland company that brought three bakers from Italy to Orlando Bakery to develop the product for mass production. They successfully launched fresh ciabatta, and later frozen ciabatta, and it spread quickly across the United States. Other open-crumbed styles, common in the US, are made from a very wet dough and usually require a kneading machine and a biga or sourdough starter.
5. How to Enjoy Ciabatta
Ciabatta can be eaten plain or used in cooking. It is often served as an appetizer: brush it with olive oil, plain oil or a flavored oil, toast it lightly and serve. You can also slice ciabatta to use as a burger bun.
