Ciabatta dough calculator
Ciabatta on a stiff biga: 73% hydration, a fifth of the flour fermented overnight. Hence the open crumb.
Ciabatta the Hamelman way: a 73% hydration dough built on a stiff biga fermented overnight. The reward for handling a wet, slack dough is the glossy, wide-open crumb the style is famous for.
How it works
The stiff biga
Preferment 20% of the total flour at about 60% hydration with a trace of yeast, 12–16 hours at room temperature. A stiff biga ripens slower than a poolish and brings a rounder, less acidic flavor.
Hamelman’s batch and the split
Hamelman’s batch: 906 g of flour, 662 g of water, 17 g of salt and 4.6 g of instant yeast, three loaves of about 530 g. The biga takes a fifth of the flour, 181 g, with 109 g of water; the next day 725 g of flour and 553 g of water go into the final dough with the salt and the rest of the yeast. On the default two-loaf batch the same shares are 121 g of flour and 73 g of water in the biga out of 604 g and 441 g overall.
Handling 73% water
Mix well, then build structure with folds during bulk instead of kneading; wet hands and a dough scraper work better than flour dusting.
Cut, don’t shape
Tip the bulked dough onto a floured surface, divide into rough rectangles (~530 g for a classic loaf), stretch them gently onto a couche or parchment, and bake hot with steam without degassing them.
Sources & methodology
Every percentage in this calculator traces to the published sources below — nothing is invented. Where respected sources disagree, the default sits inside the documented range.
- Jeffrey Hamelman, “Bread” — ciabatta with stiff biga — The stiff-biga ciabatta: 73% water, 1.9% salt, biga from 20% of the flour fermented 12–16 h.
FAQ
Biga or poolish for ciabatta?
Hamelman publishes both; the stiff-biga version is the anchor here (his poolish variant preferments 30% of the flour instead). Some respected modern recipes go further, up to 80% water with a much larger biga.
How long does the biga ferment?
12–16 hours at room temperature, Hamelman’s window. A stiff 60% biga ripens slower than a poolish, so an evening mix is ready the next morning without much fuss about the exact hour.
Why did my holes come out small?
Degassing during dividing, too little fermentation, or too little water actually absorbed. Handle the divided pieces gently; the air you keep now is the open crumb after baking.
Can I add olive oil?
Hamelman’s formula has none; some bakeries add a little. It softens the crust slightly, a legitimate variation, not a requirement.
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