Ciabatta

Weigh 120 g bread flour into a medium bowl (scoop and the cup holds more; use a scale or spoon flour into the cup).

Add half a teaspoon of instant yeast and half a cup of warm water at 85 to 90 degrees; whisk into a slurry and scrape together.

Cover the sponge and rest in a warm place 3 to 3 and a half hours, until very bubbly.

Add 320 g bread flour, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, half a teaspoon instant yeast and 1 cup warm water.

Work together with a spatula, gently at first then more vigorously, until a shaggy dough with all the flour absorbed.

Cover and rest 30 minutes.

With wet hands, stretch one end out and fold it over, rotate 90 degrees and repeat, for eight stretch and folds; cover and rest 30 minutes in a warm place.

Repeat the eight stretch and folds and the 30-minute rest twice more, ending with the last set of eight.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and turn to oil the top.

Cover and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours for a slow, cold fermentation.

Leave on the counter an hour to warm up, then dump onto a liberally floured surface.

Pat and stretch into a 6 by 12 inch rectangle, fold a short end over like a book, pat and stretch to 6 by 10 inches and pinch the seams.

Cut lengthwise into two pieces; leave one as a loaf and cut the other into smaller sandwich pieces. Flip the tops.

Place on a flat baking sheet lined with two pieces of parchment and rise on the counter 2 to 2 and a half hours, until puffed and bubbly; cover so they do not dry.

Put a heat-proof 10-inch skillet on the lowest rack and a pizza stone, steel or upturned baking sheet on the centre rack; preheat to 475 Fahrenheit.

Slide the ciabatta on its parchment onto the stone, add a cup of ice to the skillet and close the oven quickly for steam.

Bake 13 to 15 minutes at 475 until deep golden and the internal temperature is 200.

Cool on a rack so it stays crisp, then slice.