Michela Chiappa's summer italian salad with homemade ciabatta
Panzanella is a simple Tuscan salad that is vibrant, fresh, and perfect for using up leftover bread or spare tomatoes. Michela will be making hers using her no-knead Ciabatta bread - it’s so easy to make, you’ll never need shop-bought bread again!
No-knead ciabatta and panzanella salad
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
For the No-Knead Ciabatta:
525g strong bread flour
1 tbsp olive oil
395ml warm water
7g fast action yeast
18g salt
50ml warm water
For the Panzanella Salad:
600g ripe red and yellow tomatoes
200g stale Ciabatta loaf
1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of sea salt
50ml red wine vinegar
1 medium red onion, peeled and very finely sliced
1 handful small capers, drained approximately 50g
1 handful fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp sea salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
80ml extra virgin olive oil
1 handful fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
Method
To make the No-knead Ciabatta:
1. Mix the flour, olive oil, 395ml warm water and yeast together in a bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
2. Dissolve the salt in 50ml warm water and add to the dough and mix again until combined. Then leave to rest for 3-4 hours in a warm place.
3. Preheat the oven to 180℃ fan and line a high sided tin, about 25x18cm.
4. Transfer the dough to the baking tin - don’t worry if the dough is very loose and wet.
5. Put the tray in the preheated oven for approximately 30-40 minutes, until the bread is baked and golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
6. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for approximately 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
To make the Panzanella Salad:
1. Cut the tomatoes into large chunks and place in a colander and set over this bowl and leave to drain while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C Fan. Cut the stale ciabatta into chunks about the same size as the tomatoes and place on a baking sheet. Toss in a little olive oil and sprinkle over some salt then cook in the oven for about 10 - 15 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Allow to cool.
3. Place the bread cubes in a large salad bowl and pour over the vinegar. Add the finely sliced onions, capers and parsley, followed by the drained chopped tomatoes (making sure you hold back the tomato juice) and gently toss together.
4. Make the dressing by mixing the chopped anchovies, crushed garlic, salt and pepper into the reserved tomato juice and then whisk in the olive oil.
5. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and finally add the basil leaves and gently mix. Taste and add extra salt and pepper if needed.
6. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before serving to give the flavours more of a chance to mingle.