Making Fruit-Filled Ciabatta

One of the breads we made at The Art of Artisan Bread Class at Johnson & Wales was Cranberry Raisin Pecan Ciabatta. Here are some photos showing some of the steps in making it. Above is the very wet ciabatta dough, just as it has begun to hold together.

Here the fruit and nuts have been mixed into the dough. Notice how densely packed it is!

Here the dough is shaped and ready to go into the oven.

The bread is being loaded into the oven. We have been enjoying it with butter for breakfast for the last few days.

When the artisan breads come out of the oven the crusts have a beautiful crunchiness. Eventually though, the crusts will soften. We prefer to eat the bread when the crusts are crisp.

To revive and re-crisp the crusts of artisan breads:

preheat oven with a pizza stone inside to 350 degrees F. Place the bread on the pizza stone and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes. The inside of the bread will stay soft while the outside will crisp. Enjoy!