Some snacks are totally worthy of being made a meal all on their own. As far as I’m concerned, a great loaf of freshly baked bread with garlic herb oil and a bit of tomato sauce is a perfect example of this. Wine non-optional, obviously. (Side note: Have you made that tomato sauce yet? Because it’s amazing.)
Despite being a fairly experienced bread baker, ciabatta and I haven’t always gotten along. Some loaves have turned out okay, but I had one past recipe from a very trusted source setting off fire alarms and coming out of the oven with a striking resemblance to a block of coal. I really wanted to try my hand at a whole grain version but was understandably anxious. Thankfully these loaves could not have turned out better. The dough for ciabatta is very sticky and wet so this is one of the few instances in bread baking where you really need a mixer to do the work that can’t be done by hand. If you have never tried ciabatta, this is a nice reliable recipe with fantastic results. It made for a lovely lunch number 2/downfall of dinner, and was also a perfect vehicle for sandwiches later in the week.