Not long ago I visited Anarosa’s, a small bakery in Newburyport, Mass. Opened
in Aug, 2001 by Bill Malatesta and Jane Kenny they quickly had to deal with a problem
that most bakeries, big and small, face at one time or another. Not only was demand for
their existing products growing but their customers were asking for a wider variety. The
production space at Anarosa’s is extremely limited and any new products were going to
have to fit within their already tight schedule. The solution to growing not only their
business but also the number of products they could offer was to simplify. They decided
to focus on producing a few primary doughs that could be used to make a wide variety of
products. In this column we will look at Anarosa’s ciabatta dough and see how they
manage to make 4 unique products from it, all fitting within the constraints imposed by
their bakery.



Using Anarosa’s ciabatta formula Bill and Jane produce four products: traditional
ciabatta (and a smaller ‘ciabattini’), a ‘deep dish’ focaccia, rustica (a thin, more
traditional savory focaccia), and large ‘wheels’ of pull-apart rolls. The focaccia, rustica
and rolls are topped with with a variety of savory ingredients that can be varied to fit
your customer’s tastes.



For the mix a poolish is prepared 15-16 hours ahead. The poolish is ready when it
has risen but not yet fallen and should taste ‘sweet’ not bitter. The final mix is prepared
by adding all the ingredients to the mixer bowl. In a spiral mixer mix on first speed for 3
- min, and on second speed for 5 to 10 minutes. When finished the dough will be loose
but will clearly show some strength.



Because this one dough will be used for multiple products you will have to
predetermine how much dough will be needed for each product. Divide all of the dough
into bins labeled by final product. All of the dough is given a 2 - hour bulk fermentation
with two folds, each 45 minutes apart. The dough will continue to develop strength
throughout the fermentation and with each fold. The dough used for ciabatta will be
given an additional 1 - hour bulk fermentation with a 3rd fold at 45 minutes.



After the 2 - hour bulk fermentation the dough for the rustica and foccacia is cut
into 1# pieces, loosely rounded and allowed to rest for 20 minutes. The dough for the
‘wheels’ is cut into 4# 10oz pieces and pre-shaped into a lose round. Allow a rest for 20
minutes.



The rustica rounds are placed on silicon mats (or parchment), dimpled and then
topped with ingredients. Anarosa’s tops theirs with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or
garlic and black pepper, or pitted kalamata olives. These are allowed to proof for 45
minutes and then baked in a steamed 460F degree oven.



The “deep dish” foccacia are hand stretched and placed in 9 inch cake pans that
contain a generous coating of olive oil. Anarosa’s uses various toppings. My favorite is
their “margherita” style which is covered, to the edge, with crushed Italian plum tomatoes
and grated pecorino Romano cheese. After the addition of the toppings the foccacia are
allowed to proof for 1 hour. They are baked in a 460-degree oven until they are
approximately 80% done, then topped with mozzarella, and baked until the cheese is
browned.



The dough for the “wheels” of pull-apart rolls are placed in floured pans for a 36-
cut Dutchess press with the seam side down. Cut the dough and flip over into a 16 inch ‘pizza
pan’. Then flip again so that the cut side is on top. Bill says this will produce a more
defined cut in the final product. Lightly coat with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and top
with salt and your choice of seasonings or herbs. Let the wheel proof for 45 minutes and
bake in the pan at 460 degrees until the wheel takes on a nice dark color. After the bake
remove from the pan and allow to cool.



What makes this production schedule so beneficial is that while your bakers are
preparing the above products the ciabatta is continuing its bulk fermentation. After the
ciabatta’s final 1-hour fermentation divide the dough into 24 oz pieces for the large
ciabatta and 12 oz for the ciabattini. Handle the dough pieces very gently so as not to de-
gas them, and place on well floured linen. Proof for approximately 45 minutes or until
ready for the oven. Carefully flip the ciabatta dough onto the loader so that the side that
was facing the linen is now facing up. Steam the oven and bake at 460 degrees for about
35 minutes. Exhaust the steam for the final 15 minutes. Bake fully, otherwise the ciabatta
will soften once it cools.




Looking at the picture of the final results you can see the variety of items that can
be produced from this one dough. While the scheduling may have to be modified to fit
your own production needs there is flexibility inherent in this product mix to allow its
incorporation into even the tightest schedules. And not to be overlooked, a final benefit
of this product mix is the profitability is considerably higher than if all of the dough were
used for ciabatta. The foccacia, rustica, and rolls are rendered high profit items because
of the simple addition of toppings. The ciabatta, while lower in unit profitability is a high
volume seller. So, simplifying the production schedule doesn’t result in compromise,
rather it fulfills the needs of the customers, fits Anarosa’s production schedule and yields
a profitable product mix.