[Leethequeen]

When making ciabatta (following the formula in The Bread Baker's Apprentice) how many times should I do the "stretch and fold"?

[Suzanne]

I don't have that book, but I've recently been working on a couple of other baking books, and they say you don't have to do it a lot. Shirley Corriher's forthcoming BakeWise has directions to fold four times, bringing first the right side, then the left, then top, and finally bottom of the dough over the rest, letting the dough spread on its own in between each fold. The CIA's update of their baking textbook also has minimal folding -- just enough to give the yeast a little more oxygen for growth, but not so much air that the ingredients will oxidize (which gives you whiter bread but hurts the flavor).