Ciabatta

In bowl, stir yeast into warm water until dissolved; stir in flour until smooth.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or for up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

In bowl of electric mixer, dissolve sugar in warm water.

Sprinkle in yeast; let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.

Using dough hook on low speed, stir in sponge, milk and oil until combined.

Add flour and salt; mix on low speed for 8 minutes, scraping down bowl halfway through.

Turn out dough onto well-floured surface; knead lightly into ball.

Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over.

Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk and bubbles appear on surface, about 11/2 hours.

Scrape dough out of bowl onto lightly floured surface; divide into half.

With floured hands, gently form each into cylinder, pinching seam to seal.

Pull each out to 9- x 4-inch (23 x 10 cm) rectangle.

Place each, seam side up, on well-floured tea towel.

Cover with damp tea towel; let rise until not quite doubled in bulk and bubbles appear on surface, about 1 1/2 hours.

Flip rectangles gently over onto two floured baking sheets.

Spray with water.

Bake on bottom third and middle racks of oven for 10 minutes.

Switch position of sheets; spray with water.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes longer or until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped on bottom.

Let cool on racks.

Yield: 2 loaves, 4 servings each.