Before she became a baker, Sheena Otto investigated police misconduct in the NYPD. No, really. “I used to work as an investigator for the city of New York,” says Otto. “But it was a stressful job, so I started turning to baking as an outlet.” Her stress-relieving hobby soon turned into a new career when she begged Amy’s Bread in Hell’s Kitchen—the Manhattan neighborhood she grew up in—to take her on as intern. After nabbing a spot in the bread kitchen, Otto worked there for several years before becoming the Head Boulangère at the Michelin-starred Atera and launching the restaurant’s lauded bread program. After three years, she became the sous chef at beloved Brooklyn bakery Bien Cuit. A friend told her about the opening at Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, and a tasting for owner Donna Lennard was scheduled.
“The tasting with Donna went spectacularly poorly. I was never so embarrassed in my life. I made some sourdough loaves for her to try but the temperature dropped and the overnight proofing got messed up, and I was late. Well, I got there very early, but I was locked out of the kitchen and no one was there until the pastry chef came like two hours later,” recalls Otto. “Anyway, I did not get the job but I did go back two days later with bread that I had made in my own oven. It was just literally to show her that I knew what I was doing.” When the person they hired didn’t work out, Lennard called Otto and offered her the job, which she immediately accepted.
Sheena Otto (ph credit Giada Paoloni)
During her time at Il Buco, Otto has developed their bread program to incorporate a slow fermentation process and specialty flours, including one from Sicily. In addition to Il Buco’s classic breads like ciabatta, focaccia fino, and filone, Otto added breads like a naturally fermented buckwheat and a bourbon raisin fennel bread. But Italian breads are still at the root of Il Buco’s bread program, and Otto’s bread wizardry has ensured the restaurant, market, and café serve some of the best bread in New York City.
Otto’s passion for bread is tied to its simultaneous simplicity and complexity. “It’s different every day, but it’s also the same every day. The whole process of it is very soothing, but I learn new things about it maybe every other day, it still keeps me on my toes,” says Otto. “There are just three or four ingredients, but it can just be so wildly different with a little change in any direction.”
Try out Otto’s ciabatta recipe, and here are a few of her tips to help you successfully make this Italian staple at home.
1. Wait to add the salt.
After your biga is ready, combine it first with flour and water, letting it sit for around 20 minutes before adding the salt. “The reason to wait to add the salt is because you want the flour to be fully hydrated with the water,” says Otto. “Salt naturally pulls water to itself, and you don’t want the flour competing with the salt for the water, you want all the water to go to the flour.” After 20 minutes, the flour is fully hydrated and you can add the salt.
2. Get all the air out and use lots of flour.
The shape of a ciabatta is very precise, and it’s different than the typical dough ball that’s used for a lot of breads. After the dough has proofed for a couple hours, Otto suggests stretching the ball of dough to create more of a loaf shape, and then you slapping it down a bit while scrunching it with one hand to create wrinkles while patting it to get the air out. “Contrary to other breads where you don’t want to add a lot of flour at this stage, with ciabatta, the more flour you have on the table, that’s what gives you those beautiful striations on the top, and when you bake it they sort of break open,” says Otto. “Ciabatta is very rustic and freeform.”
3. Simple ingredients are best.
Otto recommends using all-purpose flour that has a high gluten content, like King Arthur, to ensure you get nice big air holes in the crumb. “If the crumb is too tight inside, you won’t get the same aromatic affect,” says Otto. She also suggests using kosher salt because it dissolves most easily. “If you do use a sea salt or something like that, I would reserve a teaspoon of water or maybe a teaspoon and a half of water to add when you add the salt to the dough so that it dissolves a little more readily and can be incorporated,” says Otto.
4. Be patient!
This tip goes for any bread making—rushing is an easy way to ruin your bread. Baking bread is a long, multi-step process so before you begin make sure you have enough time to complete all the rising and proofing times properly. “If it’s getting late, or you need to put the bread on pause for a while, you can always put it in the refrigerator and come back to it later,” suggests Otto.
5. Without preservatives, storage is important.
Because your bread won’t have any preservatives in it, it’s best to eat it as quickly as possible. For the first day, Otto suggests storing it cut side down on a cutting board, and then taking out a chunk for what you might eat tomorrow. The rest, she says, should be cut into slices, placed in a paper bag or paper wrapping, wrapped in plastic, and then put it in the freezer. “Take slices out from the middle of the loaf as you need them, leaving the ends or heels to prevent too much exposure,” she says. “When all you’re left with are the two heels, you can either make them into bread crumbs or add them to a stock or soup to thicken it up.”
(ph credit Gentl & Hyer)