About · John the Baker
A specialist resource for ciabatta.
John the Baker’s work is devoted to one demanding loaf. This site makes the formula, the decisions behind it, and the evidence around bread available to serious home bakers.
The practice
Make the method visible.
Ciabatta.co.za brings together John the Baker’s published formula, a practical account of the craft, a review of relevant bread science, and a 47-article journal. The work is specific: identify the flour, calculate hydration, distinguish a yeast preferment from sourdough, read fermentation, build dough strength, and handle the loaf with intent.
The site treats a recipe as a starting specification. Flour, temperature, fermentation, and equipment shape the dough’s behaviour, so the baker must observe and adjust. The pages explain those decisions rather than presenting an open crumb as the result of one trick.
The journal retains original publication dates, bylines, routes, and recoverable source text. Where an article has been substantively edited, its current edition carries a dated editorial note. Claims about health are revised against the scope of the cited evidence; baking observations are described as observations.
The purpose is the transfer of specialist baking skill: a clear formula, a rigorous method, and enough context for readers to develop their own judgement at the bench.
Formula. Method. Judgement.