Quick question: why do we dimple this bread? I'm just curious, especially since the dimples mostly disappear with the final rise and the cooking. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes and tips! Good question, Susan - it's a matter of timing and daring. I don't dare suggest to people to dimple TOO forcefully, as it's kind of an art to know just exactly how far you can go, to make the dimples still show after baking (giving ciabatta its classic look), without deflating the loaf. So I kind of split the difference - having people dimple pretty forcefully, yet giving the bread a bit of a chance to "re-inflate" itself. When I do it myself, I dimple pretty heavily right before the bread goes into the oven; usually it springs back OK, and I end up with some of the dimples still showing. Next time, experiment - try more forceful dimpling right before you bake, vs. the original method. See what happens. :) PJH

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