Ohh, I came across this blog 4 days late. I just make the ciabatta from this recipe last weekend. This was my first high hydration dough and I don't own a stand mixer or bread machine. I really wanted to make the ciabatta and decided to go ahead and do by hand, even though the Tips section advises otherwise. I was able to find Martin Philip's '5 Tips For Working With High-Hydration Dough' video and that helped.
The dough was at first very hard to handle and I used the slap and fold technique in the bowl with wet hands. It spread a lot during the rise and was hard to shape. I had given up hope, but surprisingly it came out pretty well after baking. I used it for garlic bread and also make butter chicken pizza with it.
But I'm definitely going to try these tips when I make it the next time which will be pretty soon! Thanks!

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