ciabatta

Why fire up the old communal oven when you could grab a ciabatta at the supermarket?

The opposite is true for when you’re working with a softer interior, say pulled lamb or pork — a crunchy exterior works best here — like a toasted baguette or ciabatta.

Classic panzanella features some sort of firm white bread, anything from Italian bread to ciabatta to a Pullman loaf.

That’s how we entered the era of callouts, of cancel culture, of campus rebellions over “cultural appropriation” when dining halls served banh mi made out of ciabatta.

Two pounds of short ribs encased in seemingly a loaf of ciabatta, stabbed in the center with a knife, has that effect on a table.