Ciabatta bread is fun. It can be used in so many ways and tastes delicious! It is chewy, but soft and full of the most beautiful alveoli. What is alveoli, you ask? They are those big rustic holes that ciabatta is known for. While holes in some breads would be a bad thing, these holes are a sign of a soft, well developed dough. It actually takes about a day to make a good ciabatta loaf, but the time spent in developing the dough creates a beautiful texture and flavor that you will love.
Most of the steps in this recipe take just a few minutes to complete and you end up with two big beautiful loaves of ciabatta. Let’s get them started!
The first step will be to make our ciabatta sponge. This is really easy and it needs to rest for 8-24 hours, so it can be done the night before you want to bake your ciabatta.
Simply combine 1 cup of all purpose flour with 1/2 cup of water and 1/8 teaspoon of instant yeast in a medium sized bowl. Mix until all of the ingredients combine fully. It may feel like there is too much flour or that more water is needed to bring the dry ingredients together, but have faith! With enough mixing, everything will combined. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 8-24 hours.
If you took the 1/8th teaspoon of instant yeast from a packet, then place the remaining instant yeast into a zip lock bag. You will need more from that packet tomorrow.
The photo above is what your ciabatta sponge will look like once fully mixed and the photo below shows what it looks like after about 20 hours of resting. It has doubled in sized and the surface is covered in bubbles and holes. When you remove the plastic wrap, it should smell strongly of bloomed yeast. Mmmmm the smell of fresh soon to be baked bread is one of my all time favorites.
Once you are ready to continue on to the next step of your ciabatta, transfer the sponge into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of instant yeast, 3/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of whole milk to the sponge and begin mixing on medium speed with a paddle attachment.
At first, the dough will be very loose and soft, so stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl every minute or so to ensure that all of the ingredients are being incorporated and nothing dry is left behind.
Once the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl (after 4-6 minutes of mixing on medium speed), swap the paddle attachment out for a dough hook and return to mixing on medium speed for another 5-7 minutes. Once the dough forms a smooth, shiny texture, transfer it into a greased large glass bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. It will be sticky, so using a flexible silicone spatula will be very helpful!
Rest the dough for 1 hour at room temperature.
Once the dough has doubled in size, using a silicone spatula, pull the outside edge of the dough into the center at 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock and then the four points in between, so that you are pulling the edges in 8 times. The dough should look like this…
Dust the top of the dough generously with flour and divide it in half using a bench scraper or sharp knife.
Dust the top of the dough generously with flour and divide it in half using a bench scraper or sharp knife.
Working with one half of the dough at a time, carefully flip the dough so that the cut side is facing upwards. Lightly dust the top of the dough and press it out into a rectangle using the tips of your fingers.
Now, bring the top half down towards the center of the rectangle…
… and then fold the bottom half over the top as you would if you were folding a letter…
Once both sides are folded, transfer them onto floured parchment paper, seam side down. Dust the tops of the dough lightly with flour and then cover lightly with a sheet of plastic and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
After this last resting period, uncover the dough and gently press it out into a large rectangle about 10 inches long and 6-7 inches wide. Just use your finger tips to shape the dough, so it doesn’t deflate.
Spray the top of the dough with a light mist of water and place onto a baking stone or an upside down baking sheet set on a medium low rack position. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown with an internal temperature between 200-210 degrees.
When your ciabatta is done baking, use the parchment paper to carefully slide the loaves onto a cooling rack and allow them to dry for at least 60 minutes before slicing.
*Note: If you prefer a super crispy crust, leave it as is, but if you prefer a slightly crisp crust, brush the top surface with melted butter immediately after removing it from the oven.
I ended up brushing the crust with butter, so it is a little crisp, but not so crisp that it shatters when you bite into it. If you omit the butter, it will be really crispy! I do like a really crisp crust on some breads like baguettes or Dutch Oven bread, but I have some steak and white cheddar paninis planned for this ciabatta and want the crust to be easy to bite through.
This ciabatta is chewy and full of the classic alveoli (those beautiful holes exposed in every slice) that this Italian white bread is known for. Ciabatta is often served with dinner alongside olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping, but that is only one of the many uses for this beautifully rustic bread. It makes wonderful burger buns, goes great alongside soup or salad, is a great option for making buttery garlic bread or croutons and is the ultimate panini vessel.
Bake some of your own ciabatta and let me know how you end up using it!
Enjoy!!!
Ciabatta Bread
Ingredients
The Starter Sponge
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
Ciabatta Dough
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Make the starter sponge...
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of all purpose flour with 1/8 teaspoon of instant yeast and 1/2 cup of water until thoroughly mixed
- If you are using a standard 1/4 ounce packet of instant yeast, place the remaining yeast into a zip lock bag
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 8-24 hours
Make the ciabatta dough...
- Transfer the rested sponge into the bowl of your stand mixer and add 2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1/4 cup of whole milk, 3/4 cup of water, 1/2 teaspoon of instant yeast and 1 teaspoon of salt
- Mix with the paddle attachment on medium, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl every minute or so, for 4-6 minutes
- Once the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, swap the paddle attachment out for the dough hook and continue to mix on medium for another 5-7 minutes
- Once the dough is smooth and shiny (though still fairly sticky), transfer it into a large greased bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Rest for 1 hour
- Next, remove the plastic wrap and pull the sides of the dough in towards the center 8 times (see additional directions above)
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes
- Repeat the action of pulling the dough in towards the center of the bowl 8 times, cover with plastic wrap and rest for another 30 minutes
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and place a baking stone or flat baking sheet upside down on a rack set on a medium low position
- Before shaping the dough, flour your work surface and cut a sheet of parchment paper in half
- Transfer the dough onto your floured work surface and dust the top generously with flour
- Divide the dough in half with a bench scraper or sharp knife being careful not to deflate the dough
- Turn the dough cut side upward and lightly flour the top surface
- Using your finger tips, gently press the dough out into a rectangle
- Fold the dough as you would a letter by bringing the top down towards the center and bottom over (see photos above)
- Once both portions of dough have been folded, lightly flour both sheets of parchment paper and transfer one piece of dough fold side down onto each sheet
- Lightly flour the top surface of each loaf and cover lightly with a sheet of plastic wrap
- Rest the shaped dough for 30 minutes
- Uncover the dough, gently press it out with your finger tips into a rectangle approximately 10 inches long and 6-7 inches wide and lightly mist with water
- Carefully slide the loaves onto the baking stone or baking sheet using the edges of the parchment paper
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and have an internal temperature between 200-210 degrees
- Carefully transfer the loaves onto a cooling rack and remove the parchment paper
- If you prefer a crisp crust, leave it as is, but if you prefer a softer crust, brush the top surface with melted butter immediately after removing the loaves from the oven
- Allow the ciabatta to cool for at least 60 minutes before slicing
- Store in an air tight container
