Delicious Homemade Ciabatta Bread is not nearly as hard to make at home as you may think!
If you're anything like me, the weekends are when I really dig in to cooking and baking projects. The weekdays are just for getting through as quickly and easily as possible and usually not the time to I feel like wrestling with bread dough. So in that spirit, I thought I'd share a great recipe for making this delicious ciabatta bread recipe this weekend. It's not nearly as hard to make as you might think.
I'm not going to lie though, this is probably not the bread that should be your first bread-baking experience. It's somewhat unique in both it's consistency and method. That's not to say it's hard - just different :)
This bread starts with a yeast "starter" dough. I like to mix it up quickly before going to bed and then let it bubble away on the counter over-night. Then the next morning, I can just carry on with making the bread.
Once you mix the dough, you're immediately going to notice that you have more of a batter than a dough. Resist the urge to add more flour at this point. The secret to those great holes it to have a really moist dough and the more flour you add, the more you'll be defeating that.
This is not a bread dough that will ever be kneadable!
That said, you will need to add a little bit of flour along the way here. Purists will suggest flouring your hands (or even wetting them to deal with the dough). That's great advice if you have lots of experience with wet dough. For the rest of us, a sprinkling of flour here and there is a sanity saver!
Even as you move along with this dough, it will resemble a jiggly mass that seems to be barely holding its shape. Again, just go with it as much as you can, adding only enough flour to remove extreme stickiness.
Cook's Notes
I cannot recommend the use of a silicone bowl scraper enough when dealing with this dough. It's worth picking one up for this bread for sure - it's a sanity saver! A metal bench scraper sprayed with cooking oil will also work. If all else fails, a large silicon spatula would be my choice. All these tools will allow you to work this dough without actually touching it with your hands, which is a bonus when working with a sticky dough.
Homemade Ciabatta Bread
Ingredients
Yeast Starter Dough: (Start 8-12 hours ahead - the night before works perfectly)
- 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup water, room temperature
- 1 cup bread or all-purpose flour
Ciabatta Dough:
- 1/2 tsp active dry yeast, or regular Instant Yeast such as SAF (not quick or rapid rise yeast)
- 3/4 cup water, at room temperature
- All of the Yeast Starter Dough From above plus the following:
- 2 cups bread or all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- For the Yeast Starter Dough: Combine all ingredients in a 1-quart (4-cubowl and stir well. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for 8-12 hours (overnight works perfectly).
- For the Ciabatta Dough: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, stir the yeast in to the water. Add all of the Yeast Starter Dough that you made earlier and has been sitting. Mix briefly. Add the flour and salt and mix to combine. Beat on medium-low for 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and let dough rest for 10 minutes. Beat again on medium-low for 3 minutes. Stop again and let dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Remove dough to a lightly oiled bowl large enough to hold double the amount of dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest until it starts to puff up, about 30-45 minutes.
- Using a silicone bowl scraper or spatula, scrape the dough on to a well-floured work surface. Have a cup of flour handy to use. Sprinkle the top of the dough with some flour. Using your silicone bowl scraper, scoop up one edge of the dough and fold it over the top of the dough to reach the middle. Scoop up the opposite edge and scoop it up to cover the fold you just made. Add some more flour to your board and the top of the dough (just enough to control stickiness). Let dough rest for 15 minutes and then repeat this same folding. Let rest another 15 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle the parchment paper with flour. Roughly shape the dough in to an 8x8-inch square . Using a sharp knife, cut your dough into two 4x8-inch rectangles. Gently transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet by using a bench scraper positioned underneath the rectangles to support it. Flour the top of the dough then cover with a tea towel and allow to rise until puffy, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 475° F.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until deep golden brown and the internal temperature is over 200° Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided for general guidance only and should not be relied upon to make personal health decisions.
Andries Rossouw says
Hi
I need clarification on room temperature. I am from South Africa and not all houses have central heating so the winter temperature in the house could be between 10 and 15 degrees celsius. What should the room temperature be for proofing?
Jennifer says
Hi Andries, dough will rise in a wide range of temperatures, but the time it will take to rise at those temperatures changes. So the cooler the space, the longer the rise. To answer your question though, "room temperature" is generally considered to be in the 19-21C range, so if you can create a micro-climate in your kitchen in that range, that would be perfect. (Maybe in the oven with the oven light on?) Hope that helps :)
Carol Skon says
sI made this a couple of months ago and I am in the process of making it again. I am in Step 5 about 15 minutes into the 30 minute rise. The bread is very flat. That is what happened the last time I made it. In step 4 I used flour very sparingly. The dough is very sticky. Any thoughts?
Jennifer says
Hi Carol, my first thought is that ciabatta is quite flat. Any rising that it does will go out, rather than up. Any lift that you get from ciabatta generally comes from the oven spring as it bakes. As long as it is growing in some way to indicate it is alive, it all sounds normal.
Carol says
The bread turned out delicious and higher than the first time I made it. But it doesn't look as high as those in your photos.
Jennifer says
Mine tends to vary in height from bake to bake. It never gets really high, but the right hydration and being really gentle with it to avoid deflating helps.
Roberta says
Oops! I forgot to ask you why the bread is so high in sodium. Would 1 1/2 tsp of salt really cause the bread to be so high in sodium? My husband is on a low sodium diet and the sodium content in your recipe has as almost as much as his entire day's worth of his sodium level. Will if affect the bread if I use only 1/2 tsp. salt? What is one serving? One slice?
Unfortunately, most of the recipes on the internet don't offer a low sodium version of the recipe. I've had no luck searching for low sodium recipes.
Jennifer says
Hi Roberta, the sodium level is for one loaf of the two loaves you will be making, so no need to reduce the salt, as a slice would have much, much less than stated.
Roberta says
I'm in the process of making the starter dough. The bowl I put it in didn't hold 1qt of liquid. I measured water in a duplicate bowl and uh oh, it didn't hold 1 qt of water. I should have just put the starter in the measuring cup! Now I don't know what's going to happen with the dough. Will it just flow over the bowl? I hope I haven't messed up before I even make the bread! Unfortunately, I'm sure I won't get an answer right away. I'm just hoping that somebody else can benefit from your answer.
Jennifer says
Hi Roberta, the starter needs just 3/4 cup of water, not a quart. Did you use a quart?
Susan says
Made this today, followed recipe exactly. Used a pizza peel topped with parchment paper to rest loaves for 40 minutes, then transfer to preheated oven with pizza stone!
Worked great! Thank you will make again.
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Susan :) Thanks so much!
Anna Tatro says
Hi Jennifer,
What a great recipe--my happy taste testers have declared this the best bread yet! That said, I've made it a few times..always tasty results but not much rise. My crumb is definitely denser than what your picture shows and not nearly the same amount of larger air pockets. I've refrained from adding additional flour, knowing it's a high-hydration loaf, and tried not to overwork it..but still ending a bit flat? Any ideas?
Jennifer says
Hi Anna and so glad everyone enjoyed the bread. And yes, I think I have some ideas for you. I think you need to use less flour and get that dough even wetter. So hold back some of the flour and keep the dough super wet. It should not be kneadable at all (wondering if your reference to over-working was referring to kneading?). Anyway, start by cutting back the flour in the bowl to maybe 1 1/2 cups. Add a touch more if absolutely needed, but as little as you can get away with. The wetter the dough, the bigger the holes :) Let me know how you make out.
Tricia says
Jennifer, Ciabatta Bread is my favorite. After trying several different recipes, your recipe and technique is by far the best. It is also easy to adjust by addding various herbs, flaxseed meal, and garlic. Last night I added about 1/2 cup chopped chives from the garden and instead of 2 loafs, made 1 very large loaf. The interior was soft and tender, full of those wonderful holes, and the exterior had a beautiful browned crust. I can't thank you enough for my "forever" Chiabatta Bread recipe!
All that said, I've just finished looking over all your bread recipes and have never seen such a delightful, interesting variety of breads with easy, well-written directions. Have spotted about 10 more breads I can't wait to make!
Jennifer says
Hi Tricia and so glad you are enjoying the ciabatta. Love all the variation ideas, too! And yes, bread is my thing, so I have a lot of different recipes already and am always adding more. I never tire of making bread :) Enjoy and thanks!
Katy says
I don’t have a mixer. Could I use the dough cycle on my bread maker?
Jennifer says
Hi Katy and I'm really not sure. I haven't used a bread maker, but this is a very wet dough and I'm not sure how a bread maker would handle that. If you've done a super wet dough in it before, I guess this one would work the same.
Elise says
i wanna make this but i dont have a stand mixer. is it still possible?
Jennifer says
Hi Elise, it's a really tough go without a stand mixer, as it is a very wet dough. My best advice would be to hit up google for some techniques on kneading wet dough (King Arthur Flour has some good resources) and go from there. You can certainly mix it up in a bowl. It's the kneading that will be tricky.
Soumya says
This recipe has never disappointed. The bread always turns out AMAZING.
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Soumya :) Thanks so much!
Richelle Monfort says
Hi!
I tried this recipe and we all loved it, even my 8 year old daughter. I was wondering if I can use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour? Will the measurements stay the same?
Thank you 😊
Jennifer says
Hi Richelle, So glad you all enjoyed it! Substituting whole wheat flour here is not as simple as it may seem. The amounts would definitely change and I'm not even sure how satisfying the outcome would be (texture-wise). My best advice would be to seek out a dedicated whole wheat ciabatta recipe, that has already made those adjustments for you.
Joe Lohman says
Hi Jennifer,
I’m about to make the ciabatta bread from your recipe. In your opinion, do you get better results from bread flour or all purpose?
Thanks,
Joe
Jennifer says
Hi Joe and bread flour will give the best results for ciabatta, if you have some. All purpose performs pretty well for me as well, but that said, I'm in Canada, where our regular all purpose is quite high in protein than in other areas.
Wayne says
At what stage of the process can I freeze the dough? Or is it better to make the bread all the way and freeze it afterward?
thanks
Jennifer says
Hi Wayne, bread freezes beautifully after baking, so that's the way I would go. Just wrap it tightly and thaw in the wrapping. Enjoy!
Josie says
Can this recipe be made with Gluten free flour?
Jennifer says
Hi Josie and no, I don't think it can be with this recipe. You should seek out a recipe written specifically for gluten free flour, as there are modifications that are needed beyond swapping out the flour. Sorry.
Nancy says
I have a question. When you divide the dough for the final rise, the instructions say to let it rise, then place it on the baking sheet. Could you place it on the baking sheet and let it rise there, thus not disturbing it and risking deflating the dough? I made a different recipe last week and clearly added too much flour, so I was looking for a different recipe and more instruction - which you have provided! Thanks in advance for answering my question.
Jennifer says
Hi Nancy and yes! I thought maybe I had updated it, but I actually let it rise on parchment, then transfer it to the baking sheet on the parchment, for the reasons you stated.
Holly Scovell says
Omg. This recipe is INCREDIBLE. This was my first time making it and it’s so good. I am saving this recipe forever. My whole family loves it. Thank you!!!
Jennifer says
So happy to hear, Holly :) Thanks so much!
Mike says
Made this to a T using all purpose flour and it was incredible. Better than any I've had from Italian bakeries even. So to anyone knocking this recipe, I have to say, it is definitely a problem on your end.
Thank you very much for this one, will be making it again 100%
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Mike :) Thanks so much!
Holly Scovell says
Omg. This recipe is INCREDIBLE. This was my first time making it and it’s so good. I am saving this recipe forever. My whole family loves it. Thank you!!!
Dan says
Hi, made this recipe yesterday and was somewhat disappointed. Dispite following all the wait/rest/ride times, my bread was flat and had little to no bubbles/holes in it. Any suggestions. More yeast in the starter/dough? More waiting?
Jennifer says
Hi Dan, ciabatta is a tricky bread to make and it's rare to nail it on the first try. This recipe will work as written. This is a super wet dough, so the problems usually arise from adding too much flour (thinking it should be a kneadable dough). The dough should be a little bit like silly putty, where the best you can do is flop it around with a silicone scraper. It's that high hydration, wet dough that will produce the big holes you are looking for. You know you are on the right track if you can't handle the dough with your hands because it's too wet. Hope that helps a bit. Let me know how your next try goes :)
Peter Smith says
Jennifer, your recipe is amazingly simple, and quick to prepare. I've already had a fair amount of experience with high-hydration baguettes, but ciabbata has its own personality. My only advice to anyone trying this bread is to be patient with the dough, and touch it as little as possible. I actually don't use much flour in the shaping and folding at all, but you'd be best served using flour as Jennifer advises when first starting. Otherwise, you might find youself with dough all over the counter and your clothes, and a paving block to show for it. :)
Jennifer says
Great advice Peter! I remember my first go at this bread and I was trying so hard not to add more flour, but it truly does have its own personality :) Thanks!
Emily says
So good. first attempt and it was very rewarding!
Jennifer says
Glad to hear, Emily :) Thanks so much!
Steve says
I found the parchment paper burned at 475 degrees. I’ve attempted this now twice with the same results. Anyone else have this issue? Would the baking time be the same at a two of 450 degrees?
Jennifer says
Hi Steve, you could reduce to 450F and bake a little longer. Another trick is to trim the parchment mostly away, leaving it just under the bread and a bit of a margin. Parchment won't scorch underneath, just the exposed parts, so trimming solves that issue.
Dia says
I've tried this recipe in the past with active dry yeast and it turned out amazing! I plan on making this recipe again tomorrow morning (meaning I'll have to start the yeast starter dough tonight) however, I only have instant yeast on hand. Would substituting active dry yeast for instant yeast negatively impact the end results? Is there anything I else I might have to change (for example, is less time required for the yeast starter dough)?
Jennifer says
Hi Dia, As long as it is regular Instant Yeast (such as SAF Brand Instant Yeast) and not rapid-rise or quick-rise yeast, everything should be the same. In only bake with SAF Instant Yeast myself and it behaves just like Active Dry.
Julie West says
I make bread a lot, but I have NEVER made a ciabatta baguette as good as this one! My whole family is in love.
A word of warning though: I thought the "paddle attachment" instruction was unusual for a bread recipe, but I went with it anyway. My mixer sounded louder and rougher than usual, but the dough was definitely not as thick as regular bread dough, and seemed to be doing well otherwise (so shiny and silky!). That was yesterday. Today I made the recipe again and my mixer paddles broke.
I'm switching to the dough hook, and hopefully the results will be as good!
Jennifer says
Hi Julie and sorry to hear about your paddle. I have never had that experience. I think the paddle does a much better job with this dough, so you could try decreasing the flour for the first part of mixing (with a paddle), then switch to the kneading hook to add the rest of the flour.
Larry says
Just made this and it was perfect!! I've tried other recipes and they were ok, but this was so easy and turned out exactly the way I wanted it from both taste and texture!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Larry :) Thanks so much!
Jaya says
Hi Jennifer
I just followed your recipe and taste is awesome.
Thank you
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Jaya :) Thanks!
Litalou says
I've made this several times. It's always delicious. I found bread flour to create fewer holes and be more dense. The ideal flour IMO is a high protein (4g) all-purpose flour, like a King Arthur's. My store brand and some of the others are 3g. The slightly higher protein gave the chewiness on the inside that I like and the crustiness on the outside. Bread flour was too firm and 3g all-purpose was too soft.
Jennifer says
So glad you are enjoying it! Thanks so much :)