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 up quickly before going to bed and letting 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. That said, you will need to add some 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 it's shape. Again, just go with it as much as you can, adding only enough flour to remove the stickiness.
Cook's Notes for Homemade Ciabatta Bread
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.
More bread recipes
Pear and Walnut Focaccia, Sesame Seed Millet Bread, Maple White Sandwich Bread or visit my Bread Recipe Board on Pinterest for more inspiration!
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
- 3/4 cup water (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. Flour board and top of dough and roughly shape in to an 8x8-inch square. Using a sharp knife, cut your dough into two 4x8-inch rectangles. 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 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease well). When dough is risen, using a bench scraper or silicon spatula and your hand, gently lift the loaves to the prepared baking sheet, being careful not to deflate.
- 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.
Censina says
This is my go to. Love it. I do a couple of things diff. I make the sponge in the mixing bowl. I use my spatula to take sponge of the sides and just add the dough to that mixture. I also add olives here. At the end i add the finished product to the baking sheet right away after splitting the dough and the final rise is on the baking sheet so it does not deflate.. works wonderfully.
Jennifer says
So glad you are enjoying it :) Thanks so much!
Rose says
Made this for the first time but doubled the recipe. When I cut it in two, I thought I might lose some bubbles but it was fine. The tips from the comments were fantastic, especially the silicon spatula, using a dough hook instead of the paddle, and putting the dough on parchment paper. I just picked up the parchment paper and put it on my pan. I also added some ice in a pan to give it an extra crunchy crust. All wonderful suggestions from comments.
I do have one question. Someone said they made it with whole wheat flour. All whole wheat?
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it Rose :) To try whole wheat, start with replacing only about 1/4 of the white flour with whole wheat. A 100% whole wheat bread would be very dense.
Alexis says
Hello, I just made your bread! I have a question. The top is beautiful and brown the internal temperature is 200-201. I took it out to cool. Is that hot enough? You said over 200. I just want to make sure all is well. Thank you super excited to try it!
Jennifer says
Should be fine, Alexis :) Just be sure to let it cool completely before slicing (I know, it's hard!). Enjoy!
Alexis says
Thank you! I just cut it up and tried a piece toasted with butter and it was delicious!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Alexis :) Thanks!
Bik says
Awesome recipe I am new to baking and the instructions were easy. I don’t have a mixer so I did it my hand I guess that’s on the Xmas list. Thanks again for sharing
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Bik and yes, put one on your xmas list. I love my mixer for so many bakes, but especially for making bread-making easier :) Thanks so much!
Tracey says
Bread turned out great! I put ice cubes in a pan I heated up with the oven on the lower rack. That really helped with a crisper crust.
Tastes really good! I didn’t get the big bubbles in the bread but I am guessing that was from moving the loaves too much to get on the baking stone. Not sure what the trick to that is but not easy to move such a soft dough.
Will definitely use this recipe again!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Tracey. I will often transfer it to the oven on parchment, to avoid deflating the bread. Once the bread is set, you can easily remove the parchment.
Chris says
Looks delicious! Will be trying this recipe this weekend; can bread flour be substituted for the AP flour?
Jennifer says
Hi Chris and yes, you can sub bread flour, though start with a little bit less than specified for the all purpose, as I find you need less bread flour generally.
Barbara Shelton says
I made this bread today. I will absolutely make it again. I give it 5 stars.
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Barbara! Thanks :)
Kyna says
New family favorite ! Topped with cheese cracked pepper and Jalapeño...yum !
Jennifer says
So glad you are enjoying it, Kyna! Thanks so much :)
Ryanne says
great bread!
just one question. are the nutrition facts per loaf?
Jennifer says
Usually the nutrition is per serving, but for this recipe, it is per loaf.
Bianca says
just made this bread and it came out amazing! perfect for a caprese sandwich :)
Jennifer says
So glad to hear and loving the sound of a caprese sandwich :)
Eliana says
The taste is amazing. I've made it twice. I've been weighing the flour instead of going by volume, but I think I need to add some more flour. Do you have the list of ingredients bt weight, by any chance? I know the dough is supposed to be wet, but I think mine is way too wet.
Jennifer says
Hi Eliana, When it comes to flour, there is no absolute amount, whether measured in volume or weights. You should add as much as you need to add to make the dough workable, while still keeping it as wet as possible to get those big holes. If you feel you need to add a bit more flour to get there, add a bit more flour :)
SK says
What a fantastic recipe..it came out beautifully..thanks!
Jennifer says
Glad to hear :) Thanks so much!
Izza says
I made the starter and it was extremely water. I set it at room temp for 12 hrs and it looked like the water in the starter had settled at the top? Is that normal?
Jennifer says
Yes, that's normal. Just stir the starter up before using.
Matt says
A paddle mixer was too hard on my Kitchen Aid. Switched to a dough hook and no problems. Dough is more firm than I imagined based on the above description. Looks good so far though. Thanks for the recipe!
Jennifer says
Glad to hear, Matt :) Thanks!
Bonnie says
Made this todayit seemed to turn out pretty good. Still could use some tweaking on my baking. Family says it tastes great.
Jennifer says
Glad to hear, Bonnie! It's a tricky (sticky!) dough, so will only get better and better the more often you work with it :) Thanks so much!
Sue says
Holy wow this is so yummy! I made rolls and my 21-year old daughter is stuffing a still-warm turkey sandwich in her face right now. Delicious! Great texture and flavor. Thank you!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Sue :) Thanks so much!
Victoria says
If I want to make sandwich sized rolls, is the bake time still the same?
Jennifer says
Hi Victoria, I would suspect it would be less, though I don't know exactly how much, as I've never tried it myself.
Morgan says
Can instant yeast be used instead of active dry yeast?
Jennifer says
Yes it can, Morgan (I actually use Instant myself). Enjoy!
Montse says
Hello Jenny, I made this version in whole wheat and it is delicious!! Thanks for sharing.
Also I was wondering how much is the portion size of the nutritional label at the end of the receipe?
Thanks,
Montse
Jennifer says
Glad to hear! As for the serving size, this is one of the few recipes where the nutrition is for the entire yield of the recipe (not per serving, as indicated on the label) Thanks!
Elisabeth says
The recipe looks AMAZING! I'm planing on making it in the following days and I was if it is better to use active dry bread yeast or is it better to use normal active dry yeast. Thanks!
Jennifer says
Hi Elisabeth, I'm not exactly sure what active dry bread yeast is, but normal active dry yeast will do just fine with this one :)
Christal says
What if you dont have a mixer?
Jennifer says
You can make this without a mixer, Christal. Several people have had great success making it by hand. Just follow the steps with a spoon and a bowl. A silicon spatula works especially well with this wet dough.
Dina says
Hi there... I made my bread yesterday and it turn out wonderful! I doubled your recipe but did everything exactly as you said , it tastes like my moms bread rustic Portuguese style (with a ton of kneading) but so much easier to make.
Great Recipe thank you!
PS. I don't have a stand up mixer and did it by hand with a spatula
Jennifer says
So glad it worked out so well for you and good for you for doing it all by hand :) Thanks!
Dina says
Hi there... I made my bread yesterday and it turn out wonderful! I doubled your recipe but did everything exactly as you said , it tastes like my moms bread rustic Portuguese style (with a ton of kneading) but so much easier to make.
Great Recipe thank you!
PS. I don't have a stand up mixer and did it by hand with a spatula
Jenny D says
I don't have a stand mixer, have to do all by hand. Any tips?
Jennifer says
Hi Jenny, yes, you can do it by hand. It is a very wet and sticky dough, so not really kneadable. I would use something silicone (spatula), to fold the dough etc. Add a little flour if you need to, but avoid the temptation to add too much. The moisture is what makes the nice big holes :) Let me know how you make out!
Anna says
Hi! I am going to use your recipe to make bread in a couple of days, yours looks so amazing. I just wanted to know when you fold the dough for the second time do you fold it on the same, already folded sides or the other sides? I do believe that might make a difference so I want to be sure. Thanks in advance!
Jennifer says
Hi Anna, I think you're going to find your dough is pretty loose, so I'm not sure if it matters all that much. Just do what feels right to you :) Enjoy!
Anna says
Thanks a lot for this recipe, it turned out amazing! I would post a pic if I could. It was very delicious and fluffy and pretty easy to make. Will definitely make again ❤️
Jennifer says
So glad to hear! Thanks :)
Anna says
By the way, I wanted to add some chopped olives next time. Can you please tell me which is the best time to add them?
Jennifer says
I would add them at them during the folding in Step 4, by scattering in before folding the first time, then scattering a few more before the 2nd folding.
Jody says
New bread maker here - my bread turned out perfect the first time! I added a few garlic cloves during the second “fold” which worked out nicely.
Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Jody! Thanks so much :)
Catherine says
Hi there! I was wondering if you can make the full starter amount but only bake with half of it at a time? Do you have any recommendations on storage and maintenance of the other half of the starter?
Jennifer says
Hi Catherine, I think you should be able to cover and refrigerate part of the starter dough for several days. For longer than that, I'd probably bake it up and freeze the baked bread.