Delicious homemade ciabatta bread is not nearly as hard to make at home as you may think! This ciabatta recipe is great for first-time ciabatta bakers!
If you’re anything like me, the weekends are when I really dig in to cooking and baking projects. 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 :)
Ingredients and Substitutions
Flour – Bread flour will always give the best results when making ciabatta, but all purpose flour will technically work, with a bit of a compromise on texture. You may find you need a little extra flour is using all purpose flour.
Yeast – I only use SAF Instant Yeast for all my yeast baking. I highly recommend it. Regular Active Dry yeast will also work.
Making this ciabatta bread
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 little 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.
Recipe Tips
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.
Storing and Freezing
Store baked bread in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days, or freeze for longer storage.
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Get the Recipe: Homemade Ciabatta Bread
Ingredients
Yeast Starter Dough: (Start 8-12 hours ahead - the night before works perfectly)
- 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
- 3/4 cup (177 ml) water, at room temperature
- 1 cup (125 g) bread or all-purpose flour, bread flour recommended
Ciabatta Dough:
- 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
- 3/4 cup (177 ml) water, at room temperature
- All of the Yeast Starter Dough From above, plus the following:
- 2 cups (250 g) bread or all-purpose flour, bread flour recommended
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- This bread dough is very moist and loose, but only use as much additional flour as you need to be able to handle it without it sticking. Be sure to start your starter dough 8-12 hours ahead of when you want to make your bread.
- For the Yeast Starter Dough: Combine all ingredients in a 1-quart (4-cup) bowl 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. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted)
- 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
More Bread Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
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
So glad it worked out so well for you and good for you for doing it all by hand :) Thanks!
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
I don’t have a stand mixer, have to do all by hand. Any tips?
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!
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!
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!
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 ❤️
So glad to hear! Thanks :)
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?
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.
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!
So glad to hear, Jody! Thanks so much :)
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?
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.
If our mixer doesn’t have the paddles, what is the best way to blend it?
Hi Linda, I’d go with a bowl and spoon. This dough is super sticky. Silicone spoons and scrapers come in handy throughout the process.
Hello,
I am new to making bread with a starter and I’m wondering how far in advance the starter can be made without it being a problem. I planned to make the bread exactly 12 hours after but something came up at work. Is the starter fine remaining on the counter until I can make the bread or should I do something until then?
Hi Rawan, it should be fine on the counter for 18-24 hours. Beyond that, I would refrigerate it, then bring it back to room temperature before using. Hope that helps :)
Hello!!!
The recipe was perfect! My bread came out beautifully the first time!!!
Will definitely make this real soon!!!
Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Katherine :) Thanks so much!
I plan on making this tomorrow morning (after 12 hours) however, I’m not sure whether I should bake this on the top shelf or middle. What should be best for a convection.
Hoping for a speedy response,
Dia
Hi Dia, the temp and time here is for a non-convection oven. I always bake on the middle rack. Hope that helps :)
Though the taste and texture are great, my bread only got to be about 2″ high. I want to try again. What do you think- get new yeast? More flour (I only added a bit from the cup that I had handy for dusting.
I can’t believe how perfectly this turned out! I never have much success with bread, but this recipe was incredible. I added chopped kalamata olives after the first “fold” step. I will be making this again and again. Thank you for posting!
So glad to hear, Jackie! Thanks so much :)
Just made this and it came out very tasty. I didn’t get all the classic ciabatta holes in the bread though – only towards the top of the loaf. The bottom half was much more dense. Any tips?
Hi Kendall, the best tip when it comes to ciabatta is to avoid adding too much flour. It should be so moist that you can’t really touch it and definitely can’t knead it. I literally flop it around a lightly floured board with my bench scraper. It’s the super moist dough that will give you the big holes :)
Wonderful recipe! I have been trying to make a fluffy sourdough bread and this did the trick. I used my sourdough started for the yeast starter dough. I placed the dough on parchment paper on a baking sheet for the final rise, so I would not have to move it after the final rise. I also added a pan of hot water for steam in the oven. Thanks!
When I mix bread dough, is it best to use a glass bowl,or stainless,or does it make any difference? When I watched the food channel it looks like they always have a glass or ceramic bowl. Amateur bread maker, Pete!
Hi Peter, I always use my stainless steel stand mixer bowl to mix the dough and my large, glass measuring cups to rise it in (only because it allows me to easily see when dough has doubled). As far as I know, it makes no difference at all. I suspect they may use glass on tv so the viewer can see the process more clearly.
I have a sourdough starter always on hand. Could I use that as the starter for this bread or do you think it would give too much of a sour flavor? Your site looks amazing and I have tagged a number of recipes to try :)
Hi Michelle and thanks very much :) I think the taste would be fine with a sourdough starter. To make sure the bread is active enough to develop the large holes, I’d maybe still add a little extra yeast to it. Let me know how it works out if you try it!