Easy Ciabatta Bread

Here is an easy ciabatta bread recipe. Ciabatta means slipper because of the shape of the bread. This bread is crunchy and brown on the outside and bubbly and fluffy on the inside, perfect for great sandwiches or even as a daily bread served with a little extra virgin olive oil. 

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Makes 2 Ciabatte 

Ingredients

• 400g of strong white bread flour + extra for dusting
• 300g of warm water  
• 6g of fresh yeast or 3g of dried yeast 
• 10g of sea salt

Method

1. To start, pre-measured all of the ingredients. In a bowl add the water and the yeast and with one hand mix well until all the yeast dissolves. Now add all the flour and hold the bowl with one and before using the other one to mix well for 5 minutes until there are no more bits of dry flour and it forms a very shaggy dough. Add the salt and mix again for 1 minute scraping off all the dry flour from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be very sticky at this point but don't worry. Once you mix the shaggy dough, instead of trying to wipe the sticky dough off your hand with towels, or rub it off under running water, just grab a handful of dry flour and rub it back and forth on your hands. The dry flour absorbs excess liquid, and the dough comes right off. Put all the crumbs back into the dough. Cover and let it rest for 1 hour.
2. ​TIP. We suggest keeping the dough in a warm and wet environment for the best result. Usually in bakeries is often used a dough proofer which is a warming chamber used to encourage fermentation of dough by yeast through warm temperatures and controlled humidity. You can do the same at home leaving the dough inside your oven or microwave at 25-27°C with a cup full of hot boiling water inside to help to create humidity. Cover the dough at all times and once you put the cup of boiling water inside the oven or microwave do not open it until the next step so you won't lose any of the humidity and warm temperature. Change the water in the cup with new boiling water every time you open the oven for the next step. 
3. After 1 hour from the first rest, start the coil fold technique. To make a coil fold to your dough, rinse your hands in water and gently lift the dough with both hands from the middle until one end releases from the bowl. Gently lower the dough to allow the loosened end to tuck under the middle, and repeat with the other side. The dough should now look like it is coiled over itself. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat this process until the dough does not stretch very far anymore, and holds its shape. Repeat this coil fold 3 more times, resting the dough 45 minutes each time. The dough will strengthen more and more after each coil fold!  This technique is used in high hydration dough and it gives a better structure to the final dough. After the last set, cover and rest once more for 30 minutes.​
4. On an open table heavily flour the top of the dough and your work surface. Gently or you might deflate the dough, turn the bowl upside down to release the dough onto the floured work surface. Now sprinkle the top of the dough with some more flour.
5. Flour the scraper and divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Always with the help of the scraper try to gently separate one ciabatta from the other. Do not worry if they don't have a perfect shape, try not to handle the dough too much as you want to keep as much air in as possible for the perfect light texture. 
6. Line a large baking tray with baking paper next to the ciabatte and transfer them into the tray by sliding your fingers under each end of the ciabatta and quickly transfer it, keeping some space between the two ciabatte. Let them rest for 15 minutes.
7. Turn the oven on to  230°C (fan) and place a small baking pan or a deep tray at the bottom of the oven and place a small deep tray at the bottom of the oven. Once the oven reaches the temperature, put your ciabatte in the middle of  the oven and straight after add half a glass of cold water into the small deep tray at the bottom and quickly close the oven. This will produce steam which helps the bread to rise and create a better crust.
8. ​Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Do not be afraid of the colour when baking bread, the ciabatta needs a proper crust or the structure of the crumble will collapse.  
9. Once the ciabatta is out of the oven, let it cool down on a cooling rack for at least 2 hours or even better overnight before enjoying.​

Watch the recipe video

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