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. 

---

Makes 2 Ciabatte 

Ingredients

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

Method

1. To start pre-measured all of the ingredients. 
2. In a bowl add the warm water and the dried yeast and with one hand mix well until all the the yeast dissolves. Now add all the flour plus salt and mix well for 5 minutes, until there are no more bits of dry flour and it forms a very shaggy dough. 
3. With a dough scraper transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface making sure there is no dough or flour left inside the bowl and start kneading the dough with the palms of your hands. The dough will be a little wet but do not worry and do not add any flour, be energetic and a little fast with your kneading movement. The slower your kneading movement, the stickier your dough will be on the table. Help yourself with the scraper to bring back the dough together while kneading it and to take off the sticky dough from your hands! Knead for about 6-7 minutes (be patient with this process, the dough will be sticky but bear with it and you will have a perfect result).
4. Once the dough it's nicely kneaded and elastic, help yourself by using only the scraper to bring the dough all together. Brush a tbsp of olive oil all around the bowl, transfer the dough inside and cover. Let it rest for 45 minutes. 
5. TIP. We suggest to keep 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 encourages 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 time and once you put the cup of boiling water inside the oven or microwave do not open it until next step so you won't loose 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. 
6. Every 45 minutes, come back to the dough and complete a set of Stretch & Fold with a total of three sets. To Stretch & Fold the dough, wet your hand with a little bit of water and grab the dough at one side, lift it up, and fold it over on top of itself. Fold the dough four/five times, moving clockwise from the top of the bowl. After the last set, cover and rest once more for 30 minutes.​
7. 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.
8. 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. 
9. 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.
10. Turn the oven on to  230°C (fan) and place a small deep tray at the bottom of the oven.
11. Once the oven reach the temperature put your ciabatte in the middle of  the oven and straight after add half 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.
12. ​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.  
13. 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.

Back to recipes