Easy Ciabatta Bread

Name: Easy Ciabatta Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 155 min
Ingredients: 300 grams organic bread flour; 5 grams salt; 240 grams warm water; 3 grams active yeast; 10 grams extra virgin olive oil

JUMP TO RECIPE

Homemade ciabatta bread is easier to make than you might think! All you need are a few ingredients and some patience, and there is no kneading required! You are going to love this bread from the very first bite!

Important Note: This is NOT a gluten-free bread recipe. I just wanted to point that out right away. While I specialize in posting gluten-free baking recipes, this is not one of them. It is simply a bread recipe that I also love to bake and I wanted to share how easy it is to do. That being said, I'm currently developing a gluten-free ciabatta bread that I hope to be able to make good enough to share soon!

***************************************************************************

Ciabatta bread is one my all-time favorite types of regular wheat breads. I love the crust and how soft and dense it is inside, every bite having a wonderful satisfying chew to it. I wanted to figure out how to be able to make it easily at home and I'm excited to finally share this with you!

Ingredients

All you need are a few ingredients:

Bread flour
Water
Active yeast
Salt
Oil

A black and white bowl containing flour, a glass measuring cup containing a foamy liquid, a small glass containing oil.

How To Make the Dough

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the warm water and yeast and let it sit for a few minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the bread flour and salt.

A wooden spoon in a black and white bowl containing flour and liquid.

Add the yeast mixture and oil to the flour mixture and use a spoon or spatula to mix the ingredients together until a dough forms and no dry flour remains.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 1 hour.

Stretching and Folding the Dough

As I mentioned, there is no kneading required for this bread, but there is stretching and folding. The purpose of this action is to strengthen the gluten in the bread and to incorporate air into the dough without kneading.

As the name states, you stretch the dough and fold it over onto itself. Making sure your hands are wet so that the dough doesn't stick too much, gently work your fingers under a section of the dough. Gently stretch upward and then fold the dough over onto itself.

Two hands stretching dough upwards in a bowl.

Two hands folding dough over onto itself in a dark bowl.

Rotate your bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn again, stretch and fold, and then repeat once more for a total of 4 rotations, 4 stretch and folds.

Two hands stretching dough upward over a dark round bowl.

Two hands folding dough over onto itself in a black bowl.

Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap again and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

White bread dough in a round black and white bowl.

Clear plastic wrap covering a bowl containing bread dough.

You will repeat the stretch and fold two more times, allowing the dough to rest for 30 minutes between each time. By the end of the three rounds of stretching and folding, you will end up with a very smooth, very elastic dough that has built up some volume because of the air bubbles inside.

Shaping the Dough

Turn the bread dough out onto a generously floured work surface. Sprinkle more flour on top of the dough. It may flatten out like a blob, but don't worry! It is a very loose and filled with air bubbles. Resist the urge to knead it, otherwise the big air bubbles will pop!

A ball of bread dough being poured out of a bowl and onto a floured wooden cutting board.

Bread dough on a floured wooden surface.

Using a bench scraper or spatula, shape the dough into a roughly rectangular shape, scraping the flour on the work surface under the dough as you shape it. The dough will be very sticky, so do not skimp on the flour. You can choose to make one large loaf or cut the dough into two or three smaller pieces.

A black spatula shoved against a long piece of bread dough on a floured wooden surface.

A semi-rectangular shape of bread dough on a paper lined pan.

Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet, flipping the dough upside down so the flour-coated bottom is now facing up.

Let the dough proof on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Baking the Bread

Bake the bread in a preheated 420F/215C oven for 10 minutes.

Then reduce the temperature to 400F/200C and baking for another 10 minutes.

A brown baked loaf of bread on a metal rack on a wooden cutting board.

The bread should sound hollow when tapped. The crust will be hard when the bread first comes out of the oven, but it will soften as the bread cools.

Commonly Asked Questions

Close-up of slices of ciabatta bread on a wooden cutting board.

Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?

You can use all-purpose flour, but note that your ciabatta will not have as dense an interior as when you use bread flour. Bread flour has more protein which translates into more gluten, more chew.

Don't you need to add sugar to feed the yeast?

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to add sugar for the yeast to feed off of to make dough rise. The yeast feeds off the carbohydrates that are in the flour.

Why are the measurements in weight and not volume?

Measuring ingredients by weight for baking is always more precise and yields more reliable results.

How do you store the bread?

Since there are no preservatives, the bread will keep in a resealable bag on the counter for 2-3 days. You can also store the bread in the fridge for up to a week. Simply warm slices in the microwave or toaster.

Can I make a smaller loaf?

YES! I have made a small ciabatta, perfect for serving 2-3 people at one meal. Simply divide the ingredient amounts by 3 and follow the same instructions.

Do you have a gluten-free ciabatta recipe?

Not yet! But I am working on developing one that I'll be happy enough to post on the blog!

A round baked loaf of ciabatta bread on crumpled piece of baking paper.

Gluten-Free Bread Recipes

If you are looking for gluten-free bread recipes, you can check out a few of my recipes like: Soft Homemade Gluten-Free Bread, Soft and Delicious Buckwheat Bread, or Gluten-Free Honey Oat Nut Bread. These are not rustic artisan type breads like a ciabatta, but they can still satisfy a bread craving if you are gluten-free!

Slices of baked bread next to a white bowl containing oil and black vinegar.

I certainly don't need to tell you how to enjoy this ciabatta bread. It's perfect for eating with a hot bowl of soup or for dipping into oil and vinegar. Slice it horizontally and stuff it with generous layers of deli meat and cheese and greens and you've got a beautiful sandwich. Make avocado toast! It's so delicious!

Like I said, this is one of my favorite breads and I love being able to make this at home whenever I want. Baking your own bread is incredibly satisfying and rewarding, and when you discover how easy it is to make this ciabatta, you're going to want to make it all the time!

~ Lisa.