Ciabatta Bread

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This simple Ciabatta Bread recipe will give you a rustic Italian loaf that is perfect for dipping into soups or sauces. The high hydration in this bread results in a wonderfully chewy center and tons of irregular holes.

Front view of Ciabatta Bread cut in half so the inside is visible.

Homemade ciabatta bread

This is probably the easiest ciabatta bread recipe you’ll come across. It is an 80% hydration bread which means it’s very wet and sticky. 

Because of this, you’ll need a stand mixer to make the dough. Otherwise, it will be near impossible to mix the dough.

The mixer will do all the mixing and kneading for you. This is why I say it’s the easiest recipe.

No-knead recipes are the best! I make focaccia, baguettes, pizza dough, and slow cooker bread all the time because they require little effort. And now I’ll be making ciabatta bread just as often, if not more.

Ciabatta means slipper in Italian. Can you see how the bread gets its name? It’s shaped just like a slipper!

Overhead view of a loaf of ciabatta bread on brown parchment paper.

Are there eggs in ciabatta bread?

There are no eggs in ciabatta bread. It’s made with flour, water, yeast, and salt.

What do you use ciabatta bread for?

You slice ciabatta bread at an angle and drizzle it with olive oil. It can also be used for dipping in soup or soaking up a sauce.

Or you can slice it lengthwise and make an Italian Style sandwich. Whichever way you decide to enjoy this bread, I’m sure you’ll be impressed with the texture and flavor.

How do you heat up ciabatta bread?

You can heat ciabatta bread by wrapping it in aluminum foil and baking in a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes.

Main ingredients for ciabatta bread

Bread flour – this is essential for the sturdy texture of this bread.

Yeast – you can use instant or active dry yeast. Either one will work. Just be sure to use a quality brand like Red Star®.

Water – there’s a lot of water in this bread and it’s the only liquid the recipe calls for.

Salt – salt boosts the flavor of ciabatta bread but also slows down the fermentation and enzyme activity in the dough. It helps to strengthen and support volume as well.


How to make ciabatta bread?

Step 1: Make the sponge

Combine flour, yeast, and water in a large bowl. Stir it with a wooden spoon until it’s well mixed and free of lumps.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least 15 hours but up to 20 hours. The longer you let the sponge sit, the more flavor and structure the final bread will have.

poolish being mixed in glass bowl with wooden spoon next to bowl of fermented poolish

Step 2: Make the dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sponge with more flour, water, salt, and yeast. Mix it with the dough hook until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

The dough will be very soft and batter-like. This is normal for ciabatta.

loose, batter-like dough in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook

Step 3: Rise and turn the dough

Transfer the dough to a large bowl greased with olive oil. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour. Use wet hands or a greased silicone dough scraper to gently lift and fold the dough over onto itself. Flip the dough over so the top is now the bottom.

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 45 minutes. Repeat the folding process twice more and let rest for another 45 minutes after each.

process shots showing bowl of dough, stretching the dough, and folding it over onto itself

Step 4: Shape the dough

Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and liberally flour the top of the dough. Use two well-floured bench scrapers and carefully manipulate the dough from the sides to form a square.

Don’t add any pressure to the top of the dough or it will deflate. Cut the square in half and use the bench scrapers to gently shape each half into a loaf.

Gently slide the bench scrapers under the dough and transfer each loaf to an inverted baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the loaves with a cloth and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

dumping dough out of bowl onto worksurface, shaping dough into a square using bench scrapers, cutting square dough in half, and two loaves of unbaked ciabatta

Step 5: Bake

Invert a baking sheet onto the rack just below the center of the oven and heat to 450°F.

Spray the loaves lightly with water. Then, carefully slide the parchment with the loaves onto the heated baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

It’s important to bake with steam to create a crisp, golden crust. Do this by placing a cast iron on the lowest rack. When transferring the loaves to the oven, add 1 cup of ice to the cast iron. The ice will melt and steam during the first few minutes of baking.

two loaves of unbaked ciabatta on inverted baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Easy Homemade Ciabatta Bread sliced on a piece of brown parchment paper.

I don’t have a mixer. Can I use a food processor? Or can I mix by hand?

A stand mixer is recommended for this recipe! This dough is high in hydration, meaning it is very sticky. A stand mixer is the easiest way to mix it.

You can try mixing it with a wooden spoon and kneading it by hand but be mindful that adding more flour during kneading will affect how the bread turns out.

I don’t recommend using a food processor for mixing.


Tips for this easy ciabatta bread recipe

  • Plan ahead since the sponge needs to be made a day in advance.
  • The dough for this bread is very wet and sticky. It requires a lot of external flour to prevent it from sticking. If you use too much flour on the outside, you can easily brush it off before spritzing the loaf with water and baking. Just use a pastry brush* to do this.
  • The dough will puff up and resemble a giant marshmallow. Be very delicate when shaping it so you don’t knock out all the air. The air is what gives the bread those gorgeous irregular holes.

More yeast bread recipes you’ll love

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Front view of Ciabatta Bread cut in half so the inside is visible.
4.56 from 602 votes

Homemade Ciabatta Bread

This simple Ciabatta Bread recipe will give you a rustic Italian loaf that is perfect for dipping into soups or sauces. The high hydration in this bread results in a wonderfully chewy center and tons of irregular holes.
Prep Time :45 minutes
Cook Time :30 minutes
Resting Time :23 hours
Total Time :1 day 15 minutes
Servings :20
Author :Jen Sobjack

Ingredients

For the poolish

  • 1 ½ cups (200 g) bread flour
  • 1 scant cup (200 ml) water, room temperature
  • ¼ teaspoon instant yeast

For the dough

  • 2 ⅔ cups (350 g) bread flour
  • 1 cup (240 ml) water, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon instant yeast

Instructions
 

Make the poolish

  • Combine the flour, water, and yeast in a medium bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon until fully combined and the mixture is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to ferment at room temperature for 15 to 20 hours.

Make the dough

  • Add the poolish and all ingredients for the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until all the flour is moistened, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-low and mix until dough forms into a mass and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 6 minutes.
  • Switch to the dough hook attachment and mix on medium-low until dough becomes smooth and shiny, about 10 minutes. The dough will be soft, wet, and sticky much like batter.
  • Lightly coat the inside of a large bowl with olive oil or nonstick spray. Use a silicone dough scraper to scrape the dough into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour at room temperature.
  • Using a greased scraper or damp fingertips, gently grab one side of the dough, lift and stretch it over the top of itself. Turn the bowl 180 degrees and stretch the same way. Rotate 90 degrees, stretch and fold. Rotate 180 degrees to stretch and fold the final side. Flip the dough over so the bottom becomes the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 45 minutes. Repeat folding two more times, then cover with plastic wrap and let sit for an additional 45 minutes after each.
  • Adjust the oven racks so that one is in the lower-third position (just below the center) and one is at the very bottom position. Place a cast-iron skillet on the lowest rack and an inverted baking sheet on the upper rack. Heat the oven to 450°F. It’s important to let the oven preheat for at least an hour to ensure it is hot enough.
  • Liberally dust your work surface with flour and let the dough slide out of the bowl onto the counter. Be very gentle here so you don’t knock all the air out of the dough and try to handle the dough as little as possible. Liberally dust the top of the dough with flour. Using 2 well-floured bench scrapers, carefully manipulate the dough from the sides to form a square. Take care not to put pressure on top of the dough.
  • Cut the dough in half, down the middle of the square. Gently shape each half into loaves by using the bench scrapers to manipulate the sides.
  • Invert a large baking sheet and place a sheet of parchment paper across the top. Dust liberally with flour. Using both bench scrapers, slide them under both ends of the dough and transfer the dough to the prepared parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining loaf. Use your fingertips to gently poke the surface of each loaf as you shape it into a rectangle.
  • Cover with a lint-free cloth to prevent the loaves from drying out. Proof in a draft-free place until puffy and the surface develops small bubbles, about 30 minutes.
  • Have 1 cup of ice ready. Mist the loaves with water and carefully slide the parchment with loaves on the heated baking sheet in the oven using a jerking motion. Immediately drop the ice into the cast-iron pan on the bottom rack. Quickly close the oven door.
  • Bake, until the crust is a deep golden brown, about 25-35 minutes. The internal temperature of the bread should be 210-215°F.
  • Transfer to a rack to cool completely before slicing and serving

Video

Notes

  • It’s very important to measure the ingredients correctly! While I do list cup measurements, if you do not measure accurately, the dough will not form properly. For 100% success with this recipe, please use the weight measurements. This is a soft, sticky dough. It’s difficult to work with and requires patience.
  • This is a 80% hydration bread. If you have difficulty working with the dough, lower the hydration to 70% by using 3 ¼ cups (422 g) flour in the dough.
  • You may bake the bread on an oven stone if you prefer. Place it in the oven to preheat in step 5.
  • Shaping ciabatta: This is meant to be an easy recipe with limited handling. Because of this, it can be difficult to build surface tension around the dough to hold in the gas. If you continuously have trouble with getting large irregular holes in the bread, then it’s because the gas is escaping. Make sure you are adequately stretching and folding to build up the surface tension.
How to keep ciabatta fresh
  1. Wrap completely cooled bread in aluminum foil and it will keep for up to 2 days at room temperature. The crust will soften but can be toasted if you wish to crispen it up.
  2. The bread will stay fresh for up to 3 months if stored in the freezer. Wrap the cooled loaves in double layers of plastic wrap followed by double layers of aluminum foil. Reheat the frozen loaves as desired in the oven.
  3. I don’t recommend refrigerating the bread. Oftentimes, this will dry it out.
Makes two 12-inch loaves.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 95kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 3gFat: 0.5gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 234mgPotassium: 30mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 0.002mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 0.2mg
*Nutrition Disclaimer
Course :Appetizer
Cuisine :American
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

This recipe has been updated with a few tweaks to ensure everyone has success. I’ve added additional yeast and there’s also less handling of the dough which prevents the air from being knocked out.

Adapted from On Baking and Bread Illustrated.

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Recipe Rating




298 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    First time making this.I was pretty nervous but I was following the instruction every steps. And It turn out Amazing!!!
    It was tricky when it come to shaping and cutting the dough, but I dust the scrapers plenty of flour and I baked them for full 35 minutes. The bread have a really nice color the skin is very crispy and the inside is heavenly sponge soft.Ii am planning to make more b/c it so good!!! Thank you so much.

  2. 5 stars
    Directions were spot on for times in the mixer, times for folds and tests were good, final proofing I only did for ten minutes as I was afraid the loaves would fall. Misted and transferred to oven and patiently waited for them to cool. Omg!! Wonderful crispy crust, chewy interior with larges holes! Perfect!! Thank you so much for a great and super easy recipe.

  3. 5 stars
    This was the fanciest bread I’ve ever baked and it turned out way better than I had expected! It made a delicious breakfast sandwich and was just good sliced with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yum!

  4. Hello, I am try to get clairification of the 45 min rests.

    Is it 1 hour then fold, followed by 3, 45 min rests and folds or 2, 45 min rests and folds?

    1. Yes, you let the dough rise for 1 hour then perform 3 stretch and folds with 45 mins rests after each one.

  5. Hagit Zeitoun says:

    This recipe is amazing i made it and it came out superb.
    I followed the recipe and I highly recommend it. BTW don’t change a thing it is perfect as is.
    Thank you so much.

  6. Jet Clark says:

    I really enjoyed the process of making this bread. I’m new to stand mixers and bread baking so wasn’t sure what speed to use on 2 of the steps. You aren’t kidding when you say this is a sticky dough, I had to reshape the loaves on the parchment and ended up having to use new paper to get something that resembled ciabatta. All in all, I got it done! The loaves look very rustic (lopsided) but who cares?!?! They tasted delicious! I forgot to spray my loaves before baking, but I did spray the hot oven and got it really steamy as I closed the door… I’d definitely make this again! It was a good lesson on handling sticky sticky dough!

  7. Hi my dough is not sticky like you said it would be. Do you think I added to much flour or was the water to cold? I used bread flour.

    1. I would say either not enough water or too much flour. Make sure you are using weight measurements for the most accurate results.

  8. Hi Jen,

    This recipe is amazing, I’ve made it a fair few times over the last couple of years.

    A quick question in the previous recipe you had the “sponge” part of the recipe fermenting in the fridge overnight and I’ve noticed with the updated recipe it’s at room temperature. What is the difference with doing it at room temperature vs the fridge?

    And I’ve noticed in the new recipe is using more yeast, does this help with the air bubbles in the rising process a bit more?

    I agree the stand mixer makes it the best and lightest dough. I’ve tried with dough hooks on the hand beater, but it’s not the same lightness in the bread.

    1. Leaving the sponge at room temperature develops a deeper flavor. The fridge will slow down yeast activity leaving a milder flavor. Also, the added yeast will create more gas to allow better rising. Many readers had difficulty getting their dough to rise so I tweaked the recipe slightly to help them.

      1. Hi Jen,
        Hope your week is going well.
        Thanks so much for this information I really appreciate it & make total sense 😊

    2. It was my first time making ciabatta and wow, they look and tasted amazing! I do have issues with developing a crust on the bottom of the loaves though. I’m using a baking sheet, should I perhaps pre-heat it for a little longer?

      1. You can move the oven rack down one more notch. Get it closer to the lower heat source. And you can preheat a bit longer to make sure the baking sheet is good and hot.

  9. Hi Jen. Great taste wonderful texture, my bread is not as puffed as yours it is more on the flatter side. Should I try les flour?

    1. I don’t recommend using less flour as this will throw off the hydration level. It’s possible you could have knocked some of the gas out of the dough when handling it or the oven temperature is slightly off.

  10. Can I cut this recipe in half?

    1. I don’t recommend halving yeast recipes. But since the baked bread freeze so well, you can keep the second loaf stashed away for later or share it with friends.