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.
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 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 get its name? It's shaped just like a slipper!
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 it 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.
Step 2: Make the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sponge with more flour, water, and salt. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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
- Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
- Chocolate Swirl Bread with Cherries
- Rosemary Cheese Bread (Dutch Oven)
- Rosemary Olive Beer Bread
Some quick bread recipes you might like
- Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway Seeds
- Best Ever Banana Bread
- Cheddar Jalapeno Buttermilk Bread
Watch how to make it
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.
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
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
- 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.
- 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.
- I don't recommend refrigerating the bread. Oftentimes, this will dry it out.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 2 small slicesAmount Per Serving: Calories: 197Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 355mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 7g
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.
Emily says
Awesome recipe! I made them into 8 ciabatta rolls and added 2 tablespoons of sourdough starter for some more flavor. Way better than the store bought stuff!
Jen Sobjack says
I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the bread with sourdough starter. I'm in the process of culturing my own starter and look forward to giving this a try! Thank you for sharing your experience.
Linda VanTassel says
Can I freeze half of the recipe? Or store in fridge?
Jen Sobjack says
Certainly! Bread freezes beautifully. Bread will also last longer stored in the fridge instead of at room temperature.
Fiona says
Delicious - first time of making ciabatta. Used a wooden spoon to beat for about 3 mins (no kitchen aid here). In lockdown and making it my mission to experiment with different bread recipes. Great recipe and instructions - thank you
Sonja says
Can I use alternate flours like chick pea/ self raising etc if I do not have bread flour available?
Jen Sobjack says
Unfortunately, those flours will not work with the recipe.
Ghadeer says
Hi thank you for sharing your beautiful recipes.
What if I don’t have bread flour, is there any substitute.
Jen Sobjack says
Unfortunately, there really is no substitute for bread flour.
Relle says
I had long wanted to try making ciabatta but felt intimidated with the process. Also, our oven hardly reaches 450F. But your recipe, which was very clear & detailed (with video to boot) gave me the pish to finally do it. I followed everything to a T and it was a success! It was crispy outside, chewy inside, and with lots of holes. Thank you!
Tina says
If I wanted to make only 1 loaf, could I just halve all the ingredients? Or, if that's not possible, could I divide the dough into 4 loaves and bake the first two, keep the others in the fridge while waiting for the first bake to finish? I have a small oven. Looking forward to making this recipe.
Jen Sobjack says
Halving recipes for yeast dough can be a bit tricky so I don't recommend doing that. And I haven't experimented with putting the proofed/shaped dough in the refrigerator so I'm not sure if that's a good option.
Nicole says
I LOVE this recipe. I have made this so many times and it comes out delicious! I love the no hand kneading. I've made this with one big loaf and 2 skinnier ones. I follow the directions exactly. My husband loves it also.
Peggy says
I'm afraid I already know the answer to this question, but I will ask it anyway: I no longer have a stand mixer. I do, however, have a bread maker. I'm hoping against hope that I can use that. Just give it to me straight (LOL) Can I????
Fred says
Currently working through this recipe - I used a Master Chef bread maker on program 7 (« dough ») to go from sponge to dough and can attest that it works fine. In my model at least, although there are no tuning settings, the first steps of the program involve short bursts of slow mix, followed by continuous slow mix and then continuous fast mix - pretty much exactly what is recommended in this recipe. I don’t know much about bread-making but I suspect this is a common mixing/kneading procedure and that most bread makers will follow something similar. I did have to keep an eye on the dough and stop the program early since the kneading program runs for 25 minutes and this recipe only calls for a cumulative of about 5, but I have used my bread maker as a stand mixer for half a dozen recipes now and haven’t run into any problems yet.
Max says
Best bread recipe ever. I have done many other recipes with no success. I always ended up with dense bread and had a hard time finding out when it was cooked. Your recipe turned out absolutely perfect- restaurant/bakery quality. I will forever use this recipe and will be printing it. I may even combine the two loaves to make one big one- a bit of experimentation for next time.
Thank you so much for finally giving a recipe that actually works and is quite simple (but time consuming ;)) to make.
Jen Sobjack says
Thanks, Max! It really is a great bread.
Cliff Smith says
OK. I had my doubts. This was the first bread I’ve ever made without a bread machine. It didn’t appear to rise much on day #2, so I thought it was going to be a flop. Nope! Came out perfect with a crunchy crust and soft interior. Dipped it into a rosemary infused olive oil and I was a happy puppy.
One recipe improvement would be to state the amount of ingredients used for making the bread portion vs. saying, for example, “the rest of the flour”. But that’s a nit. This is a wonderful recipe.
Jen Sobjack says
Thanks, Cliff! I've taken your advice and updated the instructions.
Kristen says
Hi. I didn’t see about adding sugar to the Red Star yeast until I mixed the sponge with the rest of the water/flour this morning. Should I scrap this dough since it foamed a little but not much without the sugar? I just started my first rise.
Jen Sobjack says
If the yeast foamed at all, it is good to use.
Shelley says
How would I double the recipe?
Jen Sobjack says
I recommend making 2 separate batches. You can have them both going at the same time to minimize the time spent preparing the recipe.
Kelly says
Turned out perfect, my 1st time making this and even in my small combination microwave oven it came out delicious!
Josette Bhurtun says
Hi, here we don't have bread flour, only all purpose, would it be fine?
Thanks
Jen Sobjack says
You'll get the best results with bread flour. I can't guarantee how well the bread will turn out with all-purpose, but you can give it a try.