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 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 refrigerate for at least 12 hours but up to 24 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 paddle attachment until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.
Step 3: Rise and turn the dough
Transfer the dough to a large bowl greased with olive oil. Cover and let it rise for 45 minutes. Lightly grease a silicone scraper and use it to fold the dough over onto itself.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for another 45 minutes. Repeat this process once more and let the dough rise for a final 45 minutes.
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.
Step 5: Let rise and bake
Gently slide the bench scrapers under the dough and transfer each loaf to a well-floured cloth. Fold the cloth up on the sides of the dough to separate and support each loaf. Let the loaves rise for 20 minutes.
Invert a baking sheet on to the lowest rack in the oven and heat the oven to 450°F. Place parchment paper onto a pizza peel or another inverted baking sheet.
Slide your fingers under each end of the loaf and quickly transfer it to the parchment paper. Spray the loaf lightly with water.
Carefully slide the parchment with the loaf onto the heated baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 22-27 minutes.
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 with paddle attachment is the best and 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. This method only works if the dough is under 75% hydration. Here's a great article from Cooks Illustrated that explains how to knead bread in a food processor.
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
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
- 4 ¼ cups (553g) bread flour, measured correctly & divided
- 2 cups (480g) water, divided
- ¼ teaspoon instant yeast, or active dry yeast, SEE NOTE 1
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon olive oil
Instructions
Make the sponge
- In a medium-sized bowl combine 1 and ½ cups (200g) of the flour, 1 cup (240g) of the water, and yeast. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is well mixed and free of lumps.
- Cover the bowl will plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, at least 12 hours but up to 24 hours. This will add a lot of structure and flavor to the finished bread.
Make the bread
- Remove the sponge from the refrigerator and add the remaining 1 cup (240g) water. Gently run a rubber spatula around the outer edge to release the sponge from the bowl. The water you just added will make this easier.
- Transfer the sponge mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the remaining 2 and ¾ cups (353g) flour and the salt.
- Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Turn the speed up one notch and beat for another minute. Then turn the speed up one more notch and beat until the dough starts to release from the sides of the bowl, about 4 minutes. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl in order to get the dough to mix together properly.
- Drizzle the olive oil in a large bowl and rub it around to evenly coat the inside of the bowl. With wet hands, transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes.
- Using a well-greased scraper, gently fold the dough over onto itself. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 45 minutes. Repeat this step once more and let the dough rise for a final 45 minutes. (The dough isn't going to rise much during this stage. Don'tpanic, this is normal for this recipe.)
- Liberally flour your work surface with flour and let the dough slide out of the bowl onto the counter. Be very gently 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 2 loaves by using the bench scrapers to manipulate the sides.
- Lay a lint-free baking towel over a large baking sheet and liberally dust it with flour. Using both bench scrapers, slide them under both ends of the dough and transfer the dough to the prepared cloth. Fold the cloth up in the middle to separate and support the loaf. Repeat with the remaining loaf.
- Cover the dough with another lint-free cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes. (The dough will rise slightly and should resemble a puffy marshmallow. It will be loose and full of gas. Once you place the dough into the hot oven, it will quickly puff up.)
- Meanwhile, adjust the oven rack to the lowest position. Place a large inverted baking sheet on the rack and preheat the oven to 450F.
- Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper to about 12x6-inches. Place the parchment paper on a pizza peel or inverted rimmed baking sheet.
- Using the cloth, gently roll the first dough loaf over to loosen it. Carefully slide your fingers under each end of the dough and transfer it to the prepared parchment paper. Repeat with the second loaf.
- Dust off any excess flour and spray the loaves lightly with water
- Carefully slide the parchment with loaves on the heated baking sheet in the oven using a jerking motion.
- Bake, spraying the loaves with water twice more during the first 5 minutes of baking time, until the crust is a deep golden brown, about 22-27 minutes. The internal temperature of the bread should be 205-210°F.
- Transfer to an oven 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 high hydration dough. It's difficult to work with and requires patience.
- Instant yeast is highly recommended for this recipe because it's effective and reliable. If you must use active dry yeast, you'll need to activate it before using. Take the 1 cup (240g) water needed for the sponge and warm it to 110°F, stir in 1 teaspoon sugar and the ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast. Let it sit for 5 minutes until it's foamy. If the yeast doesn't foam, it is not good and you'll need to start over. Stir the yeast mixture into 1 ½ cups (200g) of the flour with a wooden spoon until it's mixed well and free of lumps. Continue with step 2 of making the sponge.
- A stand mixer is recommended for this recipe! This dough is high hydration, meaning it is very sticky. A stand mixer with Paddle Attachment is the best and 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.
- It is highly recommended to use the weight measurements for this recipe. This will give you the most accurate measurements leading to the very best results. Kitchen scales are inexpensive and can be purchased at most home good type stores including Walmart, Target, and Amazon.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 2 small slicesAmount Per Serving: Calories: 197Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 319mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 6g
* Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed to be accurate. For the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients and brands you use to make the recipe, using your own nutrition calculator, nutritionist, or medical professional.
Les says
What is the purpose of resting the dough on floured lint free cloth? Thanks
Jen Sobjack says
The shaped loaves need a final proofing. Placing them on the cloth and shaping the cloth around the loaves helps the loaves retain their elongated shape. Otherwise, they'd spread out too much.
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.
John says
How can I make this recipe into flat rolls?
Jen Sobjack says
I haven't tried making this recipe as rolls but I imagine you'd just divide the dough into however many rolls you want instead of 2 loaves.