This recipe yields a classic, airy ciabatta with a chewy crust and open crumb. Perfect for sandwiches, dipping in olive oil, or enjoying on its own.
Ingredients:
- For the Poolish (Starter):
- 150g (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) Bread Flour (high-protein flour is best)
- 150g (¾ cup) Water, lukewarm
- 1g (¼ teaspoon) Instant Dry Yeast
- For the Dough:
- All of the Poolish (from above)
- 350g (2 ¾ cups) Bread Flour
- 250g (1 cup) Water, lukewarm
- 10g (2 teaspoons) Salt
- 3g (1 teaspoon) Instant Dry Yeast
- Extra Flour, for dusting
Instructions:
1. Prepare the Poolish:
- In a medium bowl, combine the lukewarm water and instant dry yeast. Stir gently until the yeast is dissolved.
- Add the bread flour and mix until a shaggy dough forms. There’s no need to knead it.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let it rest at room temperature for 12-16 hours. The poolish will become bubbly and have a slightly sour aroma.
2. Make the Dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining lukewarm water and the remaining yeast. Stir to dissolve.
- Add the poolish, the remaining bread flour, and the salt.
- Using a stand mixer with a dough hook or by hand, mix on low speed (or with a scraping motion by hand) until a rough dough forms.
- Increase the speed to medium (if using a mixer) and knead for 8-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky. If kneading by hand, this may take a bit longer. Ciabatta dough is very wet and sticky, which is how it should be.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Turn the dough to coat it in oil.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let it rise in a warm place for 1-1.5 hours, or until doubled in size.
3. Shape the Ciabatta:
- Generously flour a work surface.
- Gently turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Be careful not to deflate the dough too much.
- Dust the top of the dough with more flour.
- Using a bench scraper or spatula, gently stretch and fold the dough into a rough rectangle.
- Cut the dough into desired sized portions. For classic ciabatta rolls, approximately 4-6 pieces.
- Very gently move the individual pieces of dough to a baking sheet that is very generously floured, or lined with parchment paper that is also very heavily floured.
- Allow the shaped dough to proof for an additional 30 to 45 minutes.
4. Bake the Ciabatta:
- Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C). Place a baking stone or sheet in the oven while it preheats. If you want more crust, you may want to also add a pan to the bottom shelf of your oven, that you can add hot water to, to create steam.
- If you are using the steam method, Just prior to putting the bread into the oven, add about a cup of hot water into the preheated pan on the bottom shelf.
- Gently transfer the ciabatta loaves onto the preheated baking stone or sheet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the ciabatta is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Remove the ciabatta from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack before slicing and serving.
Tips:
- The key to ciabatta is a wet dough, so resist the urge to add too much flour.
- Handle the dough gently to maintain its airy texture.
- A baking stone or steel will help achieve a crispy crust.
- Steam is also a great tool for achieving a very nice crust.
- Because of the very wet nature of the dough, be very generous with the flour when shaping the dough.
Enjoy your homemade ciabatta!