How To Make Ciabatta Bread
Learn hot to make these FOOL PROOF Ciabatta Rolls. These are perfectly light chewy and airy on the inside, with a crunchy and crackly crust on the outside!
Ingredients
Ciabatta Rolls
- 360 g water lukewarm
- 6 g instant yeast see notes
- 8 g granulated sugar
- 450 g all-purpose flour plain flour
- 10 g salt
- 18 g olive oil
Instructions
A Note Before We Begin
- The instructions and ingredient measurements in this recipe have been carefully written. They must be followed exactly. The majority of time spent making this recipe is allowing the dough to rise. The folding in the recipe helps develop gluten and structure to the bread giving it it’s distinct chewy texture.
Ciabatta Rolls
- To make the dough - Add the water to a jug or small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the top and mix. Allow to rest in a warm spot for 10 minutes. It should froth. If it doesn’t it’s not active.
- To a large bowl add the flour and salt and mix to combine. Add the yeast water and the oil and use a spoon to mix until no dry ingredients are showing.
- First rise (30 min) - Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes or until it doubles in size. For rising temperatures, see the notes section at the bottom of this recipe card.
- First Dough Stretch and fold the dough - Take the plastic wrap off (save it). Lightly wet your hands and slowly lift up a corner of the dough then fold it over itself. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and grab another corner of the dough, folding over itself. Rotate and fold another two times for a total of four folds.
- Second rise (overnight / 12 hours) - Cover with plastic wrap again and place in the fridge to chill overnight. It will double (almost triple) in size again. The slow rise in the fridge allows it to develop its flavor.
- Third rise (2 hours) - Take the dough out of the fridge and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Take the plastic wrap off and repeat the stretching technique. Cover with plastic wrap and rise another 30 minutes, then stretch. Rise and stretch another 2 times for a total of 2 hours and 4 stretches.
- Preheat your oven - Preheat a fan forced oven to 200C / 400F (220C / 430F for no fan). Position one oven rack in the middle of the oven and one on the bottom. Add water to a baking tray and place on the bottom of the oven while it’s heating up. Lightly sprinkle a half sheet baking tray with flour. Set aside.
- Shape the rolls - It’s time to shape the rolls and do the final rise. Take the plastic wrap off the bowl and sprinkle your workbench with a generous amount of flour.
- Pour the dough out of the bowl onto your work bench. Sprinkle with more flour on top. Use your hands to shape the dough into a rectangle shape, about 30cm x 20cm / 8 x 12-inches in size. Don’t squash the top of the dough or it will deflate it. You want to keep those air bubbles. Just be gentle when shaping it.
- Final rise (30 minutes) - Use a large knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into 6 even sized rectangles. Carefully lift up each roll using a floured spatula or bench scraper onto the lightly floured baking tray. Cover the baking tray with another baking tray of the same size or lightly spray a large piece of plastic wrap and cover the dough. Rise for a final 30 minutes.
- Bake - Right before the rolls go into the oven, spray with water and place on the middle rack to bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. The rolls will be light and crispy.
Notes
Lukewarm water - you want to make sure your water is the right temperature to activate the yeast. It should read between 49C - 55C / 120F - 130F.
Yeast - Active dry yeast is a dry yeast that needs to be activated in lukewarm water or milk before using. When left to rest it becomes frothy so that you know it’s active. Instant Dry Yeast doesn’t need to be activated before using and can be added straight to your dry ingredients. Both yeasts will work where yeast is called in a recipe.
Room temperature rising time - Most recipes, including mine will say to let the dough rise in a bowl (covered with plastic wrap) at room temperature. That’s 24C to 29C / 75F - 85F. But the best indicator of your bread having risen is by looking at it. In this case it should double in size. As you progressively fold and rise though, it will rise a little less each time.
Storage - Ciabatta rolls can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days. You can also freeze them by wrapping in plastic freezer bags and freezing for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before using.
Nutrition - is an approximate and is based on per roll. This recipe makes 6 decent sized rolls.
A note on measurements - this recipe is offered in weight measurements. This is in an effort to offer the most accurate way to get the best results. Cup measurements simply aren’t accurate enough for a recipe that needs precision and cup sizes differ depending on where you are in the world. To learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales, click here!
Nutrition
Calories:308kcal | Carbohydrates:59g | Protein:8g | Fat:4g | Saturated Fat:1g | Polyunsaturated Fat:1g | Monounsaturated Fat:2g | Sodium:651mg | Potassium:90mg | Fiber:2g | Sugar:2g | Vitamin C:0.003mg | Calcium:14mg | Iron:4mg
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