The homemade ciabatta bread is another version of bread I’m proposing, which is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside… one of those breads you’d slice in half and enjoy with Nutella or some good mortadella!
Anyway, it’s a great bread that stays soft if stored in a plastic bag.
A simple bread to make, of course, there’s the rising time like in all recipes of this type, but the result is always worth it.
It’s a type of leavening that can be adapted to many types of dough, I recommend you try it.
During the rising, to prevent the bread from spreading out, I preferred to use parchment paper to keep the bread steady, so it would rise mostly in height.
You only have to try it yourself, then let me know!
If you make this or other recipes on my blog, feel free to send me the photo, I’ll post it on my FB page under your name if you like!
Approx. 1210 Kcal for each ciabatta
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economic
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Portions: 2 ciabattas
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients for making the Homemade Ciabatta Bread
- 1/4 cup lukewarm water
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 packet dry yeast
- 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour for the work surface
- 2 tsp scant salt
Preparation of Homemade Ciabatta Bread
First, prepare the starter by placing the water, yeast, and honey in a tall glass or jar (a bit taller than a hand palm), mix well, and put it in the oven sheltered from drafts (without the light on) to rise for about 30 minutes… it should almost reach the rim of the jar.
In a large bowl, place the 4 cups of all-purpose flour, pour the ready starter in the center, mix a bit, then add the salt and the 1 1/3 cups of water, mixing well to obtain a sticky but well-blended dough.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise in the oven with the light on for about 3 hours or until doubled.
Once the dough has risen, sprinkle 2/3 cup of flour on the work surface, pour the risen mixture on top, and perhaps use a plastic spatula to help fold from outside to inside from all sides, as it’s a loose and sticky dough that clings to hands, making it easier this way.
Make at least 4 turns of folds to release the air and achieve a good result after baking.
Always dust with a bit of flour, using the remaining 2/3 cup of flour, adding even a bit more if necessary; this depends a lot on the type of flour used.
Once a soft but semi-workable dough is obtained, stretch it a bit and cut it in half lengthwise (I made one slightly larger than the other), adjust it with your hands, giving it an elongated but slightly rounded shape.
Grease two baking trays and place one ciabatta on each tray or if they fit, it’s fine to put them together, make a light cut with a knife on the surface of the ciabatta
…create parchment paper strips to create a containment circle around the bread as I did.
The parchment paper will help prevent the bread from spreading during rising in width.
Let rise again for 1-2 hours or until doubled
…then bake in a preheated oven at 482°F for 25 minutes, then lower to 392°F and continue baking for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let cool, and enjoy.
