Easy Ciabatta Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes ciabatta bread different? ›

Ciabatta is baked with a much higher hydration level, making the holes within the dough much bigger than a baguette. Ciabatta is also baked with a much stronger flour, which has a more delicate and sweet taste. Baguettes also tend to be baked more golden brown.

Add Milk

To make your bread soft and fluffy, another trick used by commercial bakers is replacing water with milk. Milk has fats which make bread softer. We at Old Bridge Bakery, carrying years of tradition of bread making, provide authentic and delicious loaves of bread in different flavours. Come and enjoy!

I've long loved ciabatta bread for its chewy exterior and soft crumb speckled with air holes. It's the perfect bread for dunking into soup, slicing horizontally and making a sandwich, converting to garlic bread, or for simply slathering with butter and eating until your heart's content.

If you leave your dough rising for too long, the yeast can use up all its energy, and then have nothing to give when the dough goes in the oven. You will know if you have over proofed your dough if it collapses when you touch it, or if it doesn't rise in the oven.

Ciabatta loaves are more moist and spongy than most artisan breads. This is largely due to the addition of olive oil in the dough. Ciabatta is generally milder than sourdough but still has a slightly tangy, rustic sort of flavor.

No.

“Ciabatta bread is relatively high in carbohydrates and has nearly zero grams of fiber,” Richards cautioned. Mowrer added some other red flags, which include “higher carbs, calories and sodium per slice compared to other bread.”

Adding dry milk powder to your bread dough will help your loaf rise higher. In addition, the loaf will stay soft and hold moisture longer which again means it will last longer. It also helps brown the crust. If you want a lighter fluffier bread loaf just add 2 Tbsp of dry milk to the flour per loaf of your bread.

Overworking the dough can cause the gluten strands to break down, resulting in a tough and dense bread. To ensure a light and fluffy texture, knead the dough just until it becomes smooth and elastic. This usually takes about 7-10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a stand mixer.

Ciabatta dough is wet and sticky with hydration levels often 80% or higher. Both the recipe below and this sourdough version are 82% hydration.

How do you know when ciabatta is done? ›

TAP THE BOTTOM OF THE BREAD

You can check your bread for doneness by removing it from the pan and tapping the bottom. When you tap the bottom of a loaf of bread that is done baking, the sound will be hollow.

If baked too soon or too late, loaves can collapse and have a dense, gummy center. “There are so many factors that affect rise time, so exact time will vary for every baker.

If your crust is becoming soft too quickly and not staying crispy you simply need to bake the bread longer. The best way to do this is to lower the temperature of your oven slightly and bake a few more minutes to achieve the same color you would have at the higher temperature.

Stretch the dough gently into a square about 15 x 15 cm. Pick up one side and stretch it gently out, away from the dough. Fold it about 2/3 of the way back over the dough and lay it down. Pick up the opposite side and gently stretch it out away from the dough.

Ciabatta bread was first produced in 1982, by Arnaldo Cavallari, who called the bread ciabatta polesana after Polesine, the area he lived in. The recipe was subsequently licensed by Cavallari's company, Molini Adriesi, to bakers in 11 countries by 1999.

Sourdough bread is healthier than traditional ciabatta bread. Ciabatta bread is a popular type of Italian bread, and therefore, is less nutritious than sourdough bread due to the leavening agent used. However, if you are searching for a healthier ciabatta bread, you can choose one made with sourdough or whole grains.

The difference between the French baguette and Italian ciabatta starts with the simple ingredients each has at its core. Both use flour, water, yeast, and salt, but ciabatta uses a much higher hydration dough and olive oil to ensure elasticity.

Its simple flavor ensures its wide range of uses, such as on its own, or as a fresh panini stuffed with beautiful authentic cured meats.