Easy Ciabatta Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes ciabatta different from bread? ›

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.

This ciabatta recipe is super super simple and has a very limited ingredient list - bread flour, instant yeast, olive oil, water, and salt. Ciabatta bread is characterised by its crusty finish, and big holes inside the dough, which is often achieved by a long, slow rise, and high hydration.

Traditional ciabatta is characterized by a slipper shape as well as an extremely porous and chewy texture. Originating from the Lake Como region of northern Italy, ciabatta means “slipper” in Italian. Ciabatta dough is wet and sticky with hydration levels often 80% or higher.

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“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.”

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.

Ciriola. These small rolls are similar to ciabatta in the sense that they're crusty on the outside and tender on the inside.

It is comprised of just flour, yeast, and water. This fermented sponge is what gives the ciabatta its amazing, slightly tangy flavor.

This involves gently stretching the dough to elongate the emerging air bubbles, then neatly folding the dough upon itself to keep the dough shape compact. Between stretches and folds you probably need to leave the dough a minimum of an hour, to allow time for the bubbles to grow bigger and new ones to emerge.

Ciabatta is usually a yeasted bread but can be a sourdough. It starts as a very wet dough and is a rough or rustic bread with an open crumb. Often dusted with flour, this helps with handling this sticky dough. A bakery in Chattanooga, TN makes a beautiful ciabatta loaf that is full of garlic cloves.

Try less water with your flour. Uneven heat in your oven can be the culprit – if you loaf is nicely golden on the outside but gummy or moist in the inside, it's baking too quickly on the outside. Trying reducing the temperature you're baking at and bake for a bit longer.

Why won't my ciabatta bread rise? ›

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.

The whole wheat, calcium, and fiber found in ciabatta bread can aid in proper digestion, prevent type 2 diabetes, and promote bone health (although not all ciabatta is made from whole wheat).

Refined grains, such as the grains found in white bread and white pasta, are known to increase inflammation across the whole body. Sourdough bread and rye bread are both good options for an anti-inflammatory diet. The best sourdough and rye bread varieties to reduce gut inflammation are those made from whole grains.

A ciabatta is an Italian yeast-leavened artisan and hearth-type bread made with a lean formula. It is characterized by having a crisp crust and a large, irregular and open crumb grain (cell structure).

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.