Ciabatta Italian Bread Recipes

CIABATTA (ITALIAN SLIPPER BREAD)

Steps:

• Make sponge: Stir together, warm water and yeast.
• Let stand 5 minutes, until creamy.
• Transfer yeast mixture to another bowl and add room-temp water and flour.
• Stir for 4 minutes.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
• Let stand at cool room temp at least 12 hours and up to 1 day.
• Make bread: Stir together yeast and milk in small bowl and let stand 5 minutes, until creamy.
• In bowl of standing electric mixer, with dough hook, blend together milk mixture, sponge, water, oil and flour at low speed until flour is moistened.
• Beat on medium for 3 minutes.
• Add salt and beat for 4 more minutes.
• Scrape dough into oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap, until doubled- about 1 1/2 hours.
• Note: Dough will be VERY sticky and full of bubbles.
• Cut two pieces of parchment paper, approx 12 inches by 6 inches.
• Place on baking sheet and flour well.
• Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and cut in half.
• Transfer each half to paper and form irregular ovals approx 9 inches long.
• Dip fingers in flour and dimple loaves.
• Dust tops with flour.
• Cover with dampened kitchen towel and let rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until almost doubled.
• At least 45 minutes before baking bread, pre-heat pizza stone on lowest oven rack position at 425°F.
• Transfer 1 loaf, along with parchment paper, onto stone and bake for 20 minutes or until pale golden.
• Remove to cooling racks and repeat with second loaf.

CIABATTA (ITALIAN "SLIPPER" BREAD)

Steps:

• Make sponge:
• In a small bowl stir together yeast and warm water and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In a bowl stir together yeast mixture, room-temperature water, and flour and stir 4 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sponge stand at cool room temperature at least 12 hours and up to 1 day.
• Make bread:
• In a small bowl stir together yeast and milk and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with dough hook blend together milk mixture, sponge, water, oil, and flour at low speed until flour is just moistened and beat dough at medium speed 3 minutes. Add salt and beat 4 minutes more. Scrape dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough will be sticky and full of air bubbles.)
• Have ready a rimless baking sheet and 2 well-floured 12- by 6-inch sheets parchment paper. Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface and cut in half. Transfer each half to a parchment sheet and form into an irregular oval about 9 inches long. Dimple loaves with floured fingers and dust tops with flour. Cover loaves with a dampened kitchen towel. Let loaves rise at room temperature until almost doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• At least 45 minutes before baking ciabatta, put a baking stone or 4 to 6 unglazed "quarry" tiles (see note, above) arranged close together on oven rack in lowest position in oven and preheat oven to 425° F.
• Transfer 1 loaf on its parchment to baking sheet with a long side of loaf parallel to far edge of baking sheet. Line up far edge of baking sheet with far edge of stone or tiles, and tilt baking sheet to slide loaf with parchment onto back half of stone or tiles. Transfer remaining loaf to front half of stone or tiles in a similar manner. Bake ciabatta loaves 20 minutes, or until pale golden. With a large spatula transfer loaves to a rack to cool.

CHEF JOHN'S NO-KNEAD CIABATTA

Steps:

• Place white and wheat flour in a large bowl. Add salt, yeast, and water. Mix until a wet sticky dough comes together, about 5 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Cover with foil. Allow dough to rise for 18 hours at room temperature. It should not be too warm.
• Punch dough down with a spatula and fold it over a few times.
• Lightly grease a heavy-rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with cornmeal.
• Lightly spray a work surface with water. Place a long sheet of plastic wrap on the damp surface to hold it in place. Sprinkle plastic wrap with flour. Scrape the dough onto the floured surface. Sprinkle flour on top of the dough. Gently stretch and pull dough into a long, flat rectangular shape, 12 to 15 inches long. Bring plastic sheet to edge of prepared pan and flip the dough into the prepared pan. Reshape the dough, if necessary. Dust with flour. Cover with a light dry towel. Let rise about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Bake dough in preheated oven until loaf is nicely browned, 35 to 45 minutes.

CIABATTA

Steps:

• Make the starter: Using your hands, combine flour, yeast, and water in a bowl. Gently work to form a ball. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at cool room temperature until it has risen slightly and is bubbling, 12 to 15 hours.
• Make the dough: Whisk together flour and yeast in a large bowl. Add water and starter, and stir with a rubber spatula until mixture comes together in a slightly sticky, loosely formed ball of dough. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes.
• Gently turn dough onto an unfloured work surface. Sprinkle with salt, and drizzle with oil. To incorporate oil into bread, use the heel of one hand to stretch half of the dough away from you at the same time your other hand is stretching the other half toward you. Fold in half, and repeat until oil has been completely incorporated (dough will no longer have a sheen to it and there should be no oil on work surface).
• To knead: Gather dough, lifting it above work surface. Hold one end of dough close to you while you cast the other end in front of you, onto the surface. Pull the end of dough in your hands toward you, stretching it gently, then fold the dough in half on top of itself. Repeat: Lift, cast, stretch, and fold. Knead the dough until it is smooth, supple, and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Use a dough scraper to clean the surface as needed, adding the scraps to the dough. (Dough will be very sticky, but avoid adding more flour until the end, when it may be necessary to add a very small amount. Add the flour to your fingers, not the dough.) Form into a ball.
• Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rise at cool room temperature for 45 minutes.
• Gently turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. (Do not punch dough to deflate.) Fold into thirds, as you would a business letter. Then fold it in half crosswise. Return to bowl, cover, and let rise at cool room temperature until it has almost doubled, at least 75 minutes.
• Gently turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Using a dough scraper or a knife, divide dough into 2 equal portions. Cover with oiled plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, spread each portion of dough into a rectangle that's roughly 6 by 4 inches. (Be careful not to deflate bubbles.) Fold dough into thirds again, as you would a business letter, pressing seams with lightly floured fingers. Place dough, seam side down, on a generously floured linen towel or a baking sheet lined with floured parchment. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise at cool room temperature until it has almost doubled and a floured finger pressed into side leaves a slight indentation, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Place a skillet on oven rack adjusted to lowest position and a baking stone on middle oven rack. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. If using a linen towel, gently transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Just before baking, stretch each portion into a 10-by-4-inch rectangle. Immediately dimple entire surface with lightly floured fingers. Pour 1/2 cup hot water into skillet in oven. Slide bread and parchment onto baking stone.
• Immediately reduce oven to 450 degrees. Bake, rotating once, until bread is golden brown, sounds hollow when bottom is thumped, and interior registers 205 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on wire racks. Bread is best the day you make it.

CIABATTA

Steps:

• To Make Sponge: In a small bowl stir together 1/8 teaspoon of the yeast and the warm water and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In a bowl stir together yeast mixture, 1/3 cup of the water, and 1 cup of the bread flour. Stir 4 minutes, then cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sponge stand at cool room temperature for at least 12 hours and up to 1 day.
• To Make Bread: In a small bowl stir together yeast and milk and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with dough hook blend together milk mixture, sponge, water, oil, and flour at low speed until flour is just moistened; add salt and mix until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Scrape dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough will be sticky and full of air bubbles.) Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface and cut in half. Transfer each half to a parchment sheet and form into an irregular oval about 9 inches long. Dimple loaves with floured fingers and dust tops with flour. Cover loaves with a dampened kitchen towel. Let loaves rise at room temperature until almost doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• At least 45 minutes before baking ciabatta, put a baking stone on oven rack in lowest position in oven and preheat oven to 425 F (220 degrees C).
• Transfer 1 loaf on its parchment to a rimless baking sheet with a long side of loaf parallel to far edge of baking sheet. Line up far edge of baking sheet with far edge of stone or tiles, and tilt baking sheet to slide loaf with parchment onto back half of stone or tiles. Transfer remaining loaf to front half of stone in a similar manner. Bake ciabatta loaves 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Cool loaves on a wire rack.

CIABATTA BREAD

Steps:

• Place ingredients into the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select the Dough cycle, and Start. (See Editor's Note for stand mixer instructions.)
• Dough will be quite sticky and wet once cycle is completed; resist the temptation to add more flour. Place dough on a generously floured board, cover with a large bowl or greased plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Lightly flour baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. Using a serrated knife, divide dough into 2 pieces, and form each into a 3x14-inch oval. Place loaves on prepared sheets and dust lightly with flour. Cover, and let rise in a draft-free place for approximately 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Spritz loaves with water. Place loaves in the oven, positioned on the middle rack. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

TRADITIONAL ITALIAN CIABATTA BREAD

Steps:

• First make the biga, in a medium bowl combine the flour and yeast then add the water and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a cool dry area for 8-12 hours. If your house is on the warm side then place the biga in the fridge for 8-12 hours, remove from the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 45-60 minutes.
• In the bowl of the stand up mixer whisk together the flour, yeast and salt, then add the water and biga. With the flat beaters mix until the mixture starts to come together for about 2-3 minutes. Then switch to the dough hook and knead for another 3 minutes. This is a soft sticky dough.
• With the help of a spatula place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft free area for about one hour or until doubled in bulk.
• Move the dough to floured flat surface, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and divide into two parts. Form each part into an oblong shape, place on parchment paper that is lightly sprinkled with flour, then lightly sprinkle the dough with flour. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
• Place a baking sheet (upside down) or a baking stone in the oven, and an empty oven proof cake pan on the bottom of the oven, then pre-heat the oven to 450F (230C)
• Before putting the dough in the oven add either a cup of boiling water or some ice cubes (about 8) in the cake pan, then quickly & carefully place the parchment paper and bread on the cookie sheet or baking stone and bake for approximately 20 minutes.Move the baked bread immediately to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

HOMEMADE ITALIAN CIABATTA BREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl 1/4 cup of water, honey and yeast, let sit 5 minutes then stir.
• In a large bowl add the flour , make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture and 1/2 cup of water (if too dry then add the extra 1/4 cup 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach a wettish dough). Mix together with a wood spoon, when almost mixed add the salt and combine. The dough will be loose and sticky. Sprinkle the top with 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour.
• Cover the bowl with a large tea towel, place in a warm, draft free area and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.
• Pre-heat oven to 425F (220C), line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour.
• Carefully move the dough from the bowl to the prepared cookie sheet, making sure that the floured top of the dough remains on the top.
• With a spatula form the dough into an oblong loaf, place 5 or 6 ice cubes on a pan on the bottom of the oven to create vapor or add the pan when pre-heating the oven and pour 1 cup of very hot water into the pan before adding the dough. Bake for approximately 20 - 25 minutes. Let cool and serve. Enjoy!

CIABATTA ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• In the bowl of a mixer, add all of the dry ingredients and stir with a fork. Add the dough hook then slowly add the water and oil and blend until a dough forms.
• Continue to knead the dough on low for 5-7 minutes, dough will be wet & sticky.
• Grease a large bowl. Form the dough into a rough ball and add to the greased bowl. Turn the dough in the bowl to grease, then cover with a tea towel. If the bowl has a lid, use that instead, but do not seal it, just leave it loosely on top.
• Let the dough rise in a draft free spot for 1-2 hours, or until doubled.
• Using a dough scraper, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, handling the dough as little as possible to avoid deflation. Place the loaves on 2 parchment lined baking sheets then lightly dust the loaves with flour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 1-2 more hours.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the bread has a golden colour.
• Cool on wire rack.

CIABATTA (AN ITALIAN BREAD)

Steps:

• Sponge: In a mixer bowl, add the yeast to the water, allow to stand for 3-4 minutes, stirring gently. Sift the flour and add to the yeast. Combine ingredients well, cover and let stand at room temperature for 12 hours.
• Dough: Add the yeast to the milk, stir and let it stand 3-4 minutes to be sure the yeast is working (it should foam up).
• Add the yeast mixture, water and oil to the sponge and mix with a dough hook.
• Add 2 cups of flour and the salt and knead for 2 minutes at low speed. Add the remaining flour slowly and knead for 3 more minutes, adding more water, until the dough begins to pull from the sides of the bowl.
• The dough should be quite soft and wet - a lot like a thick mud - this is why it cannot be kneaded by hand. Add the last of the flour slowly. Add a little more water, if necessary. (You may have to stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice. As the dough kneads, you will see it turn from a puddle of mud to a sticky dough with long, long strings of gluten forming and stretching from the sides of the bowl to the ball of dough on the hook).
• Cover or place in a large, oiled bowl and let rise in a warm place for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until TRIPLED in size and bubbly.
• Get three baking sheets and sprinkle them with flour. Take a spatula and carefully spoon out a third of the still very sticky dough onto each. Try not to deflate the dough too much, although it will deflate some, you can't really help it.
• Since ciabatta means slipper in Italian, try to make each loaf the length of a man's shoe. If you spoon the dough out to one edge, and sort of use your spatula to guide it in a ribbon down the baking sheet you can preserve the light strands or striations in the dough, which will look nice when it's proofed and baked. The loaves will probably be about an inch thick. If you want to give them a nicer shape, flour your hands lightly and neaten up the edges into an oblong. Think shoe, not loaf! Think rustic - don't make the loaves overly neat and perfect, you want a rustic look. Flour your hands again and very gently pat the tops of the loaves to flour them, or sprinkle them with flour if you're afraid of smushing them.
• The dough will still be like glue at this point, so don't even try to handle it much. It's a mess, and that's the way it needs to be. Let them proof for 30-40 minutes, or until a little less than double.
• Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F.
• Bake the bread for 25-30 minutes (22-25 minutes if using stones or tiles) or until bread just begins to turn light golden-brown. During the first 10 minutes, brush or spray the bread lightly with water twice (spraying is faster - you don't want the heat escaping from the oven).
• Enjoy!

GENUINE ITALIAN CIABATTA BREAD

Steps:

• Mix yeast and water in a large bowl. Then add the flours and knead the loaf by hand for about 10-15 minutes. Add the salt in the last 2-3 minutes.
• Let the bread rest in the fridge in a closed container - with room to raise, for at least 24 hours (I often keep a batch in my fridge and just take out chunks to bake, when i need some bread, leaving the rest of the dough in the fridge - it keeps for a few days (3-4).
• Take out the dough about 2-3 hours before baking, letting it reach room temperature. Do not knead the dough and be careful not to knock out all the air, just let it rest around the flour dusted kitchentable under a clean kitchentowel. Bake the bread in a 250 degrees celcius oven pref. on a heat resistant stone. Throw in a bit of water in the bottom of the oven to create some steam when the bread is inserted. Reduce the heat to around 220 degrees celcius after 10 minutes Let the bread bake for around 30 minutes but check it earlier.

CIABATTA A OLD ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• 1. To Make Sponge: In a small bowl stir together 1/8 teaspoon of the yeast and the warm water and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In a bowl stir together yeast mixture, 1/3 cup of the water, and 1cup of the bread flour. Stir 4 minutes, then over bowl with plastic wrap. Let sponge stand at cool room temperature for at least 12 hours and up to 1 day.
• 2. To Make Bread: In a small bowl stir together yeast and milk and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with dough hook blend together milk mixture, sponge, water, oil, and flour at low speed until flour is just moistened; add salt and mix until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Scrape dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• 3. Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough will be sticky and full of air bubbles.) Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface and cut in half. Transfer each half to a parchment sheet and form into an irregular oval about 9 inches long. Dimple loaves with floured fingers and dust tops with flour. Cover loaves with a dampened kitchen towel. Let loaves rise at room temperature until almost doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• 4. At least 45 minutes before baking ciabatta, put a baking stone on oven rack in lowest position in oven and preheat oven to 425*F. (220*C).
• 5. Transfer 1 loaf on its parchment to a rimless baking sheet with a long side of loaf parallel to far edge of baking sheet. Line up far edge of baking sheet with far edge of stone or tiles, and tilt baking sheet to slide loaf with parchment onto back half of stone or tiles. Transfer remaining loaf to front half of stone in a similar manner. Bake ciabatta loaves 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Cool loaves on a wire rack.
• My Note: * The second time I made the sponge I left it right next to a warm stove top and it rose very quickly and made these HUGE air pockets in my finished product. I only left this for 4 hours but the taste and texture were FANTASTIC and the sponge almost spilled over the rim of the bowl! It was a bit difficult to get out of the bowl because of its stickiness but that was to be expected. For those that thought the sponge needed water, it doesn't. It will look just like a clump of dough in the beginning but if you leave it you'll be pleasantly surprised with a bubbling, frothy, sticky sponge. Secondly, I made this recipe cautiously because I expected it to be very difficult to handle, but it was not.
• I prepared the sponge two days in advance and kept it in the fridge. I had no problems with it being too sticky. I cooked it on a pizza stone and basted with water every 5 minutes for a brown, crunchy crust. The parchment did burn a little around the edges while baking, but it was reminiscent of an old Italian bakery.
• The easiest 'real sourdough' recipe; those without 'aging' of dough lack the genuine ciabatta taste, even though they may get the consistancy right. This one gets even better with more than one days aging of the 'sponge'.
• I have fallen in love with making bread these past few months, and this is the best recipe I have have did, by far. I have made at least 12 loaves with this, and every time I make it, my friends devour it instantly. I have modified it a little, though. I found the original recipe to be too dry for my tastes when it came out of the over, so I tripled the olive oil, and it came out moist and delicious. Add more oil to the recipe and you're in great shape. I love this bread! It was a little involved as far as prep time but it was easy, GOOD, and tasted just like what we had eaten in Florence! I will make it again. For 15 people I made 6 loaves with enough left over for dinner the next night.

ITALIAN CIABATTA BREAD

Steps:

• In an electric mixer, combine 1 cup water and yeast. Let stand until yeast is creamy, about 10 minutes. Add remaining water and sponge, and mix, using paddle attachment, on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, powdered milk, and salt; add to yeast mixture, and mix on low speed for 1 minute. Change to dough hook, and mix on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and sticks to fingers slightly when squeezed, about 8 minutes. Or knead by hand, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Transfer dough to a floured surface, and knead four or five turns into a ball. Place dough, smooth side up, in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled in bulk and is slightly blistered and satiny, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down, and fold over onto itself four or five times. Turn folded side face down in the bowl. Cover, and let rise again in a warm place until doubled in bulk and satiny, about 50 minutes.
• Turn dough onto a floured surface, flour the top, and cut into three pieces.
• Line three baking sheets with parchment; flour generously. Transfer a piece of dough to each baking sheet. Gently pull each piece into a rough rectangle (about 7-by-11 inches). Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk and small air pockets appear, about 30 minutes.
• Dimple the surface of the bread with your fingertips. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise again for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with flour, and dimple again; cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes more. Thirty minutes before the rising is completed, place a baking stone, if using, in the lower third of the oven and a baking pan on the lowest shelf. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Slide loaves, along with parchment, onto baking stone. If not using a stone, cook on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Quickly pour 2 cups very hot water into the baking pan to create steam, and close the oven door. Bake until bread is golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped on the bottom, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

CIABATTA

Steps:

• Make biga:
• Place water in processor. Sprinkle yeast over. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 8 minutes. Add 1 cup flour; process until blended. Scrape down sides of work bowl. Add 1 cup flour; repeat processing and scraping. Add remaining 1 1/3 cups flour. Process until small moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball (dough will be firm); place in large bowl. Cover; chill overnight (biga will soften, resembling thick oatmeal in texture).
• Make dough:
• Pull biga into walnut-size pieces; place in a clean large bowl. Add water, yeast and 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons semolina. Using 1 hand, squeeze ingredients together 2 minutes. Work dough 4 minutes by scooping sections from sides of bowl and pressing into center, blending into very soft, shaggy mass. Using spatula, scrape dough from sides of bowl into center. Let dough rest in bowl, uncovered, 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle salt over dough. Using 1 hand, knead dough by rotating bowl 1/4 turn at a time, scooping dough from sides and folding down into center until dough starts to come away from sides of bowl, about 5 minutes. Scrape dough from hand and sides of bowl. Cover bowl with towel; let dough rest 20 minutes.
• Rotating bowl 1/4 turn at a time, fold dough over onto itself 6 times; turn dough over in bowl. Cover with towel and let dough rest in bowl 20 minutes.
• Bake bread:
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Sprinkle work surface with additional semolina. Turn dough out onto semolina. Using pastry scraper or large knife, cut dough in half; keep halves separated. Let stand, uncovered, 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle 2 large baking sheets with additional semolina. Transfer each dough half, semolina side up, to 1 sheet. Stretch each dough half to 16x4-inch rectangle. Press fingertips into dough in several places to dimple surface (characteristic of this bread). Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool. (Can be prepared 2 weeks ahead. Double-wrap in aluminum foil to freeze.)