How to Make Fresh Homemade Ciabatta Bread
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This post will teach you how to make a crusty, open-crumbed loaf of ciabatta bread. Below you will find a detailed guide full of tips and tricks as well as a troubleshooting section to help you make a loaf of ciabatta bread with a crisp, golden exterior, and a light, airy crumb. Video guidance, too!
After posting this sourdough ciabatta bread recipe, I felt determined to make a comparable, yeast-leavened variation. In my research, I learned that ciabatta is often made with a poolish or biga, meaning a small amount of flour and water mixed with a leavening agent and left to ferment for a short period of time.
This got me thinking: could I replace the 100 grams of sourdough starter in the sourdough ciabatta recipe with 100 grams of poolish? I gave it a go, stirring together 50 grams each flour and water with 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast and then letting it sit for three hours. When the surface of the poolish was dimpled with holes, I proceeded with the recipe, adding water, salt, and flour; mixing the dough; stretching and folding it; letting it rise, and finally transferring it to the fridge overnight.
The following morning, I turned the dough out onto a floured work surface, cut it into eight portions, and transferred them to a sheet pan. One hour later, I baked them.
Friends! It worked beautifully. The crumb, while not quite as wild and amorphous as the sourdough version, was full of holes, giving the ciabatta its characteristic lightness and airiness. It quickly became one of my favorite homemade bread recipes, a perfect bread for beach lunches and mountain hikes, for dinner with friends and family, perhaps beside a fire or under twinkling bulbs strung from tree to tree, a pool of olive oil at the ready to dunk into at will.
PS: Another favorite bread recipe : Overnight Refrigerator Focaccia = The Best Focaccia
Ciabatta: A Quick Overview
- 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. Both the recipe below and this sourdough version are 82% hydration.
- Traditional ciabatta recipes call for very little yeast and a long, slow rise. Many recipes call for making a biga or poolish (as noted above), which helps produce that light, airy texture.
- Some ciabatta recipes call for milk or olive oil, but neither of these ingredients is required to make a traditional loaf of ciabatta.
Troubleshooting
If your dough does not cooperate the first time around, you may need to make some changes:
- Water: This is a very high-hydration dough, and depending on the flour you are using and your environment (if you live in a humid environment, for instance), you may need to reduce the amount of water. If, for example, when doing your stretches and folds, the dough never came together in a cohesive ball, I would reduce the water by 50 to 60 grams next time around.
- Flour: All flours absorb water differently. Through troubleshooting with people all over the world often with people making this sourdough pizza recipe, this yeast-leavened pizza recipe, and most recently this sourdough ciabatta recipe, the type of flour being used plays a critical role in how the dough turns out. Often the water needs to be reduced considerably for the dough to come together. If you live abroad or in Canada, you can either make the recipe once as written or add the water slowly, mixing as you do, until the dough resembles the dough in the video.
- Tunneling: A common problem with ciabatta is tunneling: large gaping holes running through a loaf of bread. If you end up baking a loaf of hollow ciabatta, try lengthening the final proof. Why? Because when under-proofed dough enters an oven, the remaining energy in the yeast leads to fast and furious gas production. This explosion of gas breaks the gluten structure of the bread, causing the tunnel to form.
How to Make Ciabatta Bread, Step by Step
The first step of the recipe calls for making the poolish. To do so, gather your ingredients: flour, water, and instant yeast. SAF is my preference.
Whisk together 50 grams flour and 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast.
Add 50 grams water.
Stir to combine. Cover the bowl and let sit for 3 to 4 hours or until…
… the surface of the dough is dimpled with air pockets.
Add 360 grams water. (This part is really fun … the poolish bubbles up as a unit and floats on top of the water… it really feels alive!)
Stir to combine; then add 12 grams salt and stir again to combine.
Add 450 grams flour, preferably bread flour.
Using a spatula, stir until you have a sticky dough ball. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
With wet hands, perform a set of stretches and folds, by grabbing one side of the dough, and pulling it up and to the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat the grabbing and pulling. Do this until you’ve made a full circle. (Watch the video for more guidance. I employ a sort of “slap and fold” technique, which is helpful with this very wet dough.) Cover the bowl.
Thirty minutes later, repeat the stretching and folding.
If time permits, repeat this stretching and folding twice more at 30-minute intervals. This is what the dough looks like after the third set of stretches and folds:
This is what the dough looks like after the 4th set. Feeling the dough transform from a sticky dough ball to a smooth and elastic one is really cool.
Transfer the dough to a straight-sided vessel and let it rise at room temperature until…
… it doubles in volume. (Note: If you don’t have a straight-sided vessel, you can simply let the dough rise in a bowl. I personally like using a straight-sided vessel because it allows me to see when the dough has truly doubled in volume.)
Then, punch down (deflate) the dough — I like to remove the dough from the vessel …
… and ball it up using wet hands.
Return the dough to the vessel; then transfer to the fridge. (Another plus of using the straight-sided vessel is that it’s easier to store in the fridge than a bowl.)
The dough will likely double in volume overnight in the fridge.
Remove the dough, turn it out onto a work surface…
… then ball it up. (Note: This is where I deviate from the traditional ciabatta-making method. If I were to follow the traditional path, I would have simply patted that blob of dough pictured above into a rectangle; the cut it in half. I find I get a more open crumb when I preshape the dough.)
Divide the dough into two equal portions. Ball up each portion. I like to do this with very little or no flour — I find I get better tension with less flour.
Sprinkle a work surface liberally with flour. Place the balls top-side down (the smooth side); then sprinkle the balls liberally with flour. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 2.5 hours. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
After the 2.5 hours… the dough balls will look like this:
Turn the balls back over…
… then carefully transfer them to a parchment lined sheet pan.
Bake at 425ºF for 20-25 minutes or until nicely golden:
Let cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.
How to Make Ciabatta Rolls
Follow the recipe as outlined above or in the recipe box below until the step in which you remove the dough from the refrigerator; then, sprinkle a work surface with flour. Turn the dough out, sprinkle the surface with more flour, and pat it into a rectangle. (Note: This method, unlike above, follows a traditional ciabatta method — there’s no preshape or final shape. I prefer doing this with rolls for simplicity. It’s nice not having to ball up 8 portions of dough. If you wish, of course, you can ball up each round of dough.)
Divide into 8 portions.
Transfer to a sheet pan, cover with a tea towel, and let stand for 2 to 2.5 hours.
Transfer the pan to the oven, and bake at 425ºF for 20 to 25 minutes.
Let cool for at least 20 minutes before halving or slicing.
How To Make Fresh Homemade Ciabatta Bread
- Total Time: 24 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 rolls
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This post will teach you how to make a crusty, open-crumbed loaf of ciabatta bread. It calls for making a poolish (a preferment), and it’s a very high hydration dough (82%), which means the dough will be wet and sticky. I highly recommend watching the video before attempting the recipe.
Notes:
- As always, for best results, use a digital scale to measure the flour.
- I have had success using all-purpose flour, but if you can get your hands on bread flour (I use King Arthur Flour Bread Flour, which is 12.7% protein), that is ideal, especially if you live in Canada or abroad. If you live abroad or if you live in a humid climate, this may take a try or two to get right — I suggest making it once as written; then reducing the water by 50 grams or so depending on your results.)
- I find a bench scraper particularly helpful for this recipe.
- I also really love using a straight-sided vessel (with lid) both for letting the dough rise and storing it in the fridge.
Ingredients
For the sponge:
- 50 grams (about 1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
- 2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) instant yeast, SAF is my preference
- 50 grams (about 1/4 cup) water, lukewarm or room temperature
For the ciabatta dough:
- 360 grams (about 1.5 cups) water, lukewarm or room temperature
- 12 grams (about 2 teaspoons) salt, kosher or sea salt
- 450 grams (about 3.5 cups) bread flour, see notes above
Instructions
- Make the poolish: In a large bowl, whisk together the 50 grams flour and the 2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) instant yeast. Add 50 grams water and stir with a spatula until combined. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or cloth bowl cover and set aside for 3 to 4 hours or until the dough’s surface is dimpled with holes.
- Make the dough: To the bowl of the poolish, add the water. The sponge should release from the bowl and parts of it, if not all of it, will float. Add the salt and stir briefly. Add the flour, and stir until you have a wet, sticky dough ball — dough will be very sticky. Cover with a tea towel or cloth bowl cover and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Stretches and folds: With wet hands, grab one side of the dough, and pull up and to the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat the grabbing and pulling. Do this until you’ve made a full circle. (Watch the video for more guidance. I employ a “slap-and-fold” technique, which is helpful when handling these wet doughs.) Cover the bowl. If time permits, repeat this process three more times at 30-minute intervals for a total of 4 sets of stretches and folds over the course of two hours. If you are short on time, know that doing just one or two sets of stretches and folds is totally fine.
- Let it rise: Transfer the dough to a straight-sided vessel, if you have one, or leave it in the bowl if you don’t. Cover the vessel with a towel and let rise until doubled in volume. Punch down (deflate) the dough — if your dough is still in the bowl, you can deflate it using wet hands right in the bowl; if your dough is in a straight-sided vessel, it may be easier to turn the dough out onto a work surface and ball it up using wet hands to prevent sticking. Return the dough to the vessel, cover it with an airtight lid, and transfer it to the refrigerator immediately for at least 12 hours. The dough can remain in the fridge for as long as 48 hours.
- Portion and shape: (Note: This is where I deviate from traditional ciabatta bread recipes. See notes in the post above for the more traditional shaping method.) Turn the dough out onto a work surface. I prefer to do this step without flour, but absolutely sprinkle your surface lightly with flour as needed to make the dough manageable to work with. Using a bench scraper or your hands, shape the dough into a tight ball; then use the bench scraper to divide the dough in half. If you want perfectly even balls, each portion will way roughly 455 grams. Again, use the bench scraper or your hands to ball up each portion into a tight ball — see video for guidance.
- Proof: Sprinkle your countertop liberally with flour. Place the balls top-side (smooth side) down onto the flour. The seam-side will be on top now, and it may split open — this is fine. Sprinkle the top surface of the balls liberally with flour. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 2.5 hours. After 2 hours of proofing, heat the oven to 425ºF.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. When the dough has finished proofing, gently flip each ball over — I find a bench scraper to be helpful here. Then use both hands to stretch each ball out gently into a rectangular shaped “slipper”. Transfer to the prepared pan.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the loaves are golden all around. Remove pan from oven. Transfer ciabatta rolls to a cooling rack. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Yeast
- Cuisine: Italian, American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
421 Comments on “How to Make Fresh Homemade Ciabatta Bread”
Hi Alexandra, First attempt at making this and it turned out not bad at all. A couple of adjustments needed. I noticed that the dough was too wet and would quite hold its shape despite using 20ml less water (340ml). Whilst my ciabatta rose beautifully, the crum texture on the top was airy and bubbly but dense at the bottom with 25 mins in the oven at 325F with fan. Is this because I should have allowed it to cook longer given the dough was wetter than your pictures? And do you think reducing the water to 300ml will help this? – Thanks again…Your instructions made it super clear and really easy to follow.
Hi Ash! What kind of flour are you using? And where are you located? It’s definitely possible that the flour I use absorbs more liquid than the flour you use, which is what is causing your dough to be so wet. Reducing the amount of water is a great idea. And cooking longer is also a great idea. What material is your baking pan?
Heya Ali, so I made the ciabatta bread first time ever. Done everything right part from flour we don’t have bread flour in new Zealand so I substitute it for all purpose. Now only thing is when I took it out of over it was more browner on the bottom then top. But little bit flatter compare to yours but inside it’s soft and fluffy with similar air holes like your’s.
Hi Nerissa,
I’m sure the flour is playing a role in the differences in shape and color. Our bread flour here, or the one I’m using at least, contains a little bit of malt, which helps with browning. I have two thoughts: you might need to reduce the amount of water given the flour you are using. Try holding back 25-50 grams. Second, you can place another sheet pan underneath the sheet pan you are using, which will provide a little more insulation and will prevent the bottoms from getting so dark.
Is the sheet pan you are using light or dark colored?
Hi Nerissa, I’m also NZ based and recommend using High-grade flour as this has a higher gluten content (11%) and will create much better results than standard flour (7%). Alternatively, you can also find ‘gluten flour’ in most Woolworths, which you can add directly to standard flour.
Thank you for sharing this, Lou!
I have made this several times now and it is wonderful. But I’m wondering why you flip the bread over before putting it in the oven? I’m also wondering if you ever add steam in the oven…
Great to hear, Karen! It’s really for visual reasons… when it’s flipped, the floury side becomes the top and the seam side becomes the bottom. I never use steam, because I never find it to be that effective, but if you have had success with it, go for it 🙂
Hi Ali, I have made this recipe twice, and I am not having good results. I am not getting the brown, crusty exterior, or the open crumb interior texture. The second time came closer, after I discovered some mistakes the first time around. I am following the recipe EXACTLY, using a scale, King Arthur Bread Flour, 4 fold and turns (4 times), and my dough looks and feels exactly as you describe in the recipe and in the YouTube video, all throughout the process. I even have an oven thermometer to make sure I am baking at 425F, and baked it for 27 minutes the second time, getting a barely brown crust, (more like light tan color) but the bread was done baking. Perhaps important to note: I live at 9000ft elevation, in a semi arid climate (in the mountains above Salt Lake City, Utah). I make homemade breads (including your amazing Peasant Bread), cookies, and pizza dough all the time, and get great results, with no adjustments for high altitude. What can I do to get that lovely open crumb, and dark brown crusty exterior? Thank you so much!
Hi Kathy! Glad to hear you are using a scale and bread flour and following all of the steps. My first thoughts would be to increase the final proof. Roughly how long are you proofing the dough before baking it? And my next thought would be to increase the oven temperature by 25 to 50ºF… you can always lower the temp if the dough is browning too quickly, buy my guess is that won’t happen.
Thank you for the suggestions! I am now getting perfect Ciabatta!!! The changes I made that led to this success: I use only all purpose flour (Utah grown and milled AP flour, and it is amazing), the last proof is nearly 3 hours in my oven at the proof setting, and I bake for 23 minutes at 465ºF. I have made this multiple times now, with amazing results. I have also tried putting a sheet pan filled with boiling water on the bottom rack. I think this does produce a crispier crust, but still good without it. Again, Thank you!!!
Great to hear, Kathy! Thanks so much for circling back and sharing your fixes — so glad they’ve worked! Your flour sounds lovely, too 🙂
Hi Alexandra, great recipe, thank you for it! This is my first ciabatta I really love to bake, its bubbly and airy. I have two things, first mine is probably underproofed, when its airy at the top, but not at the bottom, which is also bulging? Second, what is your timing with the recipe (my kitchen is about 21°C)? Thank you 🙂 Petra
Hi! How long are you proofing (step 6) your dough? You could try increasing that to more like 3 to 4 hours as long as through dough is covered so that it doesn’t dry out.
Hi, I am proofing for about 4 hours. I would say it might be the oven :-/ Thank you and have a nice day 🙂
I just love this recipe , i realy enjoyed making this ciabatta , came out perfect and very very tasty ! Your video was a great help ,thank you
Great to hear, Rene! Thanks for writing 🙂
Hi! Just curious why you pull the bread right before putting it in the oven? Doesn’t it deflate? Or is that the key to the air holes?
Hi! It’s hard to pull the bread right after the balls have been shaped — the dough is too tight. Once it has proofed at room temperature sufficiently, the dough will relax and be easy to pull. This is gentle and will not deflate the dough.
I’ve made this so many times, it was my first real bread recipe. I’ve over- and under- proofed it, over- and under-hydrated it, added weird inclusions, made it with bread flour, all purpose, and whole wheat flour. It comes out good every time. This is an excellent first bread recipe- check out the video of the stretch and folds to set you up for success. You don’t need any fancy equipment or anything special. I can’t recommend it enough.
So nice to read all of this, James! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of these notes — so encouraging for others 🙂
Hello Alexandra, I live in NC and I made your Ciabatta bread today, followed your receipe to the letter, scale ,bread flour, proofing times, Mine came out OK not great like yours. The holes in the bread were not as big as yours or as numerous. I think the dough was too wet, never really balled up like yours or maybe I didn,t let it rise enough. Can I use a stand mixer with a bread hook instead of doing the stretch and fold method. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated
Hi! You can try a stand mixer, but I think given your environment and results, you may want to consider holding back 50 grams of water from the start to see if that helps. I’ve never used a stand mixer for this recipe, so I can’t comment on how it will affect the dough and hole structure.
Hello! Am currently in the midst of making this. Dough now in the fridge! However, it’s so wet. Despite me sprinkling extra flour on during each stretch and fold to help it go into more of a ball. I can’t see a scenario where is possible to shape it in any way at this point. Maybe that’ll change after some time in the fridge, but any other tips to rescue the dough? Or can I still hope for ok results?
Hi Bella! I see that you are in the UK and this is likely the issue — your flour just isn’t absorbing the water the way my flour is here in the States… this is a common issue.
First: are you using a scale to measure? And are you using bread flour?
Next time around, I would hold back 50 to 75 grams of water from the start.You can always add it back in if the mixture looks too dry until it resembles the dough in the video and the photo above.
For this batch, you have a few options, you could simply plop the dough into a 10×5-inch loaf pan, let it rise, then bake it. Or you could make a focaccia: place a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a 9×13-inch pan, turn the dough out into the oil and let it rise for 3-4 hours at room temperature; then bake it.
You could also try adding more flour, but I never like how that works at this phase in the process. I also worry if you continue on trying to make ciabatta you’ll be very frustrated due to the wetness of the dough.
Hello! I used very strong white bread flour, it has 14g protein in. I used scales to measure everything.
I’ll know for next time to hold off on the water for sure! Going to try and keep this as ciabatta as it’s for a special occasion and focaccia isn’t quite the right bread, but good to know I can bake as focaccia if it does get too frustrating! Thank you!
Great to hear re scale and flour. I think holding back some of the water will make a difference next time around. Fingers crossed this one works out for you.
One thing to keep in mind is that even when flour has a high protein content, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will support a very high hydration. I wrote about this over on my pizza newsletter, because I was so thrilled to see that Petra Flour, which I love for pizza, includes the hydration percentage the flour can support: https://pizzaeveryfriday.substack.com/p/something-i-wish-all-flour-producers
Great video, instructions and easy to follow recipe. Visually appealing and delicious to eat. Thank you.
Great video, instructions and easy to follow recipe. Visually appealing and delicious to eat. Thank you.
Great to hear, Donna! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
I want to attempt this recipe, but I work during the day (return to office- UGH) and I can’t figure out the timing. How long can the dough remain in the fridge? Could I make the poolish the night before, make the dough before heading into work, and then do the final steps when I get home, or would it be better to make this a weekend project?
Thank you!
-Steph
Hi and yes, your plan is great:
make the poolish the night before
make the dough before heading into work (the recipe calls for 4 sets of stretches and folds, but if you can do just one set, 30 minutes after you mix the dough, this will be fine)
do the final steps when you get home
keep the dough in the fridge for as long as 48 hours
I am going to make this over the coming weekend. Question, is I am looking for more of a hoagie shape for a sandwich. Should I follow more of the Bread vs the roll recipe?
Hi! Sorry just seeing this. I would make the rolls, but I think I would make 4 rolls instead of 8 if you want to make hoagies.
Hi, if I want to add kalamata olives, at what point would I add them? Thanks
Right with the flour! Toss them to coat 🙂
Hi, I’ve already made your Sourdough Baguesttes which came out great! I really like to work with sourdough starters! But this recipe for beginners is fantastic. I just took them out of the oven. I gave the recipe to a friend who is a bit leery of making a starter! The Poolish was perfect and they came out great! 😊 PS I made rolls!
Great to hear, Marilyn! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of this 🙂
I just love this recipe , i realy enjoyed making this ciabatta , came out perfect and very very tasty ! Your video was a great help ,thank you
Hello! I attempted this for the first time and it was far too wet. I actually read the comments, tried again with adding less water and it was perfect! I’m in the UK so just the hydration I assume. It only ended up with about 20-30ml less in the end. Will definitely make it again. Thanks!
Great to hear, Laura! So glad that lowering the hydration worked out for you. Thanks for writing 🙂
Thanks! Forgot to leave a rating!
Hi Alexandra 🙂
I live in Singapore, probably one of the most humid countries in the world haha… I’ve made your focaccia twice and both times, they turned out really well.
I made your ciabatta rolls today and it turned out INCREDIBLE!… I decided to do rolls cos the dough was very wet to handle and I thought doing the rolls was more straightforward (less shaping required).
For the making of the ciabatta dough, I did not hold back the water volume and used 360g of lukewarm water.
It turned out wet and sticky. I couldn’t do the slap and fold technique (as demonstrated in your video) and I couldn’t shape it into a ball but I still managed to do 3 sets of stretch and fold.
One thing that kept me going was, I remember the focaccia was also wet and sticky but it was jiggly and pillowy.
For the ciabatta dough, it had a similar feel, jiggly and pillowy haha.
After the 3 sets of stretch and fold, I let it rest for 3h at room temp and it more than doubled in size… I wanted to do 2h but couldn’t as I was trying to put my kids to bed haha.
Before placing it in the fridge and covering with a cling wrap, I sprinkled some flour on the dough as I was afraid that it might stick to the cling wrap.
After about 13h in the fridge, I took the dough out and followed your step by step instructions for making the rolls.
I baked them at 220c for about 20-25 minutes and then at 250c for about 3-5 minutes just to get a more brown colour.
Once again, THANK YOU so much for your clear and detailed recipe 🙂
Great to hear, E-Wan! Thanks so much for taking the time to write and share all of your notes. I’m so happy to hear that this high-hydration bread as well as the focaccia has worked out for you in your very humid climate. I will suggest stretches and folds to others having trouble with the stickiness and the slap and folds. Nice work making it work 👏👏👏👏
Worked perfectly. Thank you.
Great to hear, Deanne!
Hi Alexandra, thanks so much for sharing your recipe! I don’t have a straight sided vessel and fear I may have over-proofed my dough. How long does it typically take for your dough to double in size? Thanks and I look forward to trying this recipe again!
Hi! Apologies for the delay here… did you proceed with the recipe? How did it turn out? The time varies so much depending on the time of the year so it’s hard to say how long it will take without knowing the temperature of your kitchen and your environment.
Followed directions EXACTLY and was well rewarded with 2 golden loaves. The crumb was the most tender, chewy, holey I’ve ever achieved. Yes, there is a long bulk and proof time and yes it’s an extremely wet dough to handle. But if you follow Ali’s directions you’ll be in bread heaven. I really enjoyed the whole process, but the ultimate joy came from cutting it open and being wowed! And the taste is to die for. This makes a great vessel for everything from tartines to garlic toast, morning toast and jam, pasta sauce scooper…or just on its own with a nice slab of butter. I’ve made the sourdough version and this actually came out lighter, airier, tastier…and more golden for some reason. All my other ciabattas have had a dull, matte finish. While not a detriment to the taste, the golden exterior on these loaves made a beautiful addition to the dinner table! Thank you for all the testing you did on this, Ali! I too, had a completely holllow ciabatta loaf once and couldn’t figure out what I did wrong. Now I know that long proof before baking is essential!
So nice to read all of this, Jeanne! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes and experience. I love a tartine or sandwich on ciabatta!
Excellent solution to Ciabatta bread. Like any ciabatta it takes some regular processing. I did a12 hour chill and next time I think I’ll extend it a bit. While I like the crumb I think I will add a dish of water in the oven next time to get it a little crisper. Overall a really good bread!
Great to hear, Ed! Thanks for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
SO NICE ,,, THANK YOU
I live in a tropical climate and the humidity is something like 65-75%. I found that reducing the water by 10ml makes the dough a lot more workable. I also tried and like to ferment the poolish overnight in the fridge which I feel adds a touch of sour to the final product.
It’s a great feeling feeding the family with bread that’s better than store bought stuff so thank you very much for the recipe.
Great to hear! Thanks for writing and sharing these notes. I like your cold-fermented poolish idea 🙂
Ali – my loaves, similar to yours in the video, were not crispy at least after resting. I used steam which usually gives me a good crisp crust. How can this have a crispier crust? Not as many holes as I like either but it tastes amazing!
Hi! Are you using a scale to measure? What type of flour are you using? And what type of baking pan?
Yes a scale – I used KAF bread flour and a metal rimmed baking sheet.
It sounds as though you are doing everything right. I don’t use steam, so my first thought is to try it without steam. Second, how long did you cold ferment for?
Mine actually looks the same as yours in the video – when you cut into yours it doesn’t look/sound crispy. I’m trying to get more of a crisp. I will say when I reheated it, the crust did get crispy… so not sure what’s going on. I cold fermented for 12 hours.
This is the best ciabatta bread I have ever eaten & my husband agrees!
Great to hear, Karen! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
I followed this recipe to the letter, the bread is delicious and soft, but I have almost no holes in it, it’s pretty much solid. I live at high altitude, 7000′ would that make a difference, and how to adjust.
Thank you
Burg
Hi! What type of flour are you using? Are you using a scale to measure? How long did you cold ferment for?
Can I use a stand mixer in lieu of the slp and folds
I’ve never tried, so I can’t speak to how the texture of the dough will be affected. I worry your crumb won’t have as open of a crumb structure.
Second time making this recipe, so far I have done the rolls variation. They came out incredible both times. This time, I did leave them in maybe 3 minutes longer to get a bit more color, but it’s a great recipe overall. Very easy to follow and execute.
Great to hear, Billy! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your experience 🙂