Rustic Italian Ciabatta

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Rustic Italian Ciabatta

star rating (24) rate this recipe »
Published prior to 2008

This rustic Italian loaf is filled with irregular holes, all the better to trap a drizzle of olive oil. Cut lengthwise, ciabatta makes a wonderful Italian-style sandwich.

1 1/2 cups cool water (12 ounces)
3 1/2 cups King Arthur European-Style  Artisan Bread Flour (14 3/4 ounces)
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Stir the water, 2 cups of the flour, and 1 teaspoon of the yeast together, cover and let rest at room temperature for several hours, or overnight. Add the remaining flour, yeast, and salt, mixing vigorously until the dough begins to hold together. This is a very sticky dough; add more flour only if it's "soupy."

Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl. Let it rise for 1 hour, then gently deflate it. Let it rise another hour, then turn it out onto a liberally floured work surface or silicone rolling mat, and sprinkle lots of flour on top. Flatten the dough to an 8" x 10" rectangle, about 3/4" thick, and cut it into two pieces, each about 4" x 10" inches. Transfer the loaves onto a piece of parchment, leaving about 6" between them. Cover with a proof cover or heavily oiled plastic wrap, and let rise till they're very puffy, about 2 hours.

While the dough is rising, place a baking stone in the oven and set the temperature to 500°F. Allow the oven to heat for 30 minutes. Spritz the dough with water, then transfer the bread to the stone, parchment and all, and lower the oven temperature to 425°F. Bake the ciabatta until it's golden brown, approximately 22 to 25 minutes. Turn the oven off, place ciabatta on the oven's middle rack, crack the door open about 2", and allow ciabatta to cool completely in the turned-off oven. Yield: 2 ciabatta.

Note: If you don't have a baking stone, transfer parchment and ciabatta to a cookie sheet, and bake on the middle rack of your oven.

Reviews

1 23  All  
  • 04/27/2012
  • ajijicpatty from KAF Community
  • I wanted to bake this in the long stone-ware baker that I purchased thru KAF. Talked to a baker about that and she thought it would be fine. Maybe I didn't let it rise enough before baking, but it was a disapointment. The bread tasted good, didn't have the holes that I was hoping for. The bread was done, but it never did "crown". I thought it would have an "oven spring" in the baker, but apparently not. Everything was followed exactly except for using the long stone baker. Maybe this bread is not suitable for that. When I took it out of the baker, it was flat on top. Tasted good, no holes, and didn't get that dark color as illustrated in the picture. Was the problem the stone-ware baker? Is the only bread that can be baked in that is the "Italian Hearth Bread"?
    Ciabatta is a classic Italian flat bread. It is not meant to be baked in a pan, but rather on a stone or sheet pan. I would give this bread another try. Use your long baker for breads that are meant to be baked in a pan. Some of the No-knead bread recipes would be a good choice.
  • star rating 04/17/2012
  • acz56 from KAF Community
  • This was my first stab at a ciabatta. The sponge worked like a charm as did the subsequent risings. I pre-heated the oven, spritzed the loaves that didn't rise too much on their last rise and popped them in the oven. The oven spring was a thing of beauty. Here's where my problems began. The oven maintained the proper temperature but the loaves just didn't want to get that crusty dark brown exterior. I was hesitant to continue baking beyond the 25 minutes so I turned off the oven and cracked the door. To my dismay the loaves fell a bit. And when the loaves were cool enough to remove from the oven the bottoms had hardened. In hindsight I should have taken them OFF the baking stone. On the good side though the flavor is wonderful and the crumb as expected - with holes throughout. I will give it another try.
    It sounds like your dough was over-proofed which would cause it to not brown properly and collapse in the oven. Cut back on your rising time a bit and see if that helps. ~Amy
  • star rating 11/20/2011
  • mumsieskitchen from KAF Community
  • I have been baking artisan breads for years. I think I have every professional book and then some. Some are more useful than others. And yes, working with a formula for the first time can be intimidating. The ease of this recipe is wonderful. The results very easy to achieve. Flavour is good but I suspect retarding the biga dough even longer would produce more depth of flavor. I was inclined to do so with no ill effects on the results. This one is a keeper and I'll certainly be doing this again. Perhaps even in my sleep. Thanks so much for a grand recipe.
    Thanks for your grand review - Happy Baking! Irene @ KAF
  • star rating 11/13/2011
  • schematix from KAF Community
  • Overall the recipe was good but it was lacking some depth. I give the recipe 3 stars for flavor (granted it's good, but I can buy bread this good) but the ease of preparation is 5 star (assuming you are comfortable handling wet dough). It only takes 1 bowl and 1 mixing spoon so there is not a lot of clean-up. I followed the recipe, directions and ingredients very precisely. All the ingredients were weighed accurately. Preparation was uneventful. The pre-ferment was 24 hours overnight in the fridge after a short 30 minutes on the counter. The crust came out evenly medium golden brown. The crumb was highly irregular with many large and small holes. The trick to this is the overnight (same day doesn't do it) pre-ferment AND minimal handling. In fact I never touched the dough with my hands. When I transferred to parchment paper I used two lubed dough scrapers. The crust was very crunchy. This is because the bread is cooled in the oven. If you don't like really crispy crust, take it out when it's done, but then it won't really match the style. Next time i'm going to try it with the pre-ferment out on the counter for 8 hours, then 16 hours in the fridge. I expect this will give the bread a little extra twang.
  • star rating 11/04/2011
  • GR from Somerville, MA
  • Nice airy crumb and fantastic flavor, almost buttery. I only used 1 tsp of yeast and that seemed like enough. Visitors loved dipping it in EVOO. Thanks KAF.
  • star rating 05/29/2011
  • LEDSHAM from KAF Community
  • Best bread receipe every. It is wonderful thank you!!! it is worth the process. I used my bread machine on the dough setting then baked in conventional oven I did not have stone. Excellent!!! We then sliced and grilled with olive oil that I got in Itali last year.
  • star rating 05/22/2011
  • sonomagrl from KAF Community
  • My crust is hard as a rock! Not sure what happened so I'll try a different recipe for this.
  • star rating 02/08/2011
  • from
  • This was the first bread I have ever made, it was easy and tasted amazing!
  • star rating 01/21/2011
  • maenelson from KAF Community
  • Having recently spent 2 weeks in Sorrento, Italy, I've been trying to duplicate the wonderful bread we ate every day. I've searched the web for a recipe but with no success. I was told about this site and not only did I find great recipes but the flour like that used by European bakers. I immediately began this recipe once I received the flour. EACH STEP was working perfectly up until the last proof cycle (just before baking). The dough didn't rise as it had during the first and second proofing and I was VERY dissapointed. I was so upset I called King Arthur's 'hotline' to determine where things may have gone wrong. I have granite counter tops and we prefer cooler temps in the house over very warm. The combination of these two elements was not very good thus the results. HOWEVER, all was not lost!!! I proceeded to heat the pizza stone to temperature and I continued to followed the directions of the recipe....and VOILA!!!! The bread did rise in the oven and it was wonderful. We then had a meal similar to the many we ate in Sorrento and was in the end VERY SATISFIED. Needless to say, this bread will be a staple in our home and King Arthur's European Artisian Flour made the difference! The moral of the story....don't give up!!
    I like your perseverance. ~Amy @KAF
  • star rating 10/31/2010
  • stevedgrossman from KAF Community
  • Easy to make, delicious to eat. This should be anyone's first shot at "Artisan" bread, as the sponge is easy to make, and the results are spectacular. I did not use the Artisinal flour, just basic bread flour, and it was. Great. Did use the SAF yeast. Really great for sandwiches... balsamic vinegar, evoo, some fresh mozarella, tomato and basil and WOW!
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