Easy Ciabatta Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is ciabatta bread soft or hard? ›

Ciabatta is a white bread loaf, notable for its hard crust and soft, porous interior that resembles a slice of Swiss cheese (here's why Swiss cheese has holes, BTW, if you were wondering).

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.

Flour – For this recipe, we use all-purpose flour. It has the perfect amount of protein to produce a ciabatta with a perfect rise and airy texture. Substituting bread flour will result in a denser, chewier, and less airy loaf of bread.

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.

If you want a lighter fluffier bread loaf just add 2 Tbsp of dry milk to the flour per loaf of your bread.

Milk powder.

Instant milk powder makes bread dough super soft and fluffy and also helps to give it a good rise. It also contributes to the dough staying nice and soft after baking for a little longer than a recipe that does not use milk powder.

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.

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.

Why is my ciabatta not crispy? ›

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.

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.

Shaping, with floury hands and a floury scraper (VERY sticky dough) from left to right: 1. 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.

“Refresh” (re-bake) it

Take a 'stale' loaf of sourdough bread, splash the top with water, and re-bake at 180/200C (fan/conventional) to restore to its just-baked condition. Indicative times are: 5-8 minutes for small loaves like baguette or ciabatta, 12-15 minutes for a 600-900g loaf.

For example, ciabatta bread has a higher water content, giving ciabatta an airier and lighter texture compared to sourdough bread. Ciabatta bread also has a crustier outer layer while sourdough bread tends to be chewier. These two types of bread also have differences in taste.

In the oven: Preheat oven to 200° or Warm setting. Wrap the bread in a damp (not soaking) towel, place on a baking sheet, and pop it in the oven for 5-10 minutes. In the microwave: Wrap the bread in a damp (not soaking) towel, place it on a microwave-safe dish, and microwave on high for 10 seconds.

The typical ciabatta has a low rounded cross-section, a custardy interior crumb riddled with large holes, a thin-crispy-chewy crust, and a wrinkled-looking exterior from being coated in flour before baking.

Texture: Focaccia has a lightweight, cake-like consistency that is similar to pizza dough. On the other hand, ciabatta has a dense consistency and a chewy texture.