Light and soft, this sourdough ciabatta bread is easy to make at home, without a mixer.
The dough for this ciabatta is fun to work with and if you've got a well maintained sourdough starter, and strong bread flour, it'll be a breeze!
See the full ciabatta video from start to finish
The word ciabatta means 'slipper' in Italian, and I see why. A ciabatta is made with a very wet dough. The high hydration means the dough spreads out a little more, into a long slipper shape.
This sourdough ciabatta has a hydration of around 84%. It's a fair bit wetter than my standard sourdough loaf recipe. I still make this by hand though, without a mixer.
The Sourdough Ciabatta Process
It's a two day process to make this ciabatta (surprise, surprise!) That's the time needed to strengthen the dough and ferment it well, so your bread is airy, light and delicious.
The Sourdough Starter
First up, feed your sourdough starter. With all my sourdough (unless it's sourdough discard recipes), I use a nice and active starter with a low acid content. This means I keep my starter refreshed often, so the acid build up stays low.
I use it when it has at least doubled, if not tripled, but before it passes its peak and collapses. Read more about how to create a sourdough starter here and acid in sourdough starter here.
The Dough
The dough consists of strong bread flour (with a protein level of at least 11.5%), water, a little olive oil, salt and of course, the sourdough starter.
At first, just the main flour and water are mixed together and left to hydrate for at least 30 minutes. This is the autolyse period, and it really helps to create an extensible dough.
After the autolyse, the salt, starter and oil are added in and it is all squished together until well combined. Then it's tipped into a shallow dish, and coil folded every 30 minutes for 3 hours until the dough is elastic and strong.
A coil fold is when you lift the dough up and coil it over itself. Do this on all sides until you create a dough ball.
Even though it's a wet dough, if your starter is good, you're going to notice the incredible changes in the dough as it strengthens and the gluten is worked.
Then the dough is left to ferment one more hour before being placed in the fridge overnight.
Shaping the Dough
The following day the dough will have stretched out and filled the dish but there should be plenty signs of bubbles and fermentation.
Tip the dough onto a floured bench.
Cut the dough into 2 even pieces.
Take one piece and stretch it out into a rectangle. Fold the sides into the middle like a pamphlet.
Now roll the folded pamphlet up into a tight log. Pull/roll the log towards you on the bench to create some surface tension.
Proofing the Dough
Flour two tea towels generously with flour. You can use plain flour, rice flour, or semolina. I do a mix of semolina and plain flour. Just ensure you have enough so the dough doesn't stick as it spreads.
Place each shaped log, seam side up, on the floured towels. Dust extra flour on the sides of the bread dough so it doesn’t stick as it expands. Leave the dough to proof on the bench for approximately 3 ½ - 4 hours, until jiggly and puffed. As it's a wet dough, they will spread out a bit.
They don't need to double, only bulk out by about 40-50%. Watch the dough not the clock as how long this takes will depend on room temperature.
Moving and baking the dough
Once the dough has risen, preheat an oven to 220 °C (428 °F) fan-bake or 230 °C (464 °F) regular oven.
Generously dust an oven tray and a wooden board with flour.
Place the floured board next to one of the dough loaves. Now lift up one side of the the tea towel and lift it up so it flips the dough upside down on the board. Transfer the dough from the board onto the oven tray by sliding the dough off the board onto the tray. Dust off any excess flour from on the loaves.
Once it's on the oven tray, use floured hands to gently stretch the dough out a bit.
Leave the loaves to sit for another 30 minutes.
Bake for around 25-30 minutes in the oven alongside a tray with a few cm of water to create some steam while the sourdough ciabatta bakes.
Once baked it should be a deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Let the bread cool for at least an hour before slicing to avoid a gummy texture.
Want more sourdough ideas? Here are 12 great sourdough recipes that aren't just bread!
Sourdough Ciabatta Bread
Ingredients
- 420 grams strong bread flour (with a protein level of at least 11.5% for best results)
- 340 grams water
- 30 ml olive oil
- 10 grams salt
- 150 grams active sourdough starter (see the method for more details.)
Instructions
Day 1
- In the morning feed your starter so you can use 150g of it once it has risen. It needs to at least double, if not triple, but be used before it passes its peak and collapses. For this dough it could be 40g starter, 80g flour and 80g water. This will make approximately 200g starter. 150g can be used for the dough and the remaining starter can be fed again 1:2:2 and stored for the next time you need it.
- While the starter is rising, mix together the flour and water into a sticky and shaggy dough. Leave this to hydrate for at least 30 minutes.
- Add the olive oil, salt and risen starter and squish it well together until everthing is combined. Tip this sticky dough into a shallow dish and leave it to sit for 15-20 minutes
- Over the next 3 hours, coil fold the dough every 30 minutes (6 sets of coil folds in total.) A coil fold is when you lift the dough up and coil it over itself. Do this on all sides until you create a dough ball. (See the video for a demonstration.)In between each set of folds, cover the dish with a plate to stop the dough drying out.
- After the last coil fold, leave the dough to sit on the bench for one more hour before transferring to the fridge overnight.
Day 2
- In the morning, tip the dough onto a floured bench and cut it into two even pieces.
- Flour two tea towels generously with plain flour or rice flour.
- Take one piece and stretch it out into a rectangle. Fold the sides into the middle like a pamphlet.
- Now roll the folded pamphlet up into a tight log. Pull/roll the log towards you on the bench to create some surface tension. Repeat with the other dough piece.
- Flour two tea towels generously with flour. You can use plain flour, rice flour, or semolina. I do a mix of semolina and plain flour. Just ensure you have enough so the dough doesn’t stick as it spreads. Place each shaped log, seam side up, on the floured towels. Dust extra flour on the sides of the bread dough so it doesn’t stick as it expands.Leave the dough to proof on the bench for approximately 3 ½ – 4 hours, until jiggly and puffed. As it’s a wet dough, they will spread out a bit. They don’t need to double, only bulk out by about 40-50%. Watch the dough not the clock as how long this takes will depend on room temperature.Dust an oven tray and a wooden board with generously flour.
- Place the floured board next to one of the dough loaves. Now lift up one side of the the tea towel and lift it up so it flips the dough upside down on the board. Transfer the dough from the board onto the oven tray by sliding the dough off the board. Dust off any excess flour from on the loaves. Once it’s on the oven tray, use floured hands to gently stretch the dough out a bit. The dough should feel very light and airy. Leave it to sit for a further 30 minutes on the tray, or longer if you find that it isn't feeling so airy yet. Preheat an oven to 220 °C (428 °F) fan-bake or 230 °C (464 °F) regular oven.
- Bake for around 25-30 minutes in the oven alongside a tray with a few cm of water to create some steam while the sourdough ciabatta bakes. Once baked it should be a deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Let the bread cool for at least an hour before slicing to avoid a gummy texture.
Nutrition
Have you made this Sourdough ciabatta? Tag me and let me know! @home_grown_happinessnz