Sourdough Ciabatta - Step by Step (with video!)

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!

Note - The shaping part of this recipe has been updated.

Jump to:

• What is a ciabatta?
• The sourdough ciabatta process
• The sourdough starter
• The dough
• Method
• Shaping the Dough
• Baking the dough
• Related recipes
• Full Recipe

What is a ciabatta?

The word ciabatta means 'slipper' in Italian, and I see why. 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 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.

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.

Method

In a large bowl mix together the flour and water into a sticky and shaggy dough. Cover the bowl and leave this dough to hydrate for around 30 minutes. This step is called the autolyse.

After the autolyse, add the salt, starter, and oil and squish it together with wet hands until well combined.

Tip the dough into a shallow dish, and coil it 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.

After the last coil fold, let the dough ferment further on the bench until it has bulked out by around 50%. Transfer to the fridge overnight (or up to 24 hours)

Shaping the Dough

Baking the dough

Preheat an oven to 220 °C (428 °F) fan-bake or 230 °C (464 °F) regular oven.

Bake the loaves for around 25-30 minutes in the oven alongside a tray with a few inches 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.

These sourdough dinner rolls or sourdough burger buns are another great way to use your starter!

Related recipes

What have you filled your ciabatta with? Try it with this egg salad!

Have you made this Sourdough ciabatta? Tag me and let me know! @home_grown_happinessnz

See the full ciabatta video from start to finish on YouTube.

Old shaping instructions

• Take one piece and place it on the 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.
• 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 to how long this takes will be depending on room temperature.

• 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 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, then bake.