Ciabatta
Vegetarian
Flat, floury Italian slipper loaves with a thin crisp crust and a very open, glossy crumb, made from a wet 80% hydration dough built on an overnight biga.
Ciabatta is an Italian bread from Italy, ready in about 16 hours 55 minutes and made with bread flour and water. It serves 8 and is rated advanced to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- 3 h
- Total
- 16 h 55 min
- Serves
- 8
- Level
- Advanced
- Calories
- 237
Includes a 12–16 hour biga started the evening before.
Method
Step 1
Evening before: mix the biga flour, water and yeast into a stiff, shaggy dough (no need to knead). Cover and leave 12–16 hours at cool room temperature until risen, domed and smelling sweet-sour.
- 3 min
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 2
In a stand mixer (opens in a new tab), combine the biga, flour, 250 g of the water and yeast. Mix on low for 3 minutes, add the salt, then mix on medium for 6–8 minutes until the dough starts pulling away from the bowl. Dribble in the remaining 40 g water and the oil little by little (bassinage), mixing until absorbed after each addition. The finished dough is glossy and stretches into a thin sheet.
By hand, use 4 extra sets of folds 20 minutes apart instead of machine mixing.
Step 3
Transfer to an oiled rectangular tub. Bulk ferment 2 hours at 24 °C, doing a coil fold every 30 minutes for the first 1½ hours (lift from the middle so it folds under itself). It should be bubbly, wobbly and about doubled.
- 5 min
Step 4
Generously flour the worktop and gently tip out the dough. Flour the top, then cut into 4 rectangles with a floured bench scraper (opens in a new tab) without stretching or degassing. Transfer to a floured cloth or parchment, flour-side up, and proof 30–45 minutes until puffy. During the proof, preheat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 240 °C (fan 220 °C) with a baking tray or stone inside and a roasting tin on the shelf below, ideally for a full 45 minutes.
- 5 min
- 240°C · fan 220 °C; preheat with the tray and steam tin inside, ideally 45 minutes
- Bench scraper (opens in a new tab)
- Oven (opens in a new tab)
- Baking tray / sheet (opens in a new tab)
- Roasting pan (opens in a new tab)
Start preheating before you cut the dough — such a wet dough spreads flat on a tray that isn't properly hot.
How it looks · Photo: locrifa on Pexels Step 5
Flip each loaf onto the hot tray so the bubblier underside faces up (no scoring needed). Add a cup of boiling water to the roasting tin and bake 10 minutes with steam, then remove the water and bake 12–15 minutes more until golden with flour-dusted patches. Internal temperature should reach about 96 °C.
- 25 min
- 240°C · fan 220 °C
- Oven (opens in a new tab)
- Baking tray / sheet (opens in a new tab)
- Roasting pan (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Pour water for steam carefully and stand back — the burst of steam can scald hands and face. Don't pour water onto a glass oven door.
About this dish
- Origin
- Veneto, Italy · Commonly attributedWidely credited to a Veneto baker in the early 1980s as an Italian answer to the baguette.Also popular in United Kingdom, United StatesMore food from Italy
- Dish
- Lunch · Dinner · Breads & flatbreads
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked, Fermented
- Taste
- mild, nutty, savoury
- Diet
- Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat · DASH-style - Good for
- Everyday
- Cook more with
- Bread flour · Instant yeast
- Techniques
- Roasting · Baking · Boiling · Kneading · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains: Wheatfrom bread flour, semolina
- Contains: Glutenfrom bread flour, semolina
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
237 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 104 g · recipe makes 8
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 13%
- Carbohydrate 78%
- Fat 9%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 237 kcal | 229 kcal |
| Protein | 7.6 g | 7.3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 45.4 g | 43.8 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 43.9 g | 42.3 g |
| Sugars | 0.2 g | 0.2 g |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 1.6 g | 1.5 g |
| Fat | 2.3 g | 2.2 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.3 g | 0.3 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 487 mg | 469 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 1.2 g | 1.2 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 65 mg
- Calcium
- 15 mg
- Iron
- 2.8 mg
- Magnesium
- 17 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 0 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 186 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- Optional ingredients are not included: semolina.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Wet your hands and scraper rather than flouring them when moving the dough in the tub.
Common mistakes
- Adding extra flour to make the dough manageable — the wetness is what makes the big holes.
Serve with
- Split for panini, toasted with olive oil and tomato, or for dipping.
Storage
- Best the same day; freeze within hours of baking.
Reheating
- Crisp in a 200 °C oven for 5 minutes.
Variations
- Ciabatta integrale: Use 30% wholemeal flour and add 15 g more water.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 30 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 16 h
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Final proof · about 40 min
Poke test: the dent springs back slowly and only partly. Springs back fast = needs longer; doesn't spring back = over-proofed, bake now.
Bake · about 25 min at 240 °C
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
Cool · about 30 min
Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.
- Start to finish: about 18 h 5 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | Flour | 500 g | 100% |
| Water | Water | 400 g | 80% |
| Salt | Salt | 10 g | 2% |
| Olive oil | Fat | 10 g | 2% |
| Instant yeast | Yeast | 2 g | 0.4% |
- Total flour
- 500 g
- Hydration
- 80%
- With milk, eggs…
- 80%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
- Wet dough (over 75%) — sticky; use wet hands and folds instead of kneading. Ciabatta, focaccia and open sourdough.
- Salt 2% — normal for bread.
If something goes wrong
Dense, heavy loaf
Likely causes
- Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
- Under-proofed
- Old or dead yeast/starter
- Too much wholegrain flour without extra water
What to do
- Knead to the windowpane stage
- Proof by the poke test, not the clock
- Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
- Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
Gummy or wet crumb
Likely causes
- Under-baked
- Sliced while hot
- Hydration too high for the flour
What to do
- Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing
- Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
Spreads flat / no oven spring
Likely causes
- Over-proofed
- Weak shaping (no surface tension)
- Oven not hot enough
- Too much water for the flour
What to do
- Shorten the proof; bake when the poke springs back slowly
- Shape tightly so the skin is taut
- Preheat fully (30+ minutes; with a stone or Dutch oven, 45)
- Lower hydration or use bread flour
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Crust too hard or thick
Likely causes
- Baked too long at too low a temperature
- No steam at the start
What to do
- Bake hotter for a shorter time
- Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
- Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
Reviews & corrections
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