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Ciabatta bread on a board with 3 pieces sliced and a small dish of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Ciabatta Bread

By: Deborah
Easy homemade ciabatta bread with a crisp crust and airy interior. A simple artisan-style recipe perfect for sandwiches, dipping and baking at home. 
PREP: 15 minutes
Proving time: 2 hours
COOK: 35 minutes
TOTAL: 2 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 1 bread
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Ingredients

  • 450 g (15.9 oz) plain flour plus extra for dusting
  • 350 ml (1 ½ cups) water at room temperature
  • 1 tbsp olive oil plus extra for greasing
  • 1 tbsp dried yeast
  • 2 tsp salt
  • a glass of cold water

Instructions

Make the dough:

  • In a large bowl, mix the flour, water, oil and yeast. When the yeast is well incorporated, add the salt.
  • Mix vigorously with a spatula or with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook for 5 to 10 minutes or until the dough is shiny and slightly elastic (it will be sticky and wet).
  • Put the dough in an oiled bowl to prove for 30 minutes, then stretch it with wet hands and fold it onto itself and leave to rest. At this stage you have 2 options: place the covered bowl in the fridge to slow prove overnight, or for a minimum of 10 hours, or prove at room temperature, in a warm spot, for a further 1.5 to 2 hours or until doubled in size. (Slow proving will add flavour and will ensure you get a moist soft crumb, but you will still have a good ciabatta if you skip that stage.)
  • Place a metal bowl, roasting tin or a small skillet in the oven and bring the oven temperature to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.
  • Once the dough has proven, you will notice that air bubbles will have formed - don’t burst them, they hold the secret to the formation of the holes in the bread! Tip the dough onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, stretch it gently with floured hands and dimple the top lightly.

Bake the bread:

  • Put the tray with the dough on it into the hot oven, pour a glass of cold water into the metal bowl, roasting tin or skillet to create steam, close the oven door and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until risen, golden and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. You may need to flip the bread upside down to ensure even baking according to your oven.  Cool at room temperature over a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Notes

  • Optional variations:
    • Wholemeal ciabatta - use half wholemeal and half plain flour.
    • Olive ciabatta - mix chopped olives into the dough.
    • Garlic and herb ciabatta - make a garlic butter with 100g of butter, 3 cloves of garlic, crushed and 2 tbsp of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped. Follow the instructions in the quick and easy garlic baguette recipe.
  • The dough for this ciabatta bread recipe can easily be split to make 2 smaller breads, or ciabatta rolls.
 
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Nutrition

Calories: 1651kcal | Carbohydrates: 345g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 4680mg | Potassium: 521mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 21mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

KEYWORDS artisan bread recipes, ciabatta bread recipe, crusty bread recipe, easy bread recipes, homemade bread UK, homemade ciabatta, how to make ciabatta, Italian bread recipe, sandwich bread recipes
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