Oven-Baked Italian Ciabatta Bread

A real Mediterranean delicacy on your table! Italian ciabatta bread can be baked in any home kitchen in the oven. The process is not at all difficult, but rather interesting. Ciabatta can be served as regular bread for lunch or made into various sandwiches.
cook time: 6h 30 min
Maya Lindell
Oven-Baked Italian Ciabatta Bread

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

216
Calories
1g
Fat
40g
Carbs
7g
Protein

Ingredients (4 portions)

For the dough:

Wheat flour 150 g
Water 150 ml
Dry yeast 1 g

For dough:

Wheat flour 300 g
Water 175 ml
Dry yeast 1.5 g
Sugar 5 g
Salt 10 g

For sprinkling:

Whole wheat flour 50 g

Recipe instructions

Step 1

Step 1
How to bake Italian ciabatta bread in the oven? The whole process is divided into two stages — fermentation of the dough and kneading with further fermentation of the dough. For the dough, take premium flour; if possible, buy one with a high protein content. Read more about different types of flour in the article at the link at the end of the recipe.

Step 2

Step 2
First of all, place the dough. Pour the yeast with warm water, its temperature should be no more than 40 degrees, pleasantly warm. Read about other nuances of working with yeast in a separate article, link at the end of the recipe.

Step 3

Step 3
Sift the flour into a bowl, then pour water with dissolved yeast into it. Mix until a viscous mass is formed.

Step 4

Step 4
Cover the bowl with cling film and leave on the counter for about 3 hours. During this time, the dough will grow greatly in volume, become covered with bubbles and become thinner.

Step 5

Step 5
Now comes the second stage — kneading the dough. In addition to premium flour, you will need some whole grain flour — we will sprinkle it on the table and workpieces. Please note that you may need more or less basic flour, depending on the consistency of the dough.

Step 6

Step 6
For the dough, first activate the yeast. To do this, pour the yeast and sugar into a bowl, add warm water, stir and leave for 15 minutes — during this time a small foam will appear on the surface.

Step 7

Step 7
Pour the yeast into the dough and stir. Add salt.

Step 8

Step 8
Start kneading the dough directly. It is better to do this with a mixer, hand or planetary. It will be difficult to do it with your hands as the dough is quite sticky. Start kneading the dough with a mixer fitted with a dough attachment. Add flour one spoon at a time. The dough will begin to thicken and pull away from the sides of the bowl. But it will remain sticky and soft.

Step 9

Step 9
I donʼt recommend adding too much flour to prevent the dough from becoming too tough. Gather the dough into a ball.

Step 10

Step 10
Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rise for an hour. It will grow in volume again.

Step 11

Step 11
Place the dough on a table sprinkled with whole wheat flour. Stretch it slightly into a layer. Fold it in half on one side first, then on the other. Divide the resulting piece into 4 parts. This process is clearly shown in the video.

Step 12

Step 12
Place a clean towel on the table and sprinkle it with whole wheat flour. Make a border by placing a long narrow box under the towel. Roll each piece in flour, shaping it into a rectangle, and place on a towel. Also limit each piece with a towel on the other side.

Step 13

Step 13
Cover the pieces and leave for an hour and a half. 20 minutes before the end of proofing, turn on the oven to preheat at 250°C. In the oven, leave the baking sheet and rimmed pan on the bottom rack.

Step 14

Step 14
Take baking parchment. Carefully rearrange the suitable pieces, turning them upside down on the side on which they lay on the towel — then the ciabattas will acquire a specific pattern. You can choose the right parchment paper by reading a separate article about the features of parchment, the link is at the end of the recipe. Transfer the paper with the preparations to the oven on a preheated baking sheet.

Step 15

Step 15
Pour a glass of boiling water into the frying pan — this will create steam in the oven, thanks to which the bread will get a delicious crispy crust. Bake the ciabatta for 8 minutes at 250°C, then remove the pan with water, then bake for another 8 minutes, lowering the temperature to 200°C. Then open the oven slightly and bake the bread for another 3-4 minutes. The exact time depends on the oven. You can learn about the operating features of ovens from the article, link at the end of the recipe.

Step 16

Step 16
Remove the ciabattas, cool and serve. Bon appetit!

Additional rubrics

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