Simple Ciabatta Bread
Servings: 1 loaf
A no-knead, low-maintenance yeast bread with a chewy center and crisp crust. Made with only 4 ingredients! Great as a side for dinner or as a roll for sandwiches.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup water, room temperature 240 grams by weight
- 1 teaspoons active-dry yeast
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour 300 grams by weight
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups ice
Instructions
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Mix in flour and salt with a wooden spoon. Do not add salt directly to yeast and water. The dough will be wet and loose. Rest 1-2 hours.1 cup water, room temperature, 1 teaspoons active-dry yeast, 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt
- With damp hands, stretch and fold. Repeat every 30 minutes for a total of 3 times.
- Grease baking sheet or top with parchment paper.
- To form a loaf: roll one side of dough under itself, continuing to roll until a cylinder is formed. Pick up dough by long ends and stretch slightly as you transfer dough to prepared baking sheet with seam on the bottom.
- To form into rolls: Divide dough into 5 pieces. Shape each ball of dough by gathering up the sides, top and bottom and tucking them into the center. Repeat until the ball is well-rounded. Flip the ball over and place it on the prepared baking sheet with the seam on the bottom.
- Preheat oven to 420°F.
- Rise 30-40 minutes.
- Place bread in oven and throw 2 cups of ice into the bottom of the oven for perfect crust. Bake 20 minutes. Bread is done when bottom sounds hollow when knocked.2 cups ice
Notes
Want to speed things along? Instead of room temperature water, use hot water at 95-110°F. Decrease your first rise time to 30-40 minutes. Decrease the stretch-and-fold intervals to 20 minutes.
For the best results, I recommend weighing your water and flour.
Don't worry about the final shape of your ciabatta bread too much. This is a rustic recipe, and your final product should look a bit rustic, not perfect.
A silicone baking mat can replace parchment paper.