Take five minutes today to make the starter, also called sponge, and tomorrow you can bake two loaves of this marvelous, slightly sour, rustic Italian bread that has a hearty crust.
This was the best bread I've ever made! I prepared the sponge two days in advance and kept it in the fridge. I had no problems with it being too sticky like others mentioned. I cooked it on a pizza stone and basted with water every 5 minutes for a brown, crunchy crust. The parchment did burn a little around the edges while baking, but it was reminiscent of an old Italian bakery. See my picture -this bread is perfect!
Read MoreI'll start with the good: I've been making bread for a couple years and this is easily the best bread I've made to date. It was soft, chewy, soaked up butter like a sponge when I served it. The bad: The "sponge" measurements didn't work for me. The measurements given resulted in a softball sized ball of dough, not a sponge. A sponge, as I know it, should be extremely wet and gooey. I ended up going with equal parts flour and water, as well as additional yeast. And while a baking stone may produce a nice crusty bottom I've always felt that it took some of the air out of the bread since you're transferring the dough after it's been proofed. I just baked them on the parchment paper that had already been sprinkled with some cornmeal. Sat for 90 minutes and was ready to go in the oven. So while the exact recipe would have been a complete flop for me (sponge not spongy) the overall idea and directions are pretty solid. I'll definitely be making the modified version again.
Read More This was the best bread I've ever made! I prepared the sponge two days in advance and kept it in the fridge. I had no problems with it being too sticky like others mentioned. I cooked it on a pizza stone and basted with water every 5 minutes for a brown, crunchy crust. The parchment did burn a little around the edges while baking, but it was reminiscent of an old Italian bakery. See my picture -this bread is perfect!
The easiest 'real sourdough' recipie; those without 'aging' of dough lack the genuine ciabatta taste, even though they may get the consistancy right. This one gets even better with more than one days aging of the 'sponge'.
I cannot tell you how AMAZING this bread is. 3 loaves were gone in under a day and a half! It is crunchy on the outside, soft and moist on the inside and filled with all these lovely bubbly craters! I replaced the milk with water and just baked on a greased and floured baking sheet and it was still wonderful. I cannot rate this recipe highly enough. I served with olive tapenade and caprese salad for appetizers and it was wonderful. My fiance and family could not get enough of it! They beg for it EVERYDAY. Will certainly make again and again and again! First, the sponge is amazing. Tastes just as good after only sitting for a few hours as it does after 24+. I made it once and left it for 24 hours in a cool place and that made nice fluffy bread without many air pockets. The second time i made the sponge I left it right next to a warm stove top and it rose very quickly and made these HUGE air pockets in my finished product. I only left this for 4 hours but the taste and texture were FANTASTIC and the sponge almost spilled over the rim of the bowl! It was a bit difficult to get out of the bowl because of its stickiness but that was to be expected. For those that thought the sponge needed water, it doesn't. It will look just like a clump of dough in the beginning but if you leave it you'll be pleasantly surprised with a bubbling, frothy, sticky sponge. Secondly, I made this recipe cautiously because I expected it to be very difficult to handle, but it was not.
I'll start with the good: I've been making bread for a couple years and this is easily the best bread I've made to date. It was soft, chewy, soaked up butter like a sponge when I served it. The bad: The "sponge" measurements didn't work for me. The measurements given resulted in a softball sized ball of dough, not a sponge. A sponge, as I know it, should be extremely wet and gooey. I ended up going with equal parts flour and water, as well as additional yeast. And while a baking stone may produce a nice crusty bottom I've always felt that it took some of the air out of the bread since you're transferring the dough after it's been proofed. I just baked them on the parchment paper that had already been sprinkled with some cornmeal. Sat for 90 minutes and was ready to go in the oven. So while the exact recipe would have been a complete flop for me (sponge not spongy) the overall idea and directions are pretty solid. I'll definitely be making the modified version again.
I have fallen in love with making bread these past few months, and this is the best recipe I have have found, by far. I have made at least 12 loaves with this, and every time I make it, my roommates/friends devour it instantly. I have modified it a little, though. I found the original recipe to be too dry for my tastes when it came out of the over, so I tripled the olive oil, and it came out moist and delicious. Add more oil to the recipe and you're in great shape. I love this bread!
Awesome recipe! It makes such a wonderful, crusty bread that it's tempting to eat the whole loaf! I didn't have parchment, or a baking stone, so I oiled a cookie sheet, and sprinkled cornmeal on it before making the loaves. They turned out great!
My husband and I celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary with Friends and an Italian meal. Since my husband had visited Italy and collected recipes when we were there, the only one missing was a bread recipe. It was a little involved as far as prep time but it was easy,GOOD, and tasted just like what we had eaten in Florence!!!!!!! I will make it again. For 15 people I made 6 loaves with enough left over for dinner the next night.
I made this bread today and it turned just like the ones I've paid big bucks at the especialty's stores. Great taste and texture. I sent a piece of this bread w/my husband's lunch and he shared w/his friend... Next I know he is calling asking me to give a copy of the recipe to his friend. Hubby compared it w/the breads they serve at fancy restaurants.Everyone in my family love it. The kids even ate it without butter or jam!!!! It is a keeper!!!!
Great tasting recipe, and a good airy texture to the bread. Very, very, very sticky.
I found this recipe about 6 weeks ago and have made it twice a week since then. It produces an excellent loaf, which makes the most phenomenal sandwiches, brilliant toast for french onion soup, ideal for baked goats'cheese salad, croutons, and dozens of other uses. I bake it until only just done, then freeze it and take it out and cook another five minutes in the oven to recrisp. I make loaves and also cut it into smaller chunks and make mini ciabatta. If you save a couple of tablespoons of the "sponge" when mixing the dough, and boost it with some more flour and water you can set it aside overnight again and the next day you are ready to make more bread. Note - this dough needs to be really floppy to work properly - you might need more water than the recipe states. Also, if you add wholemeal flour it gives a slightly different flavour, but it won't rise as much.
This recipe produces two loaves that taste like they just came out of an Italian bakery. Plus, there appears to be little need to use a baking stone. I placed my loaves onto an edgeless baking pan for 20 minutes at 425 degrees and was quite pleased with the results.
Although this bread takes lots of time to prepare, it was well worth the wait! The crust was fabulous and the texture was great. It is a great bread for sandwiches.
a little hard to handle but the results were excellent
Awesome with potato soup, great for dipping and scooping out chunks of potato.
This recipe made made the best ciabatta out of the three recipes I've tried. The reason it gets 4/5 is because it does not say what the starter is supposed to look like. The starter will look like a ball of dough. It is supposed to look like this. Wait an hour or two, and it will turn into a sponge. I usually use slightly less than 1 cup of flour, around 9/10ths. A variation for stronger sourdough flavor is to increase the amount of yeast. One time I made this I used 1T yeast in the starter, and it had a much stronger flavor. I use the normal amount when making the bread itself.
I made the sponge day before, today the bread, its the worst. I know ciabatta is bland, but was worse than bland, not to mention the recipe a long drawn out process,mixing little dabs of this and that in little bowls here and there. Just wondering if anyone else put a damp towel on loaves to rise, how ridiculous, was that! Like laying a towel on a pile of thick glue, I had to scrape all the gooey dough off the towel, then of course nothing left to rise again,plus all the hoopla of stones and paper and transfering from this to that.I finally gave up, put it in the oven to come out looking like a flat glob of tasteless nothing. I will not try this recipe again.
I rate it 5 stars for ease and taste, but you do some work and end up with enough bread for like a day. It's enough to make 4 decent sized paninis, so next time i make this, I'm going to triple the recipe or something since this bread holds up well to freezing. I did make it twice so far in 3 days, I LOVE ciabatta and its super expensive where I live, so thank you Benoit Hogue, you have made my life easier and my house smells like good bread!!
My family LOVES this recipe and we make it all the time. I find the quantites specified make two rather small loaves, so I increase the amount by 50% but still make it into two loaves. If we're having it for lunch, you have to be in the house all morning to make the dough, let it rise etc, so I make the dough the previous evening the let it rise in the fridge overnight. Next morning I take it out and shape it into the loaves and let it rise slowly over the morning before cooking at lunch time. I also spread some olive oil over the top before baking which gives a nice finish.
Delicious and simple to follow! I followed some of the other poster's recommendations and added 1 1/2 tbsp more oil, and 1/2 tsp. more salt. I also substituted 1 cup of whole wheat flour for the bread flour, halved between the sponge and the bread. I also added a metal pie pan of water to the bottom shelf of the oven so the crust turned very flaky. This has a delicious sour tang, is chewy inside, and took almost no effort to make! For those who have never made it: the dough will be very sticky and gooey. This is alright! It should be that way.
Mmm very good. The sponge gave a nice sour taste to the bread. I didn't have baking stones, so I baked this on the parchment paper on a cookie sheet. It still tasted great. It was very easy with the majority of the time being hurry up and wait for rising. I will be making this again.
Good Bread! I don't have a stone, so I just baked the loaves on the center rack for 22 minutes at 425 with a pan of water on the bottom rack. I also sprayed the loaves with water during the last 5 min of cooking. Turned out so crusty and awesome! These would make great pizzas if you split them lengthwise.
I haven't tried authentic Italian ciabatta but I can tell you that my husband who loves bread just raves about this recipie!!! We no longer have to buy bread at the store anymore...it's practically forbidden! For those that don't have the baking stones, simply splitting the dough into small casserole or baking dishes works well and gives the bread a nice form. Something else that has worked well is just to add all the yeast into the starter...the bread comes out just as good! Thank you for the recipie!!!
Benoit Hogue, You are my personal hero! I have tried various recipes for Italian style breads & no matter what I did, they always came out like doorstops. This recipe is exactly what I've been looking for. The bread came out perfect, light but with good texture & full of air pockets. I'll admit, I had my doubts about such a small quanity of yeast used, but this is a wonderful recipe. I'm making another batch tommorrow & shaping it into smaller rounds to use as bread bowls for homemade beef stew.YUMMY! Thanks again!
I was looking for a bread machine recipe when this came up. This works great! Use the french bread setting, but extend the last rise by 30 minutes. Great flavor, good sandwich bread. Makes 1 loaf.
Amazing! Just made my first two loaves last night and I can not wait to make this again. The dough should be very sticky with a mind of it's own, so try not to add extra flour. Thank you so much!
Very good ciabatta. The longer the sponge sits, the better. I've let mine sit up to 24 hours and it works well and tastes even better. Also, if you're baking on a stone and the bottom gets a bit too crusty, put your stone on the middle rack. The parchment can be cut into two long narrower strips (half your stone width each) to make transfer into the oven easier if you don't have a peel/paddle. I've even used this dough to make fabulous cinnamon rolls. Just pafter the initial rise of the complete dough, roll it out gently to about 3/16" thick. Mix up about 1-1/4 c. brown sugar, 1/4 c. white sugar and 2T of cinnamon, then spread it over the rolled out dough. roll it up carefully, cut into rolls with dental floss or pastry blade, spray the top with nonstick spray, bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. whip up some icing (I like cream cheese) and enjoy!
Great bread with a good, chewy crust. An excellent idea to use the parchment paper for the last rising, way better than using a banneton. Thanks.
I added fresh chopped rosemary and chopped garlic to the top before baking. This came out as good as the insanely expensive loaves the organic bakery sells. My sponge had to wait about 36 hours and it only got better. Great recipe, thank you.
Made 6 loaves over the course of 2 days, it is that good! Everyone in the neighborhood loved it. The only change I made was using half and half for the milk. Bread is flavorful with a lovely crunchy crust. Let it rise the full recommended time to get the bubbles formed correctly and handle the dough gently.
Absolutely delicious. Prewarm the 'sponge' bowl with the warm water and place it on a towel or similar rather than put bowl directly on a cold counter to rise. If you have a panini press, form dough into 5" round small loaves. After baking and fully cooled, slice 1/4" think for heavenly gilled Italian panini sandwiches.
A fantastic recipe. I loved the taste and the reality is that it is a very simple recipe as long as you are around the house for the day. For my schedule, it is perfect to take 10 minutes to mix up the starter on a Friday or Saturday night, and put the rest together the next day. I prefer to use Instant dry yeast so I don't have to mix with warm water and wait - you can just mix it in with the dry ingredients. My only disappointment with this is that as much as I loved the taste, I didn't get those big holes in the loaf that I want. At this point, I don't care. This bread recipe is a keeper.
Made the sponge with room temp. water, cover with plastic and just let it sit on the kitchen counter for 8 hrs. Added the rest of the flour (only used all-purpose), salt, more yeast, room temp. milk and water. Stirred and mixed in glass bowl (no mixer) with a silicone spatula. Dough will be on the wet side and gooey like mashed potato from a blender. After the dough rested an hour or so, I only gently turned it onto itself with an oiled silicone spatula for a minute or so for extra lift power. Be generous with the flouring on the counter so it won´t stick to everything the dough comes in contact with. The entire family thought it was yummy.
I made this today,using all ap flour and gave the starter/sponge about 7-8 hours, used a tad bit more water. It turned out pretty good, my friends, hubby and brothers polished off almost a whole loaf within 10 minutes of being out of the oven. I omited the baking stone/parchment step. after the first rise i transfered the dough to an oiled 10 x 10 pampered chef stone baking pan and let it rise again before baking. Next time i think i will give starter/sponge much more time for more of that tangy flavour. I've already got my second sponge started! Thanks for a great recipe!Can't wait to try it with stews and soups! update: turned out better second time around-gave starter 15 hours. Dough was stickier which attributed to more of that holey ciabatta texture. Also had a more developed tangy hint. Perfect for sandwiches!
Yum! I used all-purpose flour and it still turned out great. Dough is EXTREMELY sticky and therefore a bit difficult to work with, but worth the effort! I attempted to transfer from a cookie sheet to the baking stone without parchment paper (didn't have any) and ended up deflating one of the loaves in the process as it folded over on itself. It came out a bit dense but still had a crisp crust and a chewy inside. The other loaf turned out wonderful.
Even though I ended up compleatly screwing up this recipe....it STILL came out tasty! My biggest mistake was just reading the ingredients list...not the directions, before taking on this bread. I was stuck inside on a snow day and I thought, "hmm...I've got all those ingredients!!". Well, come to find out, bread flour and all-purpose are not interchangeble, my local walmat does not carry baking stones, and cheap mixers are not equiped to handle bread dough! so while I baked it in a bread pan (not a loaf pan), used all purpose flour, and kneeded it out by hand instead of using a bread hook, it came out great! Maybe not just like ciabatta as it's supposed to...but I won't think twice about making it again!!
Very good. I let sponge sit for almost 24 hours. Bread tastes like mild flavoured sourdough. Next time I will add more yeast to sponge to see what happens. Was excellent sliced, toasted, and filled with hamburger. Will definately make again (and perhaps top with thyme, salt, pepper, rosemary, etc).
Made the recipe yesterday, when I split the dough in two, the first one I made as directed, the second one I stretched into a pizza; Ciabatta Pizza! The bread loaf was very good, but everyone thought the pizza was the best ever. I will definitely make this again, especially making it into a pizza crust
This recipe was quite a bit of work for the end result, but following it (almost) exactly, it turned out really well. The directions for putting the loaves in the oven aren't very clear - is it supposed to cook on the parchment, or are you supposed to slide it off the parchment as it goes in the oven? I didn't want to mess with getting the rather gooey loaves transferred to a hot stone, so I did what worked for me. I flipped a cookie sheet (the kind with edges 'cause that's all I have) upside down, laid a piece of parchment big enough for two loaves, then shaped the loaves on the parchment and let rise. Then when they were ready for the oven, I just slid the whole parchment with both loaves onto the stone and cooked about 10 minutes to firm up, and then pulled the parchment out from underneat to cook to remaining 10 minutes. This was a great chewy bread. I sliced it for bruschetta - which was the main reason I made it. Then having much leftover (my 3-year-old and I were to only ones eating it), I used some leftover for sandwiches, then some for dipping in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. After 5 days, I still had 4 slices left, which I used to make some french toast. It was delicious. This bread was well suited for everything I used it for. I don't know that I would make it again, just because it is a lengthy process and the end result isn't to die for.
Really great simple bread recipe. This recipe makes one nice big loaf. If you want it a little more airy, not so dense, let the loaf sit covered on your stove top while the oven pre-heats.
Great recipe although I feel like the recipe needs more salt. I wish the oven spring would've been bigger, the loaves ended up being wider than expected. Otherwise the crust was great and the bread tasty. I added rosemary and thyme to one of the loaves and it was yummy. Had some friends over and devoured both loaves with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
I like to try different bread recipes and decided to try the recipe, despite some of the pictures that made the bread appear 'quite flat.' I thought the dough was quite sticky on the first rise compared to other doughs I have worked with. Both rises took about an hour longer than suggested, but my home was a little cool this morning. However, I did not understand the reason to divide the dough? 3 cups of flour is more common for 1 loaf of loaf of bread, not two, no matter how much it rises. However, I followed the directions and made two. As I expected, the final result was two very tiny not to mention somewhat flat looking loaves like some of the pictures depicted. I also agree with another reviewer that it requires an awful lot of bowls and moving the dough around way too much. I have no where to store a bread stone in my kitchen. It would have been nice if the directions gave instructions for typical baking sheets found in most home kitchen. This bread may have worked had the final rise been on the actual pan, as it is such a soft dough and can't hold up to a lot of movement, or had I just made one loaf which is all the dough is really able to properly make.
We tried this recipe 3 times with the same poor results. I would not recommend it. It would not rise, and had a strange unpleasant flavor.
This is one of the best bread recipes out there! Just made it last night with homemade lasagna and it tasted like fancy store bought! Will definitely make again!
This is a keeper! What a great way to get a sourdough type bread without the prolonged starter process. Will definitely be making this over and over.
I'm terrible at following directions and have no patience. Translation: terrible baker. But it came out awesome. I made an herb dipping oil and it was like a fancy restraunt!
Wonderful! I made 1 big loaf out of the recipe so I could make sandwiches. I have never tried making ciabatta before and this recipe couldn't have turned out better. Will definitely make again.
Really good, and I only let the sponge go 5 hours cause I just couldn't wait any longer. Mine got a little darker than I wanted but the flavor was Amazing! It is a VERY sticky dough but the oven works the magic!
I was scared to make this bc I had never done a "sponge" before. It sounded like something complex and chemical that I would be sure to mess up. :) I made this and my first try it turned out perfect!! I think this bread would make great rolls for burgers. I might try my hand at making those next time. I followed this recipe exactly as written and it worked great.
I just made this for my two sister for dinner and it was scrumptious. I do not have an electric mixer so I just used my hands and I promise you it was not harder or longer to do. I only let the sponge proof for 5 hours and the bread was still full of amazing flavour. After I cut the dough into two pieces, I decided to cut them again into thirds to make ciabatta sandwiches. For dinner we had these stuffed with feta, roasted peppers, pumpkin and pesto. It was the most amazing sandwich I have ever had!
This bread is awesome! My husband is from Italy, and we have been trying to find a good recipe for bread that is similar to the breads you get in Italy. THIS IS IT!! When my mother-in-law came to visit us from Italy, she didn't like the breads that we have here in the US. She thought they were too soft and too sweet. I just called her and told her she could come back - because I found a bread that she'd like!! I will be making this one every week. Thanks!
After just having my woodfired oven installed, I was eager to start baking this recipe. I was however, worried when the mix didn't seem wet enough for ciabatta. Traditional ciabatta is full of air bubbles on the inside and my bread was firm.........what did I do wrong? The crust was incredibly crunchy, as it helps to spray water in the oven to create steam during cooking. I will try this recipe again until I get the right bubbly texture and success.
This came out crusty, light and impressive looking for guests. I confess that I didn't mess with the parchment paper/rimless pan transfer; I just let it rise on a silpat sheet and then put that on my pizza stone when it was time to bake. I may have lost a little crustiness, but it was pretty crisp. I was expecting a little more flavor because of the starter, maybe like sourdough, but I liked it the way it turned out.
I have attempted my first try ~ I am waiting for mixture to rise in bowl ~ its taking a long time to rise ~ but thats ok ~ it is rising ~ its a cold day here in Aotearoa ~ [New Zealand] ~ great to be able to read others comments ~ like ~ leaving sponge in fridge ~ take some sponge out for another starter ~ add more oil ~ shall get around to reading more ~ I shall come back another day and let you know how I get on. I always use 'latex free' gloves ~ they are great when handling dough. Thank you all.
Easy to follow recipe that yields satisfactory results for a first time ciabatta baker like me. However the crust is not "crusty" enough, i think, like the fluffiness of the interior though.
This was my first endeavor with bread w/out a bread machine. I have never had 'authentic' ciabatta, so I had no way to compare, but found this bread to be good. The dough is SUPER sticky.....but from what I read from others, that is the case. Thanks for the recipe!
Due to time constraints, I was only able to let the sponge sit for ten hours and the first rising to sit for one hour so this is why my bread did not have the bigger holes you'd expect in a traditional ciabatta. But the split loaves rose for full two hours and after baking, they were perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. It was fabulous, and even my Italian mother-in-law (a very critical cook) complimented me on how delicious it was. I will make it again, and give it more time to rise for better ciabatta consistency.
This is a tasty bread, crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I'd highly recommend AT LEAST doubling the recipes if you're making bread for more than four people, though. I ran out of this quickly. Will certainly triple it this time.
This is the first time I've ever baked bread and this recipe came out fantastic. Super tasty and the whole family loved it :)
Just finished making this, first try. Did it exactly as directed, except hand kneaded dough instead of mixing in blender. Made 6 perfect sized sandwich rolls. Word of caution. The dough is sticky, don't put your loaves near anything that isn't stick resistant (including the other loaves).
There is definitely not enough yeast in this recipe. Neither the sponge I made on the first day nor the bread itself rose very much. It was tasty enough, but the loaves were very flat and dense.
Wow! Yummy, chewy, crusty, but only slightly tangy.... think I'll leave the sponge starter for 24 hours instead of only 12 hours and see if it adds to the tang! My breads did stick a it in places that I didn't faithfully 'well flour' so don't skimp! Definitely a keeper!
Turned out beautifully, like the ciabatta I used to buy from the store and eat with olive oil and balsamic. It is hard to keep away from it!
We love this bread--I can't keep the family's hands off of it long enough for the main course. I made a few changes--I go even water and flour for the sponge, use a heavy hand on the yeast and I double up on the olive oil. I wash the tops with olive oil before baking, and spritz with water during the process. Used Mrs. Dash instead of the salt--excellent. Today mixing in finely chopped greens from my garden, and I plan on using shredded parmesan cheese on top--we shall see....
My family loves this bread!! It doesn't get quite the same crust as the ciabatta I'm used to, but it still has a wonderful flavor and texture. I make this often and am always asked when the next batch is coming.
Bread was pretty flat, but tasted pretty good. 45 minutes was way too long to heat the stone at 425 degrees - 10 would likely have been fine. Takes a long time to make with the sponge and rising times, so prior planning is necessary. Perhaps a bit more yeast and flour and a warmer kitchen! would also have helped it.
Really very good! I used regular all-purpose flour and it still turned out very well.
Yum-o! Made this into buns for Chicken Parmesan burgers. I don't have a pizza stone, but this was still awesome even baked on cookie sheets. I'll make it again and again!
I've made this bread now twice and I have to say that it is really excellent! Be sure to put the yeast with the water in a large enough bowl because it does grow in volume. The second time I made it I doubled the recipe because it just didn't make enough. Doubling the recipe I was able to make 14 nice size rolls ( 4") I baked them for 12 minutes. I didn't use a baking stone but just heated the cookie sheets with the oven and then slid the rolls which were on parchment paper onto the hot pans. I did add a bowl of water to the oven and sprayed the oven a couple of times during baking. Going forward, it would nice if recipes (for baking especially) provided ingredient weights in grams.
Very yummy! I made it 1/2 whole wheat and it turned out great. it turned out with smaller bubbles than I'd hoped for but it was still fantastic. Perfect for toasting with PB & J!
I didn't get quite the texture that is expected of Ciabatta bread, but the flavor was great. Texture differences could have came from quality of yeast, kneading time and temperature of rising, but I followed the directions exactly, so I'm rating those results. I'll make it again and probably increase the time of the first rise, and might use just a touch more yeast in the sponge.
Not sure what went wrong, I made the sponge exactly as stated but it never turned to sponge, 24 hours later I made the bread dough exactly as stated and it was firm like regular bread dough. My yeast is new and I know it's good because I made several loaves of bread yesterday. I used Better For Bread flour and quality olive oil. I'm not new to bread making... Any thoughts on what went wrong are greatly appreciated.
This was great! I made the starter about 14 hours before mixing with remaining ingredients. The flavor was outstanding! I did 2 loaves, one with garlic and parmesan on top, the other plain. Both were a hit! This is real ciabatta and it is great! note: I didn't use a stone, but I baked it at 425 for 18 minutes and it was beautifully done.
This was good but not great. The ciabatta that I am used to is more bubbly, light and moist. The loaf that I made using this recipe was drier but crisp and dense. I would increase the salt, oil, and water content to provide a tastier, more moist dough and bread.
This bread was sooooo delicious that I literally had to sign up so I can put in my two cents!!!!! I eat alot of bread (European) and this is close to ciabatta as it gets!!!!
I made this recipe but I made rolls instead of loaves and froze half. I also added rosemary and garlic to the rolls and made a few with some red pepper added in addition to the other herbs. No complaints and no leftover rolls.
Thank you! I LOVE to cook and LOVE bread, but I haven't tried to make ANY bread for 20 years, because I was intimidated. I used your recipe and made 16 Roasted Garlic Ciabatta Rolls and they are wonderful. I had to put the sponge (and later the dough) on the warm stove because my house is quite cold right now, however, the adjustments worked. Thank you for sharing this with me! Sending my cooking love, Mary Ann
Great recipe! Next time, I might add a bit more flour, but other than that , it was excellent! The "loaves" kind of ran into each other and became one big one. I thought I had measured everything fairly accurately. No worry, though. I used it to make sandwiches fresh out of the oven! We were amazed. It was a little more work intensive than most breads I've made, but it was well worth the effort. Next time, I'll try it with my sough dough starter and see what happens. Thanks!
This was a great recipe! I'm never very exact with the flour measurement for bread recipes, for this recipe simple add flour until the dough is sticky, but pulls from the side of the bowl. Also, I added an extra tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil - just for flavor, as well as an extra teaspoon of salt. I've tried this recipe with garlic powder, and whenever I do that I press a sprig of rosemary onto the top. That always wows the guests :). Also, I didn't have a baking stone at the time (I usually use a ceramic unglazed tile that costs about 45 cents!) so I simple baked it on a barely-oiled cookie sheet. It worked just fine! I just had to remember to remove it from the pan and place it on a rack once I got it from the oven, otherwise the bottom sogs up. Great recipe!
This is a wonderful bread recipe. However, as written, I cannot seem to get the airy/puffy texture associated with this type of bread. I have tried the recipe twice as it is written. According to a person familiar with bread-baking, the dough must be kneaded for quite some time to get the airy texture. So, in my quest to achieve the perfect consistency, I intend to knead/rise/knead/rise/shape/rise/bake. I'll see if the additional "knead/rise" adds some puff to the bread. Thanks for the recipe. It's a keeper.
Excellent - takes some time to make, but it's not difficult. We loved it. Had it for Italian beef sandwiches.
I let it rise longer. Got an almost pastry crust. Easy to make I get raves on it. Have to make almost every day to keep up with family and friend eating it. Very popular here
This recipe is delicious! I had my doubts with the way it went together (I followed the original recipe)but it turned out great. Yes, the sponge is sticky, and after kneading the dough is very elastic and gloopy. But given time, it works! I mixed the sponge in with the other ingredients by hand (don't have a stand mixer) then threw it all into the bread machine on Dough cycle. When I took it out, I divided it into 16 mini loaf sized pans and baked them for 20 min. They came out golden and perfect. They have a lovely taste, good crumb, and a nice crust. My British husband loves them as they taste like the bread in England and not the horrible, felt-textured bread here in the States. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made it exactly as written (excepted baked on a Silpat slid onto a baking stone). If you're used to handling "normal" yeast dough, this is a little tricky to deal with since it's not kneaded to an elastic state. Use flour generously. Whatever you do, do NOT skimp on the salt. The salt is what makes this dough manageable, such as it is. You'll have a huge gooey mess if you don't add enough salt. You will love the results! Reminds me a bit of those fresh Tuscan loaves from Italy!
Not a bad recipe, but it definitely didn't come out like ciabatta. It tasted great as regular bread though.
Very very good. I didn't realize what a flat loaf this would make--oops!. Great though, and I'll make it again for sure.
I was really pleased with results - I was lucky enough to have a large silicone mold, so I made mine into one (1) large loaf. Baked at 425 for about 27 minutes and she came out beautifully. I do agree with others that if I had to make into 2 loaves, they'd be rather small as the one I made was only barely large than a true loaf of Ciabatta. In any event, I'll definately make again - thank you so much for recipe.
benoit hogue , you are the wizard of ciabatta. never made ciabatta before and everything worked perfecto! i also had no stones or pizza stone, but i did have a round superstone sassafras. for anyone who has one,follow directions. when you get to step 3, turn your dough right in to your stone that has been dusted with flour. put your lid on and let proof for one and a half to two hours.heat oven to 425, remove lid punch finger holes in dough,return lid to bottom of super stone. bake for 25 min. on bottom shelf, then remove lid and bake for 5 more min. oboy will you have perfect ciabatta, i also have a long loaf super stone it should be great for making sandwich bread, thanks again!
This is a wonderful recipe. The crust is how my family likes it, Crunchy!! My husband sliced it in half and made a nice sandwich with all Italian luncheon meats and cheeses. This is definitly a keeper!!
A fair amount of fussing to make this bread but it sure is tasty and the texture is so chewy and soft at the same time. It makes 2 nice loaves enough for 8 nice panini sandwiches, if you so choose. I just cut into very thick slices, sliced those in 1/2 and then put Land o Lakes 50% reduced fat butter on the warm bread. Just perfect!!
I'm sure I'll make this again. It was pretty close to what I was hoping for; to be just perfect, I would have liked the bread to be a bit moister and chewier. It was just the slightest bit too dry for me. I am very surprised to see how many reviewers have commented on the sticky-ness of the dough. I followed the recipe to the letter (and double-checked over and over again to make sure I had done it right), and I kept thinking that the dough (the sponge especially) was not nearly as wet as I would have expected; I suspect that this is why the final product was a little drier than I would have wished. Who knows? Maybe it was just the weather around here. At any rate, the bread was good enough that I am willing to go through the process again. And let me just say that this bread makes wonderful toast and is absolutlely superb on a panini grill or counter-top grill for *delicious* sandwiches. Give it a try for sure. Next go-'round, I think I'll add fresh rosemary to the dough and a little coarse salt on top before baking.
While the bread was cooling, I had to sample the butt. Then I had to cut a slice for my husband. Then I had to have another slice... Long story short, I'm glad this recipe made 2 loaves!!
Excellent! My husband loved the flavor. I followed the recipe alomost exactly except I kneaded the sponge in the bowl for 4 minutes instead of stirring and I used 1 cup of white whole wheat flour. Came out looking exactly picture and tasting great!
