The recipe for Italian ciabatta bread is a truly unique way to prepare a flour product. All its proportions are precisely measured by experienced chefs - the founders of all wonderful Italian cuisine. This bread is distinguished by its amazing tenderness, porous structure and crispy crust. A certain technology for preparing, infusing and kneading the dough helps to achieve this effect. Yes. This is hard. Yes, this requires precision in the recipe. Yes, this takes a lot of time. But it deserves it. The result is such a tender, aromatic and soft bun that it is eaten literally in a matter of minutes.

In life, ordinary people can meet ciabatta in fast food restaurants. Some sandwiches or hamburgers are made on the basis not of an ordinary, standard bun, but of ciabatta. It can also sometimes be found on the shelves of hypermarkets. But all this will never in life rise on par with homemade bread baked with your own hands. Although the recipe is quite strict, even here you can give freedom to your imagination. After all, no one forbids you to conduct a couple of experiments with the filling. The most harmless thing, but giving a gorgeous aroma, is to add a mixture of Italian herbs to the dough. For lovers of this seasoning, this is the best solution to diversify ciabatta. For a variety of flavors, you can add pieces of sun-dried tomatoes, cheese or olives. But all this is strictly according to taste, and it is better to conduct various experiments after eating food according to a standard recipe, without any additives. Therefore, we will look at the classic recipe.

For it we need the following ingredients:

• wheat flour – 800 grams (350 grams for sourdough, 450 grams for dough);
• water - 520 milliliters (180 milliliters for sourdough, 340 milliliters for dough);
• yeast – 1 sachet (1/2 teaspoon for sourdough, 10 grams for dough);
• Extra virgin olive oil – 50 milliliters;
• salt - a couple of pinches.

The proportions are taken from the book of one chef, so it is a huge request to follow them. Here, as with any baking, it is very easy to do something wrong. Of course, this will not lead to any fatal consequences. But if, for example, the dough turns out to be a little thicker than it should be, then this will affect the assertiveness and tenderness of the finished product. If you don't have a kitchen scale, then everyone should at least have a measuring cup. Here it is better to measure all products exactly. An error of 10 grams can be forgiven, but no more. Also, as you can see, flour, water and yeast are divided into two parts - sourdough and dough. This is generally the most basic detail of the entire recipe. Afterwards we will add the starter to the dough, but first it must be prepared separately. This is what the first stage of all preparation is dedicated to.

The first stage is preparing the starter:

This stage is the longest. But it is not particularly difficult. Sourdough is needed to give it an airy structure. After mixing all the ingredients, you will need to forget about it for about a day so that it can ferment. Therefore, if you need to prepare ciabatta, time it correctly.

You need to knead it very well, so it is best to use a mixer with a dough attachment. The more we knead the starter, the fluffier the bread will be in the end. But you need to knead at low speed.

Take a deep and tall bowl, because the leaven will rise quite a bit. Sift flour into it. It’s even nicer to do this several times to achieve the best effect. Sifting flour works well using a special device or an ordinary sieve with very small holes. Next, pour out the yeast and fill it all with warm water. It must be warm, but not hot or cold. Because only in such an environment does yeast work and multiply.

Now knead it all very well, about 10 minutes. You should get a decently dense mass. We cover it with cling film almost end to end. Cover the top with a towel. And put the bowl in a warm place for 20–24 hours. It is very important not to open the film once during this period. That's how they installed it, so let it stand.

Stage two - knead the dough

When the starter is sufficiently infused, we begin to knead the dough. To do this, we will again use a mixer. Sift the remaining flour into a high bowl again. Like last time, it’s best to do this several times. Add yeast and salt to the flour. We also pour in the olive oil. Carefully spoon in the sourdough starter. Finally, pour all the water on top. Again it should be a little warm.

Now the mixer comes into operation. We set the speed to a very low speed, somewhere around second or third. And we turn the finished set of products into a homogeneous mass. To do this, we work with a mixer for seven to ten minutes. Don't worry if the mixture turns out runny. And under no circumstances add more flour. This is exactly the consistency the dough should have. It is so slightly liquid, tender and elastic.

Now it's time to just wait again. Use the deepest container you can find. Keep in mind that now the dough will definitely rise very much. Since the mass is quite sticky, grease the sides and bottom of the bowl with olive oil. And transfer the dough into this bowl. Cover again with film and a towel and put it all in a warm, dry place. This time for one and a half to two hours.

ATTENTION

If you want to add any filling, then you need to pour it out during this period. First, knead the dough well, and then add spices or vegetables, or some other filling. Mix everything well again so that all the pieces are evenly distributed in the dough.

Stage three - form and bake

Dust the table with flour. Carefully fold in all the dough. Although it is liquid in consistency, it should not spread, but retain its shape. If you want, you can bake one large loaf, or you can divide it into portioned ciabattas.

From the entire volume you will get approximately 4 identical parts. There is no need to knead them. You can do a little layering. Pull each piece out a little, pulling both edges on the sides towards the center. That is, you need to find the center vertically, across. You can also fold it in half horizontally, lengthwise. Of course, all the edges need to be joined together. But don't overdo it and ruin the porosity. Do this with all the pieces.

Next you need to shape the bread. Ciabatta is translated from Italian as slipper. Perhaps it was so named because of its flattened shape. In any case, we need to give this shape. Place the finished mini-loaves on parchment paper and set aside to stand again. To prevent a crust from forming on top, sprinkle all the ciabattas with flour. We set them aside for about one hour.

At this time, heat the oven along with the baking sheet. The temperature should be very high. In our case it is 250 degrees. Once the bread is ready and the oven has warmed up, take out the hot baking sheet and transfer the ciabattas onto it on baking paper. It is best to reshape the sneaker so that it is certainly preserved.

Before putting our baking sheet back into the oven, you need to create humidity in it. You can spray the entire space very generously with a spray bottle, but you can do it more simply and simply place a heat-resistant container filled with water at the very bottom.

We put our ciabattas in the oven. At this moment, reduce the oven heat to 220 degrees. And we keep them there for no more than twenty minutes. Yes, a golden crust did not form on them and it seems that the bread was not baked, but this is not so. If you overcook, the dish will turn into a hard, rubbery cake, unremarkable and tasteless. It is also important not to open the oven during cooking. Then the bread will definitely be fluffy and with large air bubbles inside. Ciabatta is ready!

This Italian bread recipe is sure to please anyone. Despite the time and effort involved, it is worth a try. And once you try it, you will fall in love. The freshly baked bread is so tender that it literally melts in your mouth. You don’t even want to eat it with anything, it’s wonderful on its own. Therefore, once you try it once, you will definitely never leave this recipe forever. Besides, such a freedom of imagination for the filling! Cook, try and come up with something new. Bon appetit!

Russians have long loved it. It is so convenient to make grilled sandwiches, croutons and croutons for serving with various sauces! If you are interested in how to prepare ciabatta at home, then read this article. We will share with you the secrets of its preparation, and also describe several of the most popular recipes.

at home

If you decide to prepare this fragrant Italian bread according to all the rules of culinary art, then be patient and approach the cooking process as seriously as possible. Making ciabatta at home:

• Mix 450 grams of flour with one teaspoon of salt and dry yeast (ten grams). To help the dry ingredients combine better, sift them through a sieve.
• Pour 350 grams of water into a bowl and mix it with flour.
• Cover the dough with a towel and leave to ferment for 12 hours. It will be better if you put the dough in the evening. In this case, you can serve fresh, aromatic bread straight from the oven for breakfast.
• Sprinkle the working surface of the table with flour and place the dough on it. Be careful - it will be quite sticky and runny.
• Fold the edges of the dough towards the center so that it resembles a loaf. Repeat the procedure several times. As soon as the dough acquires a dense structure, divide it into two equal parts.
• Gently stretch the pieces with your hands so that each one takes on a rectangular shape (10 by 20 cm).
• Place the future bread on a waffle towel, thickly sprinkled with flour, cover with a second towel and let stand for one hour.
• Preheat the oven, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and carefully transfer the ciabatta onto it. To create steam in the oven, spray water into the oven using a spray bottle.

After half an hour, when the bread is sufficiently browned, turn off the oven and call your family to the table.

Homemade ciabatta bread (with filling)

Cooking this bread will not cause any difficulties for an experienced housewife. However, you should pay attention to some nuances of this recipe. So, how is real Italian ciabatta made at home? The process is:

• For the dough, mix 100 grams of flour, one packet of yeast, 200 ml of water and 30 grams of sugar.
• When the base is ready, leave it to rise for 12 hours (under a towel) at room temperature.
• When the time comes, pour 450 ml of water into the dough, add 15 grams of salt and 900 grams of flour. Knead the dough, not forgetting to add a little vegetable oil to it.
• While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. This can be fried onions, dry herbs (for example, oregano or basil), capers and sun-dried tomatoes, olives.
• Divide the finished dough into three equal parts and knead each one, adding the filling. Form three loaves and let them stand under the cloth for about an hour.
• Bake the bread in the preheated oven for about ten minutes.

Ciabatta with cheese

Making ciabatta at home can be a creative process for you. Try making bread with cheese - and your loved ones will definitely appreciate your new dish. For this:

• Mix 450 grams of flour, 300 ml of water, half a teaspoon of salt and a packet of yeast in a deep bowl. Leave the dough (as usual) for 12 hours.
• Cut 50 grams (you can take Adyghe cheese or feta cheese) into cubes or mash into crumbs with your hands.
• Dust the table with flour, place the dough on it, and sprinkle cheese evenly on top. Fold the edges of the workpiece towards the middle, cut it in half, cover it with a thick cloth and leave it alone for an hour.
• When the ciabatta has risen, carefully transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Pour some water into another baking sheet and also place it in the preheated oven.

After half an hour the bread will be golden brown and ready. Serve it with aromatic sauces or make it the basis for sandwiches.

Ciabatta with and garlic

This recipe was invented specifically for those cases when tasty and aromatic bread was left out of use and became stale. You can correct this situation with the help of small tricks. Spiced ciabatta at home is prepared as follows:

• Cut the dried loaf with a knife from above, without touching the base, lengthwise and crosswise several times.
• spread evenly over the entire surface of the bread.
• Chop parsley, rosemary and oregano. Pass the garlic through a press, combine it with herbs, ground pepper and olive oil.
• Rub the resulting mixture onto the ciabatta outside and inside.
• Crumple a piece of parchment that is the right size with your hands, soak it in water and wrap it around the bread. In this form, the ciabatta should stay in the oven for about ten minutes.

Conclusion

As you can see, Italian ciabatta is not that difficult to prepare at home. The main thing is to choose the recipe you like and get down to business.

Do you like to cook bread according to interesting recipes? Then please your loved ones with original bread from Italy itself. What do we mean? Well, of course, a recipe for ciabatta - a popular bread for eating and making delicious snacks.

This recipe was originally used to make bread in some areas of Italy. Moreover, in each of them he had his own differences. The only thing they had in common was the fermentation time of the dough, the strength of the crust and the bubbly structure of the viscous crumb.

This delicious Italian bread required few ingredients but a lot of time to make. It is thanks to the long fermentation process that ciabatta dough gets its unique taste and structure.

Long-term fermentation (more than 12 hours) allows the dough to acquire a sour taste. But the air bubbles formed during fermentation, which are randomly located inside the dough, after baking give the crumb a large number of holes.

The uniqueness of ciabatta allowed it to become popular over time not only in Italy, but throughout Europe. And today it can be found in almost every supermarket. A variety of recipes and flavors allows you to choose the bread that suits your taste. If the composition or price of purchased ciabatta does not quite suit you, you can always prepare it at home. Every time you add something new to an Italian recipe, you can pleasantly surprise your loved ones with the unique taste of bread.

Classic recipe

To begin with, we want to offer you a classic recipe for making ciabatta at home. Connoisseurs know that this bread tastes best when baked in an oven. And best of all is Pompeii, which was originally an ideal place for making homemade pizza. However, not everyone has such a “miracle” in their kitchen or even in their country house. But you shouldn’t despair, because even if you cook ciabbata in the oven, you will be able to enjoy the taste of this unique bread.

So, what do you need to make ciabatta? Write down the recipe.

To create a unique test you need to take:

• 430 g flour (additional flour will be needed to sprinkle the work surface);
• 330 ml of water (preferably at room temperature);
• 1 teaspoon salt;
• 1 g dry yeast.

Now we move on to the process of making ciabatta at home, which is best done in stages.

If you want to prepare Italian bread according to the rules, then it is best to prepare the dough in the evening, then leave it to ferment overnight, and in the morning cook it in the oven and serve it while still warm.

The dough preparation process is as follows:

Preparing for baking:

To make the bread tasty, it is advisable to create steam in an electric oven. To do this, you can splash water on the bottom or use a spray bottle.

After cooking, let the bread sit for 20 minutes, after which you can enjoy the amazing taste of this Italian wonder.

Ciabatta with cheese and onions

One of the most delicious and original recipes is ciabatta with cheese and onions. Its baking takes almost the same time as in the case of the classic version, but additional ingredients make its taste even more interesting.

To make ciabatta with cheese and onions at home, you will need:

• flour (5 ½ cups);
• salt (1 ½ tsp);
• instant dry yeast (1 ½ tsp);
• warm water (600 ml);
• a pinch of sugar;
• vegetable oil (1 ½ tbsp);
• onion (1 pc.).

As in the first version of the recipe, ciabatta takes a long time to cook, so try to time it correctly. Of course, there are also instant recipes, but in this case they are not suitable.

First you need to prepare the starter. To do this, you need to mix a portion of yeast with a glass of warm (not hot!) water. You should wait until the yeast is completely filled with water. Then add pre-sifted flour (2 cups). The consistency of the dough should not be too liquid (approximately like pancakes). But you don’t need to make a very thick dough. It should be convenient for you to stir it with a spoon. To make the yeast active, add a little sugar. Now the finished starter can be placed in a warm place and covered with a towel.

Ideally, the starter should be prepared for about a day. But in case you don't have that much time, you should wait at least 4 hours.

Let's move on to preparing the onions and cheese. The onion should be peeled, finely chopped and lightly fried in a frying pan. Grind the cheese into small cubes.

Now we return to the sourdough again. Throw salt into it and try to pour in about 400 ml of water in small portions. Pour in vegetable oil here. Knead the dough gradually and after the water disappears, add a little more flour (the one that remains).

Now with wet hands you need to knead the dough until it begins to tear in the middle, forming a window. Add onions and cheese to this mixture.

We leave all this for 50 minutes alone and warm, and then fold it carefully from the side to the center. Then again we leave it alone for 50 minutes and fold it again.

Now divide the finished mass into 2 parts and place it on a baking sheet, which is thickly strewn with flour. You can put a towel between the ciabattas to prevent the dough from spreading and leave it alone for 40 minutes.

While the dough is rising, place a container of water in the preheated oven to create steam. Once the dough is ready, place it in the oven for 30-40 minutes. And now, ciabatta with cheese and onions is ready.

Other recipes

In addition to the two recipes described, there are others. Some make it possible to cook this bread much faster, reducing the time for the dough to leaven. But if in appearance it resembles ciabatta, then the taste will not be the same. After all, it is the long leavening that makes the dough a little sour.

In addition to onions and cheese, herbs are often added to ciabatta. And then, during baking, their aroma fills not only the kitchen, but also the adjacent rooms. Olives and marjoram are also often added to it. And if you add milk to the dough, you will get a slightly different taste.

In addition to its intended purpose, this bread is considered the best for making sandwiches and bruschetta. It also makes excellent grilled toast.

Hello! Do you think it is possible to bake real Italian bread at home? I think there is nothing unusual about this. Once you learn how to bake it, you won't want to try any other. For example, ciabatta, the recipe for which is given below, cooked in your oven, is in no way inferior in its characteristics to Ligurian or Catalan.

The dough for making ciabatta can be called dough for the lazy. The fact is that there is no exchange procedure. And the proofing process lasts up to 12 hours and during this time you can go about your business. Usually the ciabatta dough is left to rise overnight. This is convenient for those whose work schedule does not allow for baking due to the strict canons of preparing dough. You can take a slice of Italian ciabatta with cheese to work. It is not a shame to put such bread on the holiday table. It is very beautiful, especially when cut: large pores of different sizes and a crispy golden crust.

Delicious baked goods do not require expensive ingredients. Italians don't like anything extra when they cook. Ciabatta is flour, water, yeast and salt. And, as is usual in Italy, bread under this name is baked differently in each region. But there are also common features:

1. Form. Ciabatta is a rectangular bread with irregular shapes, as it is baked without a mold. Translated from Italian, “ciabatta” means slipper. We can say that this bread really resembles a slipper. So big, size 45.
2. Ciabatta has a hard crust that makes a peculiar sound when you click it. The crust is rough, and stains from the towel in which the dough rested are imprinted on it.
3. Ciabatta is all holes, as it may seem to anyone who has tried it.
4. The crumb is not loose, but rather a little rubbery, with a slight sourness due to the fact that the dough is prepared with sourdough.

Classic Italian bread recipe

We offer. To clearly see how classic ciabatta is prepared, the text is accompanied by a photo. So let's get started. Let's prepare the necessary ingredients: water, salt, yeast and flour. I took whey instead of water. This makes the crumb softer.

• Flour - 410 gr;
• water - 300 ml;
• fresh yeast - 1-2 g (dry - on the tip of a knife);
• salt - 1 tsp. without top.

The small amount of yeast is due to the fact that the dough will rise for 12 hours. During this time, the yeast will multiply and have time to earn properly. Mix the yeast with water and salt, add enough flour to make the dough liquid. You can skip this step and immediately knead a thick dough.

After 4 hours, the dough will increase several times.

Mix in all the flour. The dough must be kneaded until smooth.

After 4 hours it will rise strongly, and large air bubbles will form inside.

Dust the table with flour. Lay out the dough.

Under no circumstances should we knead the dough or roll it out. We work with him very delicately. Carefully stretch it in different directions to form a square.

Then fold it as shown in the photo.

Dust it with flour and place the dough product on it.

The ciabatta dough is soft so that it holds its shape, turn the towel or fasten the ends with paper clips.

How to bake ciabatta in the oven?

The secret is to preheat not only the oven, but also the baking sheet. While the bread is rising a little, grease the baking sheet with oil and turn on the oven. 5 minutes before baking, set the baking sheet to preheat. Then quickly place the ciabatta on it, seam side down, and put it in the oven. You can also line the baking sheet with foil.

It remains to tell one of the secrets of the hard crust. To do this, the oven must have high humidity. How to achieve this is up to you. You can spray water from a spray bottle or place a container of water in the oven in advance, which will remain during baking.

Ciabatta is ready. It can be prepared with various additives: onions, garlic, cheese or. Considering that you cannot knead the dough after it has risen, you need to add spices when kneading.

Making ciabatta at home is quite possible. Good luck on your culinary quest!

Step 1: Take flour.

To prepare the dough, we will definitely need a mixer or food processor; a regular bread machine will not work (I tried it). As a last resort, a regular mixer with paddles will do. The essence of ciabatta, like baguettes, is that the flesh is airy, light and with large holes, and the crust is thin and crispy. This is achieved by the fact that the kneaded dough must be very liquid and the flour is taken with a higher protein content, 12-13%. But, I’m not in Italy, and I had to rely on local products. I took ordinary premium wheat flour, of which there is a large selection in the store. Measure out exactly 250 grams of flour on a kitchen scale. If there are no scales, then we use the folk measurement system of 1 tbsp. holds “without top”/“with top” - 10/15 grams. And measure out 225 ml of water, clean and most importantly warm, into a separate bowl.

Step 2: Prepare the dough.

Dissolve the yeast in a little warm water, add salt. Place all ingredients (flour, water, yeast) in a mixing bowl or tall bowl and start mixing with the mixer. At first you will get an incomprehensible liquid mixture, but you need to stir further, for 10-15 minutes at high speed, until the dough becomes homogeneous and begins to peel off the walls and tightly envelop the mixer blades. If your dough turned out like pancakes (suddenly you chose some imported flour), and you didn’t want to form an elastic lump, then add flour into the bowl, spoonful at a time, until you get the desired result. Next, you need to cover the bowl or bowl with film and put it in a warm place for 2-3 hours. My dough came together very well, with large bubbles. Now it was important not to let this air out of the dough.

Step 3: Dump the dough onto the work surface.

Now let's get to the hard part, you need to place the dough on a work surface, thickly sprinkled with flour (the dough is very liquid and therefore sticks to everything!!). Carefully, with a knife, I somehow tore it into two almost equal parts, folded all the ends around the perimeter, creating a liquid rectangle, without kneading any more! The task of forming future loaves of bread about 30 cm long was completed. With great difficulty, I turned the “loaves” over with the flour side up and left them to proof for another 45 minutes, covering them with a towel.

Step 4: Preheat the oven.

At this time, preheat the oven well, to 260-270 degrees with a baking sheet inside and boil water separately. We take baking paper, having previously cut it to the shape of the baking sheet, and carefully place our breads on it, placing it all on a hot baking sheet. Place in the oven and pour boiling water into a special tray to create steam. After 15 minutes, remove the pan, reduce the temperature to 200 degrees, bake for 20 minutes until light golden brown.

Step 7: Serve the ciabatta.

After the time is up, take out the ciabatta, knock on the bread - it makes a loud noise, it means it's ready! Place the finished ciabatta on a wire rack (to prevent it from steaming) and let it cool for at least 15-20 minutes before greedily grabbing the ciabatta with your teeth! I must admit, the bread turned out excellent, very porous with a crispy crust - an excellent result with a minimum of effort! Italians usually eat ciabatta with vegetables and mozzarella, but the most common filling for ciabatta is a paste of tomatoes, garlic and herbs. Bon appetit!

Try to transfer the bread onto clean baking paper, without dragging all the flour into the oven. It burns and it smells. And then you can’t shake it off the finished bread. - Ciabatta, in my opinion, is the best type of bread for making light morning sandwiches, a variety of sandwiches, and toasts. - Serve ciabatta like real Italians with vegetables and mozzarella, or make pasta with tomatoes, garlic and herbs. - The time required for the dough to rise properly depends mainly on the quality of the starter and the temperature. If the starter is very young, then it may take a little longer to proof - 4-5 hours. And vice versa, if the starter is proven and strong, then 2 hours may be enough. - Using flour with a high gluten content allows you to avoid dough failure when the already well-proportioned dough begins to fall off. - If you still don’t have flour with a high protein content, it doesn’t matter - this bread can be made just fine from regular good quality flour, but in this case, your ciabatta may not have such a porous structure. - Usually in stores specializing in the sale of accessories and ingredients for baking bread, you can buy gluten separately. A small addition of gluten to regular flour allows it to be used instead of flour with a high protein content.

Remember, gluten cannot be a universal solution to replace flour with a high gluten content. In addition, it can significantly spoil the taste of bread in larger quantities than necessary.