An easy ciabatta bread recipe for crispy Italian homemade bread. A recipe that is actually very simple and quick to master. It doesn't fail, so try it yourself!
I bake a lot of my own bread, and once you have mastered it, it actually rarely goes wrong. Except for those times, I forget an ingredient to add (Mom, it's a bit bland (oops no salt), Mom it's a little dry (oops forgot the oil), get the idea? But mostly it's up to me when something went wrong.
What has helped me in getting the bread baking mastered has certainly been a book on how to prepare and bake the perfect loaf (Jenny Shapter). And this recipe is adapted from that book.

- By making a biga, a pre-dough, your yeast mixture is already started and the rising of the dough will start quickly.
- The sugar added to your yeast mixture is yeast “food”. They convert the sugar to oxygen which makes your bread airy. Don’t discard the sugar for that case.
- By placing first a slightly wet towel and then cover that with plastic foil you get a moist warm environment while rising the bread. That way your dough remains moist and rises faster.
- Replace the milk with soy milk for a lactose-free bread.
- Normally you’ll eat the bread the same day because it will get stale.
- In a special bread container bread will stay fresh for up to 1 day.
- Don’t store bread in the refrigerator. Because of the moist in a refrigerator, the bread gets a different structure. Not really tasty.
- Bread can be frozen quite well for up to two weeks. Take the bread from the freezer 3 hours before you’re planning to eat. If you want to eat your bread warm, you bake it for 3 minutes at 355 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) (right out of the freezer).
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📖 Recipe
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https://www.youtube.com/c/ByAndréaJanssenEasy ciabatta bread recipe
Ingredients
Biga
- 140 mL water
- 175 grams flour
- ½ teaspoon yeast instant
Ciabatta dough
- 200 mL water
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 325 grams flour plus extra for dusting
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon yeast instant
Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic
Instructions
Biga with bread baking machine
- Pour the water into the bowl of the bread machine, sprinkle flour on top and then add the yeast.
- Set the machine to the basic dough mode and mix for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the machine and allow the biga to rest for 12 hours.
- The biga is ready for use.
Biga without bread baking machine
- Pour the water into a bowl of the bread machine, sprinkle flour on top and then add the yeast.
- Mix with a mixer with dough hooks for 5 minutes.
- Cover with a wet towel and plastic foil.
- Let it stand for 12 hours.
- The biga is ready to use.
Ciabatta baking part 1 with bread baking machine
- Add the water, milk, and olive oil to the biga.
- Sprinkle 325 grams of flour on top of the liquid.
- In one corner you scoop the yeast. In the opposite corner, do the salt. In the middle you scoop sugar.
- Set the machine to the basic dough mode and knead the dough and let it rise for the 1st time.
- Go further with this recipe with the part ciabatta baking part 2
Ciabatta baking part 1 without bread baking machine
- Add water, milk, olive oil, flour, yeast, and sugar to the bowl with the biga.
- Knead with your hands or a mixer with dough hooks for about 5 minutes.
- Add the salt and knead or mix for another 10 minutes.
- Brush a bowl with oil and put the dough in it. Turn around once.
- Cover the bowl with a slightly wet towel and plastic foil.
- Put the bowl in a warm space and let it rise for 1 hour.
- Go further with Ciabatta baking part 2
Ciabatta baking part 2
- Dust two baking sheets with flour.
- Divide the dough in half and spread it gently over the plates, so that the dough remains as airy as possible. Make sure you have flour on your hands, gently stretch a rectangle of dough (about 2.5 cm thick) on each baking plate.
- Sprinkle the loaves with flour and leave in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes (do not cover).
- Preheat the oven to 430 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius).
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes ciabatta until the ciabatta is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Allow cooling to room temperature.
Notes
- By making a biga, a pre-dough, your yeast mixture is already started and the rising of the dough will start quickly.
- The sugar added to your yeast mixture is yeast “food”. They convert the sugar to oxygen which makes your bread airy. Don’t discard the sugar for that case.
- By placing first a slightly wet towel and then cover that with plastic foil you get a moist warm environment while rising the bread. That way your dough remains moist and rises faster.
- Replace the milk with soy milk for a lactose-free bread.
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