Sourdough Ciabatta

 How to make sourdough ciabatta

This recipe is simple to make! For the full set of directions, please scroll down to the recipe card below. This is just a general overview on how to make it to help you plan.

Note: This recipe is long, because I wanted to make sure I really broke down each step for you, but its not hard and you can do it!

The most important thing is to remember the the less you handle the dough, the better the bread will be!

Mix the dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the starter, flour, salt, olive oil, and most of the water. Mix just until the ingredients blend together.
2. Switch to the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the water to the dough and mix slowly until it is absorbed (Adding the water slowly in stages like this is called the bassinage technique, and it helps make mixing easier for the dough hook to “grab” the dough). The dough will be very soft and very sticky but will look smooth.
4. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough in it.

Bulk Fermentation

This part of the recipe takes 2 hours and needs three sets of stretch and folds to help develop the gluten.

1. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to ferment at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. While keeping the dough the bowl, and using wet hands, grab one end of the dough and pull it and stretch it (imagine taffy) out of the bowl, and then fold it back on itself. This is messy, and more like oozing than folding at this point.
3. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap again and allow it to ferment for another 30 minutes.
5. Repeat the stretch and folds, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and do another set of stretch and folds.
6. Cover with plastic wrap again and allow to ferment another 30 minutes.
7. Repeat the stretch and folds, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and do another set of stretch and folds.
8. Cover with plastic wrap again and allow to ferment another 30 minutes.

Proofing

This bread will be proofed overnight in the fridge, also called Retarding. This helps to deepen and develop the sourdough flavor and help you bake on your own time schedule.

1. Place the covered bowl in the fridge and let it sit overnight for 7-12 hours.
2. In the morning, take the dough out of the fridge and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 2 hours.

Shaping the dough

This is the part that feels the trickiest because the dough is such a high hydration. Remember, the dough is more soup than anything else, so it’s not going to be perfect, and it is going to be messy. If at any point you feel frustrated, throw a towel over the dough and walk away for a few minutes. Then come back to finish.

1. Liberally dust your counter with flour, and turn the dough out onto it.
2. Sift a little flour on top of the dough.
3. Starting at the center of the dough, and being careful not to deflate the dough too much, gently slide your fingertips under the dough and gently stretch the dough outwards into a rectangle shape about 1/2 an inch thick.
4. Cut the rectangle inhale with a pastry scraper or a very sharp knife so that you can form two loaves.
5. Take each loaf and push the sides in a bit, gently forming each half of the dough into a “loaf” shape about 10-11 inches long and about 4-5 inches wide. It will not be perfect and is more of a blob than a loaf, but thats ok.
6. Place each loaf onto a well floured couche, sift a little flour on top, cover with another couche or a plastic bag, and allow to rise until the dough has doubled, about 1.5 to 2 hours. The dough should look bubbly, and when poked it should have little to no spring back. If your kitchen is warmer, this will take less time. If your kitchen is colder, it could take longer. Watch the dough here, not the clock.

Baking the ciabatta

1. Preheat the oven to 475 F with a baking stone on the middle rack and a cast iron pan on the bottom rack for creating steam.
2. When the oven has been preheated for quite a while, prepare a large single piece of parchment paper that will cover your entire baking stone.
3. Flour the top of your dough again to make sure there are no sticky parts.
4. Gently and quickly transfer the loaves from the couche to the parchment paper.
5. Carefully place the parchment paper onto the baking stone (I like to use a large wooden peel or cutting board to help transfer it without the dough sliding all over the place).
6. Toss about 1/2 cup of ice into the cast iron skillet below, and close the door.
7. Lower the temperature to 450 F and bake for 10 minutes.
8. Rotate the bread loaves to ensure even baking and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown.
9. Turn off the oven, leave the bread in the oven, and crack the door open with a wooden spoon wrapped in foil, and allow the bread to cool for 5 minutes.
10. Place the loaves of bread on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing. Some baking still happens inside the bread while it is cooling, so make sure you give it plenty of time to cool before you cut it.

What kind of sourdough do I need for this recipe?

This recipe uses a 100% hydration starter that has been fed and is active. Make sure you read Feeding Your Sourdough Starter to refresh what hydration rate is, how to feed your starter, and how to tell if it is active and ready to use.

You do need quite a bit of active starter for this recipe, so make sure that you give it a few good feedings without discarding before starting this recipe.

What kind of flour should I use?

The best kind of flour to use in this recipe is a high protein bread flour. The protein will help the gluten development, which will help the texture or chew of hte bread.

You CAN use unbleached all purpose as well, but know that your gluten might be harder to develop and your texture might not be as good. I suggest sticking with bread flour if you can!

Can I mix this by hand?

You can, but I do not recommend it. This dough is very wet and sticky, and hard to handle. If you do decide to mix by hand, make sure you knead by hand until the dough passes the windowpane test. Keep the dough in the bowl and scoop and pull the dough around the bowl in the opposite direction.

What can I use if I don’t have a couche?

A baker’s couche is a piece of untreated and unbleached canvas cloth you can use to help shape loaves of bread. The loosely woven cloth keeps the doughs surface evenly dry as it rises, which helps it get a great crusty crust when it bakes. If you don’t have one, you can use a heavily floured tea towel, or even a piece of parchment paper with rolling pins underneath to help hold up the sides.

Can I measure this in cups and teaspoons?

No. This is a more advanced sourdough baking recipe, and for best results you need to be specific in your ratio of flour to water and the weights of each ingredient. You need a kitchen scale to make this recipe.