In love with these Ciabattas, easy, delicious and fun to make. All you need is a bit of time and patience, but no kneading! Perfect for work-from-home COVID situation.
Recipe (original recipe here on YouTube)
- 200g water
- 1 tsp yeast
- 20g olive oil
- 250g bread flour
- 1 tsp salt
Method
1. In a Tupperware or storage box with lid, add water, yeast and oil. Stir well.
2. Add flour and salt, using a silicone spatula, mix till a rough dough forms.
3. Cover with lid, leave on counter top for 45min.
4. After 45 min, wet hands and do stretch and fold in 4 directions. Handle dough gently and do not tear it. (Note that I changed the container here.)
5. Cover and leave on counter for 30 min.
6. Repeat stretch and fold for another 2 times, each time wetting hands first and handling dough gently. Allow 30 min interval between second and third set as well.
7. After the third set of stretch and fold, cover and leave on counter for 40 min.
8. After 40 min, flour a mat and the dough generously.
9. Overturn container on mat and let gravity does it’s work.
10. Flour the dough generously, then divide into 4 portions.
11. Lift, very gently and place on a floured baking paper.
12. Proof for 30 min in an enclosed space.
13. Preheat oven to 220 deg C. When 30 mins of proofing is up, bake in oven for 18 mins. Cool before slicing.
Olady Bakes 
Brava!
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Thanks!
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I found my bread was dense inside after baking. When I reduced the amount of water, the dough was not so easy to stretch or stretchy. Fyi, the amount of water that I used was just enough to wet all the flour. Is it because too little water that caysed the fough not stretchy?
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Hmm, this is a VERY high hydration dough. 200ml water to 250g bread flour. If you follow the times and recipe, should stretch well. By 3rd stretch, it will be stronger, so won’t stretch as long. Also wait for the dough to cool well before slicing.
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hi,
do you mean by preheat the oven at 220 degree for 30 mins and bake for 18 mins?
sorry if i read it correctly.
please advise.
thank you.
regards
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No, just preheat to 220. The 30 min is the proofing time for the step before.
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tis is 3rd attempt.i made 2times the qty. instead of olive oil can i replace with organic cooking coconut oil(madella brand)
tq
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If you are ok with the coconut aroma, that’s fine.
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Hi Nikki, can use wholegrain flour to mix with bread flour ?
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Yes, can try up to 30 percent.
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Hi there. Can i use plain flour to flour the mat and baking paper instead of bread flour? Thank you
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Yes that’s fine.
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The best fail proof recipe for an amateur like me. I love it! Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks!
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Hi, I’ve tried your recipe a number of times, but find my bread super airy with very big holes… And does not look as dense as yours. What could be the problem u think? Do advise, thnks.
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Many like it to be airy. If you want it to be more dense, you can fold tighter when stretch and fold.
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Can I leave the dough in the fridge overnight before baking?
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Not sure as I have not tried before.
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I tried it taste great overnight in the fridge for proofing
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Great! Thanks for sharing.
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Yay thank you!
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Thanks for this easy to do ciabatta recipe. My bread got stuck to the baking paper. How to resolve this issue?
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Can flour the baking paper more, or try another brand of baking paper
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How long do I need to bake if I make it 2 instead of 4 pcs?
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Roughly the same time, only extend say 5 min if you find the bread too pale.
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For the same amount ingredients I cut into 2 instead of 4. I extended but came out pale and inner part is still wet.
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If you notice the bread is pale then you will need to extend. You can also tap on bread lightly to hear for hollow sound. Also I suspect your oven temp is different from mine, so you need to experiment and adjust.
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What will happened if I accidentally tear the dough during the stretch and folding stage?
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Just carry on. Not much you can do and not a big problem.
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Hi. Do I need to put water to create steam on the oven?
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No need for this one.
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Hi, tried your method yesterday and use Airfryer at 160degrees for 18 mins. very nice n soft!! Thanks!
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Thanks for the feedback.
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Hi
May I ask during the dividing into 4 parts, can I press on the dough to reshape it?
Thank you.
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Try not to press too hard, maybe just the sides to neaten up.
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Nicely baked.. Love your recipe..
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Thanks!
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Hi, thank you for this wonderful recipe. I tried making this several times but I realised that each time, my dough remained flat despite having air bubbles from the stretch and fold. In the oven, the dough doesn’t rise but spread out due to the flat dough. I followed all your instructions but I am wondering if it’s because I need to use a smaller container so that my dough can’t spread out. Or could there be any other reasons? Please help.
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Feels like the dough does not have enough strength. Are you using bread flour? When doing stretch and fold, try to stretch as long as possible without breaking. You can try a bigger container if you feel that’s a problem. Just experiment.
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Hi, may i know bake using what mode pls? I dont hv bottom heat element. Can you fan mode or top & bottom heat? I want to try this weekend. No need to put water in tray?200ml water is room temp or warm pls?
I used other recipe my bread doesnt rise and became flat. Crunchy outside but inside not cooked. Not sure why.
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Top and bottom is fine.
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Hi
Can I ask if the texture is meant to b chewy?
I had baked twice before n it was both times, soft.
Today, it turned out chewy, n I wonder why. Hope u can enlighten me on what could hv gone wrong!
Also, I found it hard to stretch that much without breaking it like yours. Can u please also share your tips?
Thank u so much, in advance!
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Hi,
I just realized that I did 4 sets of the stretch n fold instead of 3. Could that b the reason that led to the chewy texture please?
Thanks!
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It shouldn’t be a big problem. The texture is slightly chewy.
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Me and my children like it so much, especially the crust. But not my hubby. He said too hard to chew. Hahaha! Btw, do you recommend to cut it while it’s still warm or when it’s cooled?
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Definitely after it has cooled, or until slightly warm, not fresh from oven.
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