Earlier I shared a couple of recipes of sourdough ciabatta, but today, I would like to introduce to you a very simple recipe of ciabatta made with yeast.
It is a one day preparation ciabatta, with one simple step of making biga (preferment) a night before.
If you are ready, let’s go.
| Ready in: 4-5 hours | Serves: 8-10 people |
| Yield: 2 x 450g ciabattas | Units: US, E |
Ingredients
Biga (preferment)
- 90g water
- 150g bread flour
- 0.2g dry instant yeast
Main Dough
- 240g biga (all)
- 315g bread flour
- 35g whole wheat flour
- 300g water +60g extra water
- 10g salt
- 5g dry instant yeast
Directions
Night before:
Biga preparation step
- 5 pm in container add yeast to water, add flour, whisk all together, form as uneven ball, cover the lid, let the biga ferment at room temp till next morning.
Next morning:
Ciabatta dough preparation steps
- 9 am By this time biga has to double or more in volume and have a loose structure.
- Mix water, all biga, dry instant yeast, salt and all flour. Mix on low speed of your mixing machine for 2-3 minutes, or KitchenAid on speed 3 for 5-6 minutes until well incorporated. Add extra water little by little. The process of adding extra water is called bassinage, it helps to tighten up gluten. The dough has to come up together and become smooth.
- Oil the container with olive oil, transfer the dough into the square or rectangular container, close the lid.
- Leave to rest for 30 minutes at 78-82F /26-28C.
- 9:30 am wet your hands and perform 1st stretch and fold.
- 10 am 2nd stretch and fold.
- 10:30 am 3rd stretch and fold.
- 11 am 4th stretch and fold and let the dough rest for 30-45 min.
By this time dough has to increase by 100% in volume (double).
Note: if the volume of the dough didn’t reach 100% mark, let the dough ferment longer.
Ciabatta preshaping and shaping steps
- Generously sprinkle with flour table and dough, turn container on the floured surface.
- Fold the dough in half (flourless parts one to each other).
- Using the scraper divide the dough in 2 equal parts. Sprinkle more flour o top and all around ciabattas.
- Now transfer each shaped dough onto a proofing couche. Cover ciabattas with kitchen towel. Let them proof for 30min to 1 hour.
- Perform poke test to check the readiness. Give the dough a gentle but assertive poke. If the dough springs back right away, let it rise for a few more minutes. If the dough springs back slowly, like it’s waking up from a long nap, and your poke leaves a small indentation, it’s ready to go.
- During proofing time start to preheat oven 500F with baking stone inside and iron tray on the bottom rack for 1 hour.
- When the oven is hot and ciabattas are proofed enough, flip them over on a parchment paper( bottom side should be on the top, and top part should be on the bottom.
- Prepare 10 ice cubes.
- Act fast, open the oven, transfer ciabattas on to the baking stone, dump the ice cubes into the tray and put it on the bottom rack, close the oven door.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Lower the temperature to 475F, open the oven door, remove the tray with excess water. Bake for 15 more minutes.
- Let your ciabattas cool down.
And enjoy!
Looks lovely Natalia, my next culinary adventure 🙏
Hi Natasha! This looks like such a fun project. I just want to confirm – Is there meant to be a 12 hour rest between the 3rd & 4th fold? Looking forward to making this!
Thank you!
Sorry it was a typo.
Hi,
0.2 g yeast? How can I measure that? 😬
My scale doesn’t measure it too.
I weighed 1 g, divided in 4 parts, so each part would be around 0.25g
And added little less than 0.25g into the dough.
Donde son las 12 horas me perdi..?
Could you use this recipe to make rolls? Looks so delicious 🤤😋
Absolutely. Just cut the dough on smaller pieces.
This recipe looks a great project. I have a small steam oven, can I bake them in the steam oven at 475 for 25 min?
I have both a standard and a steam oven- while it’s a waste of electricity and gas to do both I like to experiment and I find that the steam oven produces a nice sheen on the rolls where the regular oven tends to look more artisanal and floured and does not reflect the light the same way- it’s a matter of preference it the answer is yes you can!
Hi!
To get the crunchy crust, you’ll need to bake it at the end without steam.
I love and like your style of baking thanks Natasha so much 🫶🏻
Thank you 🙏
Hello…
Just made this today! It was so easy and came out so perfect! Thank you!
Thank you for your kind feedback 🙏
Hi
I live in warmer temps,daytime can be 34°C and nighttime like 26°C
Should I still make biga at room temp and shorten the time?
I noticed that some people let it ferment at room temp for some time and then put in the fridge
Hi!
In your case fermentation will go much faster. You can reduce the amount of yeast and still keep the biga at room temp
Natasha, thank you for inspiration! My first experience was well!
Awesome!
Thank you for sharing ❤️
Very clear directions! Thank you for simplifying the process for us newbies! 🙂
How do you measure .2 gms of yeast for the biga?
I’d like to know as well
She replied to someone about this. She just said weigh one gram on the scale and divide that into 4 parts (0.25 g each) and add just a bit less than that. Hope this helps
When you say cover with lid, do you mean an air tight lid or like a towel? Thanks!!
How can I convert it into a fully sourdough bread?
lukewarm water? or just normal temperature water?
My family loves this ciabatta so much that I am making it every week. So far I wasn’t disappointed by any of Natasha’s recipes, and I made many. Her instructions and pictures are so understandable.
Hi! Looks lovely but instead of yeast can I use leaven and if yes how much?
It’s an amazing recipe the only one I use now. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for your positive feedback! I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoy the recipe and that it’s become a favorite for you. Your support means a lot, and I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. Happy cooking!
I have found that I have to oil the Biga ball before the overnight rest or else it forms a crust on top that is hard to break down when incorporating into the rest of the ingredients the next morning. I would normally do this but didn’t see it in the instructions…is there a reason?
Thank you for sharing your experience with the Biga ball preparation. Oiling the Biga ball before the overnight rest is a great tip to prevent it from forming a crust. While it may not be explicitly mentioned in the instructions, feel free to continue oiling the Biga ball as you have found it to be helpful. Different techniques and variations can be used in bread making, so feel free to adapt the recipe to suit your preferences. Happy baking!
Hello, nice recipe, i’m making it as i’m writing this.
I’m curious to which type of strech and fold you find the best.
Regular stretch and fold when you pull the corners 90 degrees, and finish with a few folds, where you tuck the dough under itself
or
Coil-folds
Hello and thank you for sharing this great bread recipe. I baked a similar bread. I poured water in the tray, but it cooked within 12 minutes. Should I lower the grade?
At what speed is bassinage done and what is the total mixing time? Thanks!
Hi, if I add 300g water my dough is too sloppy, can it be the flour? I use white bread flour and 15g whole wheat flour.
Hi there! If your dough is turning out too sloppy when adding 300g of water, it’s possible that the hydration level is too high for the type of flour you are using. White bread flour typically requires less water compared to whole wheat flour due to differences in protein content and absorption rates. You may want to try reducing the amount of water slightly or adjusting the ratio of white bread flour to whole wheat flour in your recipe to achieve the desired consistency. Experimenting with different flour combinations and hydration
Hello I am confused about the following statement:
“ Mix water, all biga, dry instant yeast, salt and all flour. Mix on low speed of your mixing machine for 2-3 minutes, or KitchenAid on speed 3 for 5-6 minutes until well incorporated. Add extra water little by little. The process of adding extra water is called bassinage, it helps to tighten up gluten. The dough has to come up together and become smooth.”
What extra water are you referring to? Is there a specific amount of extra water?
Read the ingredients
300g water +60g extra water