Name: Ciabatta
Prep time: 1 h 1 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 3 h 21 min
Yield: 15 Ciabattas
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 200 ml milk; 150 ml water; 9 g salt; 15 g caster sugar; 50 ml olive oil; 500 g flour; 20 g yeast; a little Milk

Step by step recipe

Step 1 - ⌛ 5 min.

Pour 200 ml milk, 150 ml water, 9 g salt, 15 g caster sugar and 50 ml olive oil into a pan, and warm over gentle heat.

You can also melt all these ingredients in a bowl in the microwave for 1 minute.

Step 2 - ⌛ 3 min.

Tip 500 g flour and 20 g yeast into the bowl of a food processor, then add the warmed liquid.

Step 3 - ⌛ 6 min.

Knead on minimum speed for 5 to 8 minutes, until the dough is evenly mixed and elastic.

Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home.

Step 4 - ⌛ 5 min.

Tip out onto the worktop without flour, and stretch...

Step 5 - ⌛ 5 min.

... then fold back on itself a number of times.

You can see how to do this in the recipe for leavened bread which has videos showing the movement.

Step 6 - ⌛ 2 hours

Next place the dough in a bowl, cover with a plastic sheet, and leave in a warm place until doubled in volume, which will take 2-3 hours.

Step 7 - ⌛ 5 min.

After this time, tip the dough out onto the worktop, press to expell the CO₂ gas that has formed, and shape into a ball.

Step 8 - ⌛ 10 min.

Cut the ball of dough into smaller pieces of about 50 g.

Step 9 - ⌛ 10 min.

Then roll each piece under your hand to make a nice ball and place on a baking sheet, as shown in this short video.

You will see that you should try to keep both thumb and little finger straight (these roll the ball), and the other 3 fingers curved over the top.

Step 10 - ⌛ 5 min.

The dough is very sticky, which is quite normal, but means that they risk sticking to the plastic sheet when covered again.

This little trick will help to avoid this: place a glass in the middle of each sheet between the rolls...

Step 11 - ⌛ 2 min.

And lay the plastic sheet over the glasses, so that the dough does not stick to it.

Step 12 - ⌛ 5 min.

Leave the rolls to rise and double in volume for 1 or 2 hours in a warm place.

Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F).

Just before baking, brush the rolls with a little milk to help them brown.

Step 13 - ⌛ 20 min.

Cook for about 20 minutes until golden brown, then leave to cool on a wire rack.

Nutritional information

	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats	Calories	Energy
Per 100 g	7 g RDI=10 %	43 g RDI=16 %	7 g RDI=9 %	256 kcal RDI=13 %	1,071 kJ RDI=13 %
Per piece	4 g RDI=6 %	27 g RDI=10 %	4 g RDI=6 %	160 kcal RDI=8 %	671 kJ RDI=8 %
Whole recipe	63 g RDI=96 %	400 g RDI=151 %	62 g RDI=84 %	2,404 kcal RDI=120 %	10,064 kJ RDI=120 %