There’s nothing like the smell of fresh ciabatta coming out of the oven. A crisp crust, a soft, airy inside, and a rich taste of olive oil and honey. This ciabatta bread recipe needs no mixer, just a few rounds of stretch and folds.
This recipe gives you Italian-bakery texture and flavor, but easily, in a home kitchen.
The dough starts out very soft and sticky. A few rounds of folding turn it into an elastic dough full of air bubbles, and that’s what gives ciabatta its open crumb.
No mixer. Just patience and a love for good bread.
Serve it with olive oil and basil, with cheeses for breakfast, or warm from the oven with good butter.
My tip: Shape it with your hands, never a rolling pin. You want to keep all those air bubbles.
This ciabatta bread recipe is made from bread flour, lukewarm water, instant yeast, honey, olive oil, and salt mixed into a very sticky dough. Rest 30 minutes, do two rounds of stretch and folds with 30-minute rests, shape and cut, rest 20 minutes, and bake at 400°F (200°C) conventional for about 20 minutes. Total time is about 2 hours 10 minutes.
Homemade Ciabatta (No Mixer, Stretch and Fold)
Ingredients
Method
- In a large bowl, mix the lukewarm water, yeast, honey, and olive oil until combined.
- Add the flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until you have a very sticky dough.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Wet your hands and do a round of folds: lift one side of the dough and fold it into the center. Repeat on all four sides.
- Cover again for 30 minutes, then repeat the folds.
- Cover for another 30 minutes of rest.
- Flour a work surface well and gently transfer the dough onto it. Using your hands (not a rolling pin!), stretch and shape it into a rectangle.
- Cut into ciabatta loaves of the size you want. Carefully move them to a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a towel, and let rest for 20 minutes.
- If you like, dust the tops lightly with flour before baking (optional).
- Bake in an oven preheated to 400°F (200°C), conventional (top and bottom heat), for about 20 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- Don’t add flour to the sticky dough. Wet hands make folding easy.
- The folds build strength, so do both rounds.
- Handle the shaped dough gently and skip the rolling pin to keep the bubbles.
- Honey → sugar, same amount.
- Bread flour → all-purpose flour (same amount; the crumb will be a little less open).
Frequently asked questions
Ciabatta is a high-hydration dough, and that’s what creates the big, open holes. Work with wet hands and let the folds do the strengthening.
Yes. This recipe is mixed with a wooden spoon and developed with simple folds by hand.
Lift one side of the dough, fold it to the center, and repeat on all four sides. It strengthens the dough without kneading.
It’s best the day it’s baked. Freeze leftovers in a sealed bag and refresh in a hot oven for a few minutes.
Bread flour is recommended because it holds the wet dough’s structure better. All-purpose flour can work, but the crumb will likely be a little less open.
