“I used a very soft, wet dough, with a lot of water – very watery. It’s the best bread, of course. All my breads are made with natural things, so it tastes good. I am touching the sky I am so happy that it is so good, that it has done so well everywhere. But when I had invented it, I looked at it and I thought, “What can I call it?” Then I thought that it is similar to a slipper, so I thought “ciabatta”. In 1989 I registered the Ciabatta Italiana trade mark for the best bread.” These words belong to a man whose name is Arnaldo Cavallari: a former professional race car driver and now a famous baker and miller who, in opposition to the popularity of the French baguette in Italy, created the perfect sandwich and sandwich bread, the ciabatta. Today it is the most baked bread in Italy and one of the most baked breads in the world.
“I used a very soft, wet dough, with a lot of water – very watery. It’s the best bread, of course. All my breads are made with natural things, so it tastes good. I am touching the sky I am so happy that it is so good, that it has done so well everywhere. But when I had invented it, I looked at it and I thought, “What can I call it?” Then I thought that it is similar to a slipper, so I thought “ciabatta”. In 1989 I registered the Ciabatta Italiana trade mark for the best bread.” These words belong to a man whose name is Arnaldo Cavallari: a former professional race car driver and now a famous baker and miller who, in opposition to the popularity of the French baguette in Italy, created the perfect sandwich and sandwich bread, the ciabatta. Today it is the most baked bread in Italy and one of the most baked breads in the world.- Prep time: 15 minutes + 2 hours’ proving
- Cook time: 30 minutes
- Makes: 4 ciabattas
- Difficulty: medium
- Course: pastry
- Cookware: dough cutter
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 400 g durum wheat semolina flour
- 300 ml water
- 7 g dry yeast
- 30 ml olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
To form ciabattas:
- 50 g flour
Cooking method
Step 1
Sift flour into a bowl, add salt, sugar, yeast, and mix well. Pour flour onto the work surface, make a hole in the middle and add water and olive oil. Knead the dough. The structure of the dough should be soft, not steep, slightly liquid. To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, you can grease them with olive oil. Lightly sprinkle the bottom of the bowl for proving the dough with flour, transfer the dough there, cover with foil and leave in a warm place for 1½ hours.
Step 2
Heat the oven to 200°C. Sprinkle plenty of flour on the work surface and spread out the dough. Divide it neatly in four parts and shape them. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper, place the ciabattas on it and let it rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Brush the surface of the ciabattas with water and sprinkle with flour. Put a container with hot water in the oven on the bottom shelf, during the baking process it will evaporate, which will create the necessary humidity in the oven. Bake the ciabattas for 10 minutes. Then remove the container with hot water and bake for another 20 minutes until the ciabattas are golden brown.
My tips and tricks:
Olive oil gives the dough softness, makes it elastic, and as a result the bread has fantastic texture and flavour, and it freezes well. This means that you can bake several ciabattas at time, and put a few of them in the freezer. To preheat ciabatta, you will need to let it come to room temperature and then put it in a preheated to 180°C oven for about 5 minutes. After that, it will be as crispy and delicious as freshly baked. Sometimes I add avocado oil instead of olive oil to add flavour. This gives the ciabattas an avocado flavour.
- 400 g durum wheat semolina flour
- 300 ml water
- 7 g dry yeast
- 30 ml olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- To form ciabattas:
- 50 g flour
- Sift flour into a bowl, add salt, sugar, yeast, and mix well. Pour flour onto the work surface, make a hole in the middle and add water and olive oil. Knead the dough. The structure of the dough should be soft, not steep, slightly liquid. To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, you can grease them with olive oil. Lightly sprinkle the bottom of the bowl for proving the dough with flour, transfer the dough there, cover with foil and leave in a warm place for 1½ hours.
- Heat the oven to 200°C. Sprinkle plenty of flour on the work surface and spread out the dough. Divide it neatly in four parts and shape them. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper, place the ciabattas on it and let it rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Brush the surface of the ciabattas with water and sprinkle with flour. Put a container with hot water in the oven on the bottom shelf, during the baking process it will evaporate, which will create the necessary humidity in the oven. Bake the ciabattas for 10 minutes. Then remove the container with hot water and bake for another 20 minutes until the ciabattas are golden brown.