• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
the practical kitchen
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Appetizers
    • Breads
      • Bagels
      • Biscuits, Scones & Loaves
      • Sourdough
    • Breakfast
      • Muffins
    • Condiments & Dips
    • Desserts
      • Bars & Brownies
      • Cakes
      • Cookies
      • Ice Cream
      • Pies & Tarts
    • Main Dishes
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
    • Snacks
  • About
  • Shop
  • Newsletter
  • Tip Jar
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Appetizers
    • Breads
    • Breakfast
    • Condiments & Dips
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
    • Snacks
  • About
  • Shop
  • Newsletter
  • Tip Jar
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Breads

    Roasted Garlic and Fennel Olive Oil Ciabatta

    Published: Sep 2, 2021 by Rebecca Eisenberg · Modified: Jul 5, 2022 · This post may contain affiliate links

    444 shares
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video
    garlic and fennel ciabatta bread

    This roasted garlic and fennel olive oil ciabatta is easy to make and jam packed with roasted garlic flavor. Perfect for sandwiches, snacking, and making ciabatta garlic bread!

    Learn how to make a loaf of garlic olive oil ciabatta in just a few hours, with no fancy kneading or mixers required!

    a rectangular ciabatta roll sits on top of a pile of other flour dusted ciabatta rolls

    There's no fancy bread shaping required when you're making ciabatta, which makes it a great beginner bread recipe.

    Just plop the dough out onto a floured counter, cut it into as many loaves or rolls as you want, and you're ready to bake!

    Jump to:
    • Why I Love This Recipe
    • Why This Recipe Works
    • Ingredient Notes
    • Folding Ciabatta Bread Dough
    • How to Cut Ciabatta Loaves or Rolls
    • Ciabatta's Distinctive Floury Swirls
    • Baking on a Baking Stone or Steel
    • How to Keep Track of What Set of Folds You're On
    • Recipe FAQ
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Why I Love This Recipe

    There's just something about eating a sandwich made with ciabatta bread that feels special to me. Don't get me wrong, I love a good brioche roll or slab of crusty sourdough, but there's something about a roasted garlic Ciabatta that just screams homemade with love.

    Ciabatta bread is light, but solid, with medium-sized air pockets perfect for trapping any sauces, dressings, or oils, which is a plus if you're like me and hate messy sandwiches (see also: my pita pocket hack).

    The crust is slightly textured with floury cracks, swirls, and creases, and its imperfect edges are a reminder of the work that went into making it.

    Slice a ciabatta roll in half to make a sandwich and it'll be fluffy and soft on the inside, no-nonsense and sturdy on the outside.

    Cut across into thin slices and ciabatta begins to dry out, making it a crisp, crunchy canvas for bruschetta or for dipping in olive oil. Cut it into cubes and toast them in the oven to make croutons or dip it in cheese for fondue.

    It's excellent for both cheese steak and tuna salad sandwiches. How versatile!

    Why This Recipe Works

    The first time I made ciabatta was at King Arthur's baking school in Vermont, and the recipe I've included here is adapted (just barely, tbh) from the olive oil ciabatta we used in the class.

    Because ciabatta on its own brings such a strong presence to the table, it can handle a lot of flavor being added in the baking process. So I added a whole bulb of roasted garlic and fennel seeds to it. (Yes, just like my roasted garlic and fennel bagel recipe).

    Ciabatta's floury exterior coats your tongue when you bite in, and the one-two punch of the roasted garlic and the aromatic fennel makes it just a little more interesting. Don't like fennel? No worries, it's optional!

    This is a great ciabatta recipe for beginners because it doesn't involve an overnight pre-ferments or sourdough starters. Of course, since this recipe includes that roasted garlic — you'll want to make the roasted garlic in advance or even a day ahead of time.

    It's also the perfect recipe to familiarize yourself with a pretty standard technique for developing gluten called folding. No kneading here, just some gentle folds of the dough to build strength and trap air inside!

    Ingredient Notes

    You don't need anything fancy to make this roasted garlic and fennel olive oil ciabatta. Here's what you'll need:

    all of the ingredients for roasted garlic ciabatta
    • All-purpose flour - Bread flour will also work.
    • Garlic bulb - Roasted. Wrap the fennel seeds in the foil with it so they get nicely toasted at the same time.
    • Olive oil - Pick one with a strong flavor. I like California Olive Ranch's Global Blend or their Garlic Infused Olive Oil.
    • Fennel seeds - Whole or lightly crushed. If you're not roasting them with the garlic bulb, toasting is optional but brings out a really nice flavor.
    • Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you're using another brand of kosher salt, use half as much.
    • Instant yeast - You can mix this right into your dry ingredients! Just don't put it right on top of/under/next to the salt, as salt can kill the yeast.
    • Water - Lukewarm to slightly warm water, not hot.

    Folding Ciabatta Bread Dough

    There are a few ways to add strength and flavor to your bread dough — some doughs require vigorous kneading, some require the slow and steady progression of time, and others, like this ciabatta dough, require folding.

    After mixing all your ingredients together, you'll let the dough ferment for three hours. In that time, the yeast will start eating all the delicious sugars and starches in the dough and converting them into gas (aka air bubbles).

    Those air bubbles are what makes your dough rise. But rising alone won't strengthen the gluten of your dough or develop the flavor. For that, you need to fold the dough every 30 minutes over the course of 3 hours (6 sets of folds total).

    The nice thing about this recipe is that you can do all your folds right in your mixing bowl, no need to move the dough from the bowl to your counter and back again.

    a hand grabs the top of a ball of dough, stretches it away, and then folds it over the center of the dough.
    a hand grabs the top of a ball of dough that has already been folded twice, stretches the dough away, then down across the ball of dough.
    Grab the top of the dough, stretch it away from you then down over the rest of the dough. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat until you've done all 4 sides. Then turn the dough over so the seam side is down and let it rest.

    What to expect: At first, your dough will be loose, messy, and pretty stretchy. As the gluten develops with each set of folds, the dough will become stronger and harder to stretch. It will also grow slightly in size as air bubbles are trapped inside.

    Below you can see what the dough looks like before and after 6 sets of folds.

    a very messy loose ball of dough sits in the bottom of a mixing bowl
    Before folding
    the dough has doubled in size and is very smooth in the bowl
    After folding

    How to Cut Ciabatta Loaves or Rolls

    Before you put your dough in the oven, you'll get to decide what kind of loaf (or loaves) you want.

    First, you'll gently stretch the dough to a roughly 8"x10" rectangle. Then, it's entirely up to you how you want to cut it:

    • Two long loaves
    • Four medium-sized rectangular loaves
    • Eight square-ish rolls

    They all bake for the same amount of time.

    Mix it up if you want to — one long loaf and four square-ish rolls; one long loaf, one medium-sized rectangle loaf, and two square-ish rolls; or heck, make eight triangles if you want. The end pieces almost always end up vaguely triangular, anyway.

    the flattened ciabatta dough cut into 8 equal pieces lies on the counter. overtop the image has been drawn four large, vertical yellow rectangles showing that you can cut the dough into four equal pieces instead.
    the flattened ciabatta dough cut into 8 equal pieces lies on the counter. overtop the image has been drawn two large, horizontal yellow rectangles showing that you can cut the dough lengthwise two long loaves instead.

    This is one of the things I love most about ciabatta dough, by the way. There is absolutely NO SHAPING the way bread usually requires. It's so easy it almost feels like cheating, tbh.

    You simply turn your dough out onto the floured countertop, loosely stretch it into a rectangle, and then cut it. That's it! Your ciabatta has its shape.

    In fact, if you do anything more than that you risk ruining the shape and the flour swirls, so once you cut it — leave it alone until it's time to bake.

    eight olive oil ciabatta rolls rest on a grey and white speckled counter top. there are four in the top row and four in the bottom row. the counter is dusted generously with flour.

    Ciabatta's Distinctive Floury Swirls

    One of ciabatta's distinguishing features is a domed top with a unique pattern of swirls and creases of flour.

    To create this floury pattern, you'll flip the proofed ciabatta loaves over right before you transfer them into the oven.

    An animated gif showing seven olive oil ciabatta rolls sitting on a heavily dusted counter top. two hands reach in and grab a roll from the bottom left, flip it over, and place it on a piece of parchment paper approx the size of the roll.

    How does it work? When you stretch the dough into the 8"x10" rectangle and cut it into loaves, you do so on a generously floured surface.

    Most bread recipes say lightly floured, but not ciabatta. Generously floured. More than a light dusting but less than a complete snowfall. Like, you should still be able to tell the grass is green, but it's definitely more white than green. (In this metaphor, the grass is your counter.)

    When you let the shaped loaves rise, they'll expand slightly against the countertop with the flour getting trapped in between the creases where the dough is sticky.

    Right before you transfer them into the oven, you flip the loaves over, revealing the swirly pattern — kind of like when you fall asleep on a creased pillow and wake up with wrinkles all over your face.

    When the loaves bake, they'll continue expanding and all those fine lines and wrinkles on the surface of the dough will spread out, further emphasizing the swirls.

    eight fully baked, golden brown roasted garlic and fennel olive oil ciabatta rolls are arranged on individual pieces of parchment paper on top of a baking stone. The baking stone is on an oven rack which has been pulled halfway out of the oven.

    Baking on a Baking Stone or Steel

    Whether you're using a baking stone or an upside-down baking sheet, the process for transferring your loaves onto it for baking is the same. If you're fancy, you can use a pizza peel, but an upside-down baking sheet will do the job just as well.

    I have a baking steel that I use for making pizza and it's perfect for ciabatta too. (Read my full Baking Steel review here). The square shape can comfortably fit all the rolls with room to spare.

    Before I had the baking steel, I used a round baking stone, so to get all my ciabatta loaves to fit, I put each one on its own piece of parchment paper. That way I could transfer them to the oven one at a time, and use tongs to move them around until they fit (like a game of baker's Tetris).

    An animated gif showing a hand reaching into an open oven, holding a quarter size sheet tray with one ciabatta roll on it. the hand slides the sheet tray forward, tilting it to slide the ciabatta loaf off and onto the baking stone. The baking stone is on the bottom-most rack of the oven.

    To slide the parchment paper and dough off your pizza peel or upside-down sheet tray, tilt it forward very slightly and rest the lip on the baking stone where you want it to land.

    Tilt the other end (the end in your hand) up, keeping the lip on the stone, and pull backwards in one quick movement. The parchment paper and dough should slide off and on to the tray. Use kitchen tongs to grab the edge of the parchment paper to adjust the placement as needed.

    How to Keep Track of What Set of Folds You're On

    I always have trouble with this too. Here's a few different methods that have worked well for me:

    • Set two timers, one for 3 hours and one for 30 minutes, and just keep resetting the 30 minute timer until the 3 hour timer goes off
    • Sticking a post-it on the counter, setting a timer for 30 minutes, and making a tally mark every time you complete a set of folds
    • Set a timer every 30 minutes and put 6 M&Ms on the counter next to your dough. Eat one every time you complete a set of folds. When you're out of M&Ms, you're done with your folds.

    Recipe FAQ

    Can I use a different dough folding technique?

    Yes! I often switch things up and do coil folds or a modified slap-and-fold (like the one you'll see in my mini focaccia recipe) in the bowl. There are a lot of different folding techniques out there, so as long as you're folding in one direction, and you have one smooth side and one seam-side, you should be fine.

    Can I make this without the garlic and fennel?

    Yup! It's extremely good plain too.

    What can I use if I don't have a baking steel or pizza stone?

    I haven't tested this, but I've heard people recommend preheating an inverted baking sheet. If you try this, let me know how it goes for you!

    Will this work with active dry yeast?

    Yep! No changes needed. If you're not sure if your yeast is good, you may want to put a small pinch in a bit of water first to make sure it activates (it'll get foamy after a few minutes). But otherwise you can use active dry yeast interchangeably here.

    📖 Recipe

    a close up of a ciabatta loaf on a sheet pan with a bulb of roasted garlic and pinch bowl of fennel seeds next to it. more ciabatta loaves are in a pile behind it.

    Roasted Garlic Ciabatta Bread

    Rebecca Eisenberg
    This light and airy ciabatta bread with its distinctive flour-swirled crust comes packed with rich roasted garlic flavor. Serve it sliced thin to dip in oil or topped with bruschetta, or slice loaves in half and top with your favorite sandwich fillings.
    Want a plain ciabatta? Simply leave the garlic and fennel out of the recipe.
    No ratings yet
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved! Email
    Prep Time 1 hr
    Cook Time 25 mins
    bulk fermentation 3 hrs
    Total Time 4 hrs 25 mins
    Course Side Dish
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 8 ciabatta rolls

    Equipment

    • Baking steel
    • Pizza Peel
    • Bench scraper
    • Parchment paper

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 garlic bulb (whole, roasted with fennel seeds)
    • 30 g olive oil (2 TBSP)
    • 540 g flour (4½ cups)
    • 2 teaspoons diamond crystal kosher salt (use half as much of any other brand)
    • 2 teaspoons fennel seeds (optional)
    • 1 teaspoons instant yeast
    • 355 g warm water (1½ cups)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • Roast a bulb of garlic. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice the top off a bulb of garlic. Place in the center of a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil (and fennel seeds, optional). Gather the foil loosely around the bulb in a teardrop shape. Roast for 40-45 minutes.
      Turn the oven off.
    • Mix the dough. Combine flour, salt, yeast, and  fennel seeds (if not roasted with the garlic) in a large, sturdy mixing bowl. Add the water, olive oil, and roasted garlic cloves (squish them out of their papers), and mix well with a bowl scraper or spatula, smashing the garlic cloves as you go. Keep mixing until a messy wet dough forms. Gather the dough into a ball in the bottom of the bowl.
    • Bulk fermentation & folding. Cover the dough and let it bulk ferment for the next 3 hours, with folds in the bowl every 30 minutes (a total of 6 sets of folds). To do a set of folds: Grab the top edge of the dough and stretch it away from you, then fold it down over the center of the dough. Rotate the bowl and repeat all the way around.
    • Preheat the baking steel. When the final set of folds is complete, let the dough rest for a final 30 minutes. Meanwhile, turn the oven to 500°F degrees with a baking steel on the center rack.
    • Shape ciabatta. Generously flour your countertop and gently release the dough from the bowl onto the counter. Loosely stretch it into an 8″x10″ rectangle approximately 2″ high. Dust the top generously with flour too.
    • Cut the loaves. Use a knife or a sharp-edged bench scraper to cut the dough into 2 long loaves, 4 medium loaves, or 8 rolls. Cover the rolls with a clean dish towel and let rest while the oven preheats, at least 30 minutes (up to an an hour is fine).
    • Flip the loaves. Trim parchment paper to size. Flip the loaves over to reveal the beautiful flour patterns and gently place onto parchment paper.
    • Launch onto the steel. Use a pizza peel or the back of a sheet tray to slide the rolls one or two at a time onto the baking stone until all of them fit. They’ll expand in the oven so you want to try to keep an inch of space between them.
    • Reduce temperature. After 5 minutes, reduce the temp to 450°F degrees, and continue baking for another 20-22 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown on top, firm on the sides, and feel light for their size. They should sound hollow when you tap the bottoms.
    • Cool. Let cool on a wire rack before eating. The loaves will soften as they cool.

    RECIPE NOTES

    • Prep time includes roasting the garlic.
    • If you don’t have a baking stone or baking steel, use an inverted cookie sheet.
    • Ciabatta tends to dry out or harden quickly. These are best consumed within a few days of baking. To revive them on day 4 or 5, you can cut them in half, run the halves quickly under water, then place in a 250°F degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until the water evaporates. I know, it sounds weird. But it totally works.

    YOUR NOTES

    Click here to add your own private notes. Only you can see these.
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and let me how it was!

    This post was originally published on 9/6/2019. It has been updated with all new photos, more detailed ingredient notes, new gifs, and a new FAQ section. I also streamlined the recipe, making it easier to follow!

    BreadsGarlic
    « Apples and Honey Babka
    Roasted Garlic and Chive Herb Compound Butter »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bonisue Coburn

      September 16, 2019 at 1:23 am

      I followed this recipe today and absolutely love the results. Made the 8 smaller loaves. Perfection!

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        September 16, 2019 at 9:06 pm

        Ahh, I'm so happy to hear that!

        Reply
    2. Audrey

      July 31, 2020 at 7:19 pm

      i tried making this but it turned out super dense- what do you think went wrong?

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        July 31, 2020 at 7:22 pm

        Are you sure your yeast is good? If you are, then I would guess you may have knocked too much air out of it in the shaping process. It should feel really light and bubbly when you turn it out and cut it into loaves and you want to be really super gentle when you flip them over so you don’t knock too much air out. Without seeing exactly what you did it’s hard for me to guess exactly what went wrong though. Is there anything you did while you were making it that didn’t seem to line up with what the recipe said to look for? That will help me troubleshoot this for you!

        Reply
    3. Alyssa

      August 15, 2020 at 10:05 pm

      Does this recipe call for fresh yeast or dry active yeast?

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        August 16, 2020 at 4:21 am

        Active dry or instant! I’ll update the recipe to include that note. Thanks for asking!

        Reply
    4. Cynthia Christensen

      September 02, 2021 at 6:06 pm

      I made the ciabatta rolls today and oh my gosh they’re AMAZING! With easy to follow directions and helpful photos, this is the best ciabatta recipe I’ve found! My new go-to recipe!

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        September 02, 2021 at 6:22 pm

        Yayyyy!! So glad you loved it. Enjoy your ciabatta!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    rebecca wearing a black t-shirt with her left hand on her hip and her right hand holding a whisk upright

    Hi, I'm Rebecca! I'm a journalist turned pastry chef on a mission to make cooking and baking fun and accessible. I'm always looking for new and creative ways to get the most out of my favorite ingredients and flavors!

    More about me →

    Popular now

    • Basic Homemade Hot Sauce
    • Arugula And Prosciutto Pizza
    • How Do I Store Sourdough Discard?
    • Old Bay Goldfish Crackers

    Get in touch

    Want to work with me? Just have a question? Shoot me an email!

    rebecca@thepracticalkitchen.com

    Recipes for Garlic Girls

    • Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
    • Roasted Garlic and Chive Herb Compound Butter
    • Roasted Garlic Bagels
    • Ciabatta Garlic Bread

    Footer

    About Me

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Journalist turned pastry chef, on a mission to make cooking and baking fun and accessible. I'm always looking for new and creative ways to get the most out of my favorite ingredients and flavors! A Pittsburgh native currently calling Boston home.

    My Favorites

    the best kitchen tools for short people
    an overhead shot of mini muffins on a cooling rack. one has been split open revealing a blueberry center.
    a mocha hazelnut layer cake on an overturned metal fluted plate

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Links

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • FAQ

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Resources

    • Shop
    • Links & Resources
    • Cooking Tips

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 Foodie Pro on the Foodie Pro Theme