Ciabatta is an Italian bread known for its floury crust and airy, chewy crumb. My recipe for soft-baked ciabatta bread uses a simple coil fold, which involves periodically lifting and tucking the dough under itself while it rises to develop strength and structure. The result is a super soft homemade ciabatta bread with an open crumb, perfect for sandwiches. Ciabatta's rustic appearance also means it is surprisingly easy to shape!
Clocking in at just three hours start to finish (most of it hands-off resting time), my beginner-friendly ciabatta recipe is a perfect option for a lazy weekend or evening baking project! I love baking ciabatta sandwich rolls to serve with my deli-style tuna salad or as tear-apart dinner rolls with my favorite homemade spaghetti sauce.
5 star reader review
“I LOVE this recipe!!! It's easy to follow even though I'm a super beginner at baking and it's my second weekend in a row that I've made a batch!! The bread comes out tasting better than ANYthing I've ever bought in the store and I find myself a giggling mess just thinking that "I" made bread!”
—Ida
The SOFTEST Ciabatta bread you'll ever bake
One of my biggest complaints about store-bought ciabatta bread is that the crust is too thick and hard. It can be tough to bite into, especially with lots of sandwich fillings.
So for my homemade ciabatta bread recipe, I focused on developing a soft and fluffy texture inside and out. The crust is chewy and floury; it's undeniably ciabatta, but soft and squishy enough to bite into without issue.
This is the full-size version of my small-batch ciabatta which is made with one cup of flour. To scale the mini ciabatta up and better support the additional weight of a larger dough, I snuck in an extra set of folds and extended the bulk fermentation by 30 minutes. But don't worry, it's still a quick ciabatta bread recipe that you can make by hand, no mixer needed.
To give this ciabatta bread its soft, fluffy crumb my recipe uses a high-hydration, very wet dough. Since it's too wet to knead, I like to use a coil fold (more on that below) technique to build structure into the dough.
You don't need a special pan to bake ciabatta bread. Just plop it onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, cut it into pieces, and your soft and fluffy ciabatta is ready to bake.
Grocery List and Ingredient Rundown
Here are the ingredients that you'll need to make my soft and fluffy ciabatta bread! They're all very basic and easy to find in most grocery stores. See recipe card (at the end of the post) for ingredient quantities.
How I Mix My Ciabatta Dough
Making my soft-baked ciabatta takes just about 3-ish hours, start to finish. It's a very hands-off recipe with no fancy shaping; it's meant to have a rustic, imperfect shape.
If you're new to bread making, homemade ciabatta bread is a great place to start. You can do this!
I use a square container for mixing and folding my soft-baked ciabatta dough — it helps train the dough to hold a square shape so it's easier to cut later. But you can absolutely use a round mixing bowl instead.
Resting and Coil Folding (Bulk Fermentation)
After the dough has been mixed, it's time to let it rest for two hours (this is called "bulk fermentation"). During the first hour, you'll build strength and structure into the dough using a gentle technique called a coil fold.
By letting the ciabatta dough rest between these sets of coil folds, air bubbles are trapped inside the dough's gluten network, giving the ciabatta its open, airy crumb.
I know, it sounds complicated! But all you really need to know is that it's a two-hour rest total, with folds every 15 minutes for the first hour. That's four sets of folds total. During the second hour, I leave the dough to rise undisturbed.
TIP: To keep track of which set of folds you're on, put a small bowl with four candies, crackers, or snacks in it. Eat one each time you do a set of folds.
The first hour starts immediately after you finish mixing the dough. After mixing, the dough rests for 15 minutes, and then you do the first set of coil folds. Each "set" of folds consists of four coil folds.
On the first set of folds, the ciabatta dough will feel weak and might even tear. That's okay. Keep going. Plop it down over itself. It will continue to strengthen as you keep folding.
![[coil fold] an overhead shot of two hands lifting ciabatta dough straight up from the center to do a coil fold.](https://thepracticalkitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/fluffy-fast-ciabatta-bread-234.jpg)
![[coil fold] a side view showing two hands lifting stretchy ciabatta dough straight up from the center in a square dough bucket.](https://thepracticalkitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/fluffy-fast-ciabatta-bread-247.jpg)
It's okay if both ends of the ciabatta dough release from the bowl. The goal is to get the two flaps tucked under the dough. Pull the dough toward your body, so the flap of dough closest to you curls under itself. Let the far flap of dough settle on top of it to form a coil shape.
![[coil fold] two hands lowering the stretched dough so that one side of it has tucked under the other creating a coil shape.](https://thepracticalkitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/fluffy-fast-ciabatta-bread-294.jpg)
![[coil fold] two hands pulling out of the bucket having just released the dough after finishing a set of coil folds. the dough is in the bucket with both ends tucked under itself.](https://thepracticalkitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/fluffy-fast-ciabatta-bread-304.jpg)
Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Each time you pick up the dough, your fingers should be sliding under the newly tucked-under ends.
On the first coil fold in each set, the dough will be relaxed and easier to stretch. By the final fold in each set, it won't stretch it quite as much. The gluten network is getting stronger. Each time you do a set of folds the dough will feel smoother and stronger.
After the final set of coil folds, cover the bucket and let the dough rest. At this point, you want the dough to work on developing nice bubbles. At the end of the rise time it will look airier and will double in size.
How I Shape and Cut Ciabatta Dough
Always cut and shape ciabatta on a generously floured work surface.
If you're going to cut your ciabatta into smaller ciabatta buns, this is the time to do it. You can also just bake the loaf whole, that's fine too.
- Cut in half: Long loaves, good for slicing like sandwich bread.
- Cut in quarters: Large sandwiches.
- Cut in eighths: Medium sandwiches.
- Cut into sixteenths: Dinner rolls.
You can also cut the dough into sixteenths or even smaller to make dinner rolls. Don't separate the rolls on the pan before baking, and they'll bake up pull-apart style.
Use a sharp knife or bench scraper in an up-and-down motion to make your cuts, and leave the sticky cut edges facing open. Don't tuck them under or try to hide them. Ciabatta is a very loose bread — no fancy shaping required.
BONUS: Flipping for Floury Stripes
This is a technique I picked up in a class at King Arthur Baking HQ in Vermont. And while it's technically optional, it gives the ciabatta such a pretty pattern on top.
While the cut loaves are resting, the dough expands, and the flour on the countertop trapped underneath the ciabatta gets trapped in the wrinkled creases, creating a unique striped pattern.
To reveal those beautiful tiger stripes and give your soft-baked ciabatta buns their own unique fingerprints, flip each loaf over as you transfer it onto the sheet pan, immediately before baking.
Slide a metal bench scraper under the ciabatta in one quick motion.
Use the bench scraper or floured hands to nudge the flipped rolls apart.
Right out of the oven, the ciabatta loaves will feel hard to the touch. That's okay, they will soften as they cool.
5 star reader review
“This is an amazing bread. I made it twice so far. The first time was 8 little ones for smoked meats sandwiches and again this morning but I made 2 loaves. I taught my 10 year old son to make it and he was amazed at how good it was for so little effort. Thank you for sharing this.”
—Scott
💭 Have More Baking Questions?
I've rounded up answers to common baking questions and how-to guides, including:
- Ingredient swaps and FAQs
- Why my recipes are written in grams and not cups
- How to quickly bring eggs and butter to room temperature
- Ingredients I use (salt, flour, yeast, etc.)
- Step-by-step guides for bread and baking techniques
See my baking techniques & troubleshooting guide and ingredient swaps and FAQs for more!
📖 Recipe
3-Hour Soft-Baked Ciabatta Bread
Recipe Notes
- Overnight rise: pop the dough in the fridge after the final set of coil folds and let it finish bulk fermentation there.
- Be gentle. The folding process is as much about incorporating air as it is about building strength into the dough. Once the dough has finished bulk fermentation, handle it as gently as possible to preserve as much of the air inside the dough as you can. Use "fingertip light" pressure to stretch and shape it.
- I feel like I'm not getting the hang of the coil folding. Help! First of all, take a deep breath. It will be okay. If you find it easier to do stretch and folds, do those instead. It doesn't matter that you do the folds perfectly. It matters that the gluten network in the dough is getting folded at all. If there's a different folding method or technique that works better for you — use it!
- Dust off excess flour before baking: Some people like a super floury ciabatta, others prefer less flour on the outside. Whatever flour is on top of your ciabatta loaf when it goes into the oven is going to be there when it comes out. For a less floury ciabatta, dust it off.
- Baked ciabatta can be stored at room temperature for 4-5 days in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature with a paper towel to absorb moisture. It will begin to lose its super soft and squishy texture after about 2 days, but can be revived by toasting or popping it in a 350°F oven for a few minutes.
- Ciabatta freezes beautifully. I usually just toss the loaves in a plastic bag and freeze them, but if you want to do it "right" and avoid freezer burn, wrap each individual loaf in plastic wrap before putting them in a bag in the freezer. To reheat soft-baked ciabatta from frozen, unwrap the bread and place the whole loaf in a 350°F oven for about 5-10 minutes.
Ingredients
- 500 grams all purpose flour (plus ~20 grams more for dusting)
- 15 grams diamond crystal kosher salt (5 teaspoons / use half as much of any other brand if measuring by volume)
- 6 grams instant yeast (2 teaspoons)
- 425 grams warm water (90°F)
- 30 grams extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Mix. In a large bowl (or a square dough container if you have one), whisk together flour, salt, and instant yeast. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients; pour the warm water and olive oil into it. Mix the dough until it comes together in a messy ball with no dry patches of flour hiding inside. Scrape down the walls of the bowl, gathering the dough into a loose ball in the bottom of the bowl.
- Bulk Fermentation. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 1 hour, performing a set of coil folds every 15 minutes. After the final set of folds, cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Stretch. Dust your counter well with flour, then dust the top of the dough with flour too. Flip the bowl upside down over the floured countertop and let gravity pull the dough down. Gently lift the bowl off the dough, using your fingers or a bowl scraper to help any stuck pieces of dough release cleanly.
- Cut. Dust the sticky top side of the dough lightly with flour. Cut the dough into two, four, eight, or 16 rolls. Cut in in an up and down motion so the dough doesn't stick to your blade. Dust the newly cut sides with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. This is a very soft, sticky dough — be patient, and don't worry about them being perfect. Cover with a clean dish towel and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
- Flip (Optional!). Dust any excess flour off the top of the dough, then slide a bench scraper under the ciabatta loaves in one quick movement. Lift and gently flip them over onto the sheet pan so the underside is now facing up. For a less floury ciabatta, gently dust any excess flour off the top. If you don't have a bench scraper, use your hands to flip it, it'll be fine.
- Bake for 17-19 minutes until puffed up and light golden brown around the edges. If you want to be precise, you're looking for an internal temperature of at least 200°F. Even soft-baked ciabatta will seem very hard and crusty when it first comes out of the oven, but will become soft and fluffy as it cools. Let cool before slicing!
Inca says
I tried this recipe using my sourdough starter and it turned out amazing! Making it for the third time today. The ciabatta has a lovely tang and crunchy exterior.
I made half the recipe and replaced 100g of water with bubbly starter. I tend to just wing it since I am new to sourdough baking- I add more water if the dough feels too dry, more flour if it feels too wet. Started by mixing all the ingredients together, doing folds every 30 minutes rather than every 15. I do this 2-3 times before leaving the dough to rise for about 2 hours, I might do another coil fold if I feel like it, of course leaving the dough to rise again. In my experience sourdough tends to take longer to rise, I wait until the dough has just about doubled before shaping. After shaping I do a final 30-40 minute proof and bake! I hope this helps someone out there 🙂
Rebecca Eisenberg says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe and THANK YOU so much for sharing how you've adapted it to use sourdough starter! This will be really helpful for other TPK readers who are curious about where to start if they want to try making this ciabatta using sourdough instead of yeast!
Shania says
I made my first batch of this a few days ago, and it was a hit. Made a second batch today and did half olive oil and half garlic oil to get a strong garlic flavor. After this batch I’m planning to play around with some herb infusions and maybe a bit of cheese even to see what other flavor profiles we like. Also your coil folding explanation is fantastic!!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Yessssss I love this so much! Flavored olive oils and herb olive oil infusions are such a great way to add flavor to this bread. If you haven't checked out my roasted garlic ciabatta yet, it's not quite as soft as this one but you could definitely use that same roasted garlic oil in this dough! You may also want to check out my ciabatta garlic bread — it's great with plain ciabatta but even better with a garlic infused ciabatta!
Liane Michell says
I’ve made this recipe 4 times now, I absolutely love it! The bread is delicious and it’s so easy to make. 💕
Rebecca Eisenberg says
I'm so glad you love it! Happy baking!
Leslie Sonne says
Made these today and was very pleased with the final product. Used bread flour as suggested as I did not have KAF all purpose. While I live at 5000 ft elevation I did not need to add any water as the dough was wet enough. Will definitely make again and may try to make them round for hamburgers!
Sharon says
Hello! How do I halve the recipe? I only want to use 250g of flour - do I just halve everything else (I am guessing no?) Thank you!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Try doubling my small batch ciabatta recipe instead — no need to increase the yeast, just double everything else.
Antonia says
This recipe is so awesome. I messed it up in literally every way you can imagine and still came out with perfect ciabatta (my qualifications for deciding the perfection status is the fact that I am Italian, hopefully you blindly trust me now)
I under watered, over floured, over mixed, then over watered, then forgot to do a single coil fold, let it sit for an hour extra, feverishly kneaded it to make up for lost folding; and it was delish. My (also Italian) mother was eating them like candy bars before they even fully cooled.
M Hundley says
I made perfectly pillowy ciabatta yesterday, and I am so proud of myself! Thank you for a great recipe with very clear directions.
Hotaru says
I made this recipe along with a standard 2 day recipe, and the product was almost identical. Highly recommended this convenient time-saving recipe ♥️
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Love that you had a side-by-side comparison, thanks for sharing your results! So glad you enjoyed the ciabatta. 🙂 Happy baking!
Carol McCreesh says
Favourite ciabatta bread recipe! Have made large loaves and smaller buns. Has always turned out wonderfully
Dan Donovan says
Consistently excellent results. Depending upon upcoming menu I make smaller for “dinner” rolls or larger for sandwich or bratwurst rolls. Having fun with this one.
tati says
I converted the grams using google, and it came out to about 2 1/4 c. flour and 15oz water. It was WAY too wet--like mud--so I added 3/4c. more of flour, in 1/4c increments. That made it somewhat better, but the dough just wasn't foldable the way it is in your pix. I went ahead with the recipe, though, and baked it into four rolls for sandwiches. They were soft, squishy, but not airy the way ciabatta should be. Do I have my conversions wrong?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Hi! Unfortunately converting grams to cups is super inaccurate — there’s no set standard for what “1 cup” of flour weighs so every conversion calculator and flour brand is basically using a different amount. Beyond that, how you scoop your cups (loosely or tightly packed) can make a difference of 50-60 grams! Also, different measuring cup brands can have slightly different capacities which is another level of inaccuracy. That’s why using weights is the most accurate way to ensure the recipe turns out. I would recommend picking up a kitchen scale if you want to give this another try! It’ll definitely work if you use the weight measurements provided. Happy baking!
tati says
I see LOL Well, I dug out my old Williams-Sonoma scale, that I've had for around three decades and balanced it. It seems to work fine--it's been wrapped up to keep it clean and dry. We did eat the rolls like French dip sandwiches, and they were quite good--just didn't have the airiness that true ciabatta should have. Thanks so much for replying. I'll be trying this again, very soon!
Shannin says
Can any of the bread recipes be adjusted to use sourdough starter instead of the dry yeast?
Thanks
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Of course they can, but the instant yeast is what makes my recipes fast. Adjusting to use sourdough starter would slow the recipes down dramatically and might require different mixing methods — essentially, you'd be creating whole new recipes. If you'd like to add starter to get the sourdough flavor, keep the yeast and replace equal parts water and flour in the dough with starter. For example, you can add 50g starter to the dough and reduce the flour and water the recipe calls for by 25g each.
Kristin says
Just made these and they are fantastic. Recipe was spot on.
Kathy says
Wonderfully easy recipe instructions to follow & make
I made this for a post Christmas family lunch.
Turned out perfectly & went down a treat. Awesome
MB says
Looks like great recipe! I was wondering if it would be OK to use a stand mixer with dough hook to combine all ingredients?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
If you're just asking about combining them and not kneading them, then yes you could use that. But in that case you might as well use the paddle attachment. Once the dough is mixed, you'll want to do the folds by hand — the mixer is too powerful and will knock too much air out of the dough if you try to use it to knead the dough.
Jin Hwang says
This is my first time trying ciabatta bread and its came out so nice. It was so sticky dough and I wasn't sure if it would come out at all. Now I know how to do it, this will be my go to bread...
thank you for differentiating yeast. I think it made a real difference. Now I know why my previous breads didn't rise as much.. Thanks again.
Patricia says
This was fabulous! I thought I messed up using my new kitchen scale but the freeform ciabatta rolls were perfection! I haven’t made bread in years so this was wonderful. Lightly crispy on the outside, yet fluffy and chewy inside.
They will last only 2 days and I’ll need to make again. Thank you. Fully recommended to friends and family
Rebecca Eisenberg says
So glad you enjoyed the ciabatta! Welcome back to the world of bread making!
lavi says
hi i tried your recipe and i need to take notes on where i possibly made a mistake. the ciabatta turned out too pale and a bit dense, perhaps do you know which mistake i made? i really want to remake it and hopefully it will turn perfect!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Hi! So sorry to hear they didn't turn out perfectly. There's a few reasons this may have happened but if I had to guess your oven may not be calibrated correctly or wasn't fully preheated when the ciabatta went into the oven. A lot of ovens say they're preheated before they actually are — it's good to give them an extra 10-15 minutes before you put anything in the oven just to really make sure it's at the right temperature. Many ovens also aren't calibrated correctly and may be off temperature by as much as 25-50 degrees! If you don't have an oven thermometer I'd suggest picking one up to check that your oven is at the right temp. This is the oven thermometer (affiliate) I use and recommend!
Anna says
Made it today. Had to adjust the water as the flour absorbed the amount mentioned and i needed more to get the consistency right. For my first attempt it came out quite okay.
Michelle says
I don't know how I could have gotten 16! I got 10 and they are pretty small!
Still very easy and tasty! I added 1 teaspoon of brown sugar initially for my yeast to have food while it bloomed and added 1 1/2 more teaspoons when I barely got any bloom. It just sat on the kitchen counter top as opposed to my usual yeast blooming routine which was to set the bowl in the oven with the light on. Still very delicious! Dough felt super SUPER sticky even with really wet hands. Will do again but maybe proof my dough before baking. Thank you for this keeper recipe and making my very first time making ciabatta bread very encouraging!
Michelle says
Ugh! 😂 I found where I missed a step! Leaving dough to rest for 1 hour after the final coil! 😂 I cut and baked right away! No wonder they're so small!!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Ahhhh yes, that would 100% explain it!! I’m so glad you figured it out! You shouldn’t need to add sugar to bloom the yeast — just water is actually fine, but it won’t hurt anything to add a bit if you think your yeast needs it. Let me know how it goes next time you make it!
Alice says
This had to be the best tasting roll I have ever made!!!
They were so easy, I need practice on shaping better, but with this flavor who really cares what they look like😊
Priscilla says
Excellent recipe! After craving ciabatta bread, I thought it would be nice to see if I could successfully make it. This recipe was easy to read and follow and the bread came out so nice. Thank you so much for posting it. It was truly a lazy weekend day bake.
Alaina says
I’ve made this so many times and it always comes out FANTASTIC!
I was wondering am I able to make this in a baguette form? I have a party coming up and I wanted to make a sandwich with the ciabatta but a baguette form would be easier for the crowd I need to feed. Is this possible??
Thanks!!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
I'm SO glad you enjoyed the ciabatta! You can certainly cut the ciabatta into three or four long baguette shapes and bake them that way, but you could also try scaling up my small batch baguette recipe instead. Happy baking!
Ann says
I made this recipe for the first time today. So many Ciabatta recipes call for a long ferment and I wanted to make them now! This is an easy to follow recipe with ingredients I have on hand. I made 8 sandwich rolls and they came out amazing! I will definitely be making this recipe again.