These versatile sourdough ciabatta rolls, are easy for beginners and master bread bakers alike. It has a soft, bubbly and golden crust, with a perfectly chewy center with big holes. Ciabatta compliments a sandwiches like the the classic panini. It can be used to make garlic bread, or just dipped in olive oil and parmesan cheese!
This post contains affiliate links, which means I’m eligible to make a small commission at no extra cost to you, learn more here.
Below is the printable recipe card. If you are interested in a deep-dive into this recipe, scroll down!
Sourdough Ciabatta Rolls
Ingredients
- 100 grams of active sourdough starter- This is a starter that has been fed within the last 4-24 hours depending on the temperature and maturity of your starter It should have at least doubled in size and is nice and bubbly.
- 260 grams of filter water – we use a Berkey Water Filter
- 16 grams of a good quality salt- we use this Himalayan salt or this Celtic Sea Salt
- 360 grams of bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Feed your starter about 8-12 hours before you want to bake your bread. I like to feed my starter before going to bed.
- In the morning, weigh room temperature filtered water into a bowl. Then add you're active starter. An active starter that is ready to use will pass a "float test" meaning your active starter will float on the water. I use a whisk to mix it all together.
- Weigh and add the flour and salt to the water and starter mixture. At this point I like to mix with my hands until it is fully incorporated. This is not kneading, this is just a quick mixing to make sure the flour and water has come together. Next, put a damp tea towel over the bowl and let autolyze (let the flour absorb the liquid) for 30 minutes.
- After the 30 minute autolyze stage, remove tea towel and perform the first set of stretch and folds. Place tea towel back over bowl and wait another 30 minutes. Perform a second set of stretch and folds. Then, wait 15 minutes. Then, perform another set of stretch and folds, perform three more sets of stretch and folds with 15 minutes in-between for a total of six stretch and folds to complete your series.
- Next, transfer your dough into a straight-sided vessel with a lid and leave on the counter to let the dough rise to a little more than double. This could take anywhere from 2-8 hours. Again, depends a lot on the maturity of your starter and the temperature in your space. Some bakers will mark their vessel where the dough started so that they know when the dough has risen to. You want it to rise a little more than half or 75% (roughly).
- When it has risen to 75% (roughly) transfer your vessel to the fridge for 12-24 hours.
- When you are ready to bake your sourdough ciabatta rolls, preheat your oven to 475 ℉. Take the vessel out of the fridge and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With clean hands create a rectangle with the dough. Down the center long ways, cut your dough in half using a bench scraper. Now, you have two long sections of dough. Take one section at a time and cut out 3-4 (depending on how big you want your rolls) rectangles, and transfer to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Take the next long section and, again, cut out 3-4 rectangles and add to the cookie sheet. You should now have 6-8 rectangles. Place a damp tea towel over the cookie sheet, and let rise a second time while your oven is preheating. I usually let them rise anywhere from 30 mins. -1 hr. depending on the temperature of the kitchen.
- After the second rise and after the oven is preheated, place the cookie sheet in the oven. For the perfect crust on the ciabatta, humidity is required. I use a spray bottle for this- I open my oven just a bit and spray about 30 sprays of water and then close. Some bakers like to add another cookie sheet to the bottom rack that is filled with water. Bake for 10 mins. Then, turn the cookie sheet and bake another 10 minutes, watching more closely for that perfect golden brown color.
I’ve been baking loaves of bread for years, and I love to try new things. But my life as current needs to feed three hungry homeschooling boys, and a husband who packs his lunch and works outside the home. Some days of the week, we need dinner on the table fast. This ciabatta has become my economical solution. I quadruple this recipe to have enough bread for the whole week for my family of five.
Another wonderful component of this recipe, is that you do not need a stand mixer. The technique used to activate the gluten in this ciabatta recipe is a series of stretch and folds.
How to stretch and fold bread dough?
The first set of stretch and folds with any type of dough, will begin semi-wet and gloopy. This will improve with each set of stretch and folds as the gluten activates. SO, with wet hands grab the dough from it’s underside and pull it up and over into the center of itself. Turn the bowl and do it again. You will continue turning the bowl, while stretching and folding until you have performed stretch and folds in a full circle around the dough. This is one set of stretch and folds. With most recipes you will perform a series of six stretch and folds with a 15-30 minute window in between each set.
Why should I bake with sourdough?
The aroma and flavors of this bread are directly reflected in the spirit of your sourdough starter. Do you know what this means? That a loaf of bread created in your kitchen cannot be recreated; it’s one of a kind. This concept, will forever fascinate me.
The process can sound complicated, and you might find it tedious at first. But baking bread is more of a meditation, and routine, than anything else. And once you get into the flow of that routine, you’ll be off and running.
Two Benefits of the fermentation process of sourdough:
- The yeast microbes are eating the sugars in the flour, through that digestions process it is breaking down the phytic acid or antinutrients. When the antinutrients of phytic acid has broken down, other nutrients within the grain our now available for your body to process and use! It also weakens the gluten proteins, making it much easier for many people to digest. So basically the yeast is digesting the flour first, making it easier for your to digest later.
- The wild yeasts that are breaking down, or eating the sugars present in the flour, release carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide is what causes the bubbles to form and your dough to rise.
What is ciabatta?
Ciabatta means “slipper” due to it’s shape. It was invented by an Italian bread maker in response to the French baguette that was quickly gaining popularity in Europe. It didn’t take more than a few years for the ciabatta style bread to make a presence in the United States.
Can I freeze my ciabatta rolls?
You can absolutely freeze your bread, and it will last up to six months in the freezer. I would recommend slicing the bread down the center before freezing in a freezer bag.
Equipment you may need:
- A mixing bowl
- a lid for the bowl or a large tea towel- that fully covers your bowl
- A Kitchen Scale
- Whisk
- Parchment Paper
- Bench Scraper
- Cookie sheets
- A vessel with a lid- I use a Cambro when I quadruple this recipe, but a Tupperware with a lid works great. For this post I used an 8 x 8 2 Qt. Pyrex with a red lid.
Ingredients for Sourdough Ciabatta Rolls:
- 100 grams of active sourdough starter- This is a starter that has been fed within the last 4-24 hours (depending on the temperature and maturity of your starter) It should have at least doubled in size as well as nice and bubbly.
- 360 grams of filter water – we use a Berkey Water Filter
- 16 grams of a good quality salt- we use this Himalayan salt or this Celtic Sea Salt
- 460 grams of bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour- I don’t always have bread flour on hand. I usually end up using an unbleached all-purpose flour, and it comes out perfectly. For this post I used unbleached all-purpose flour
How to make sourdough Ciabatta Rolls:
Step One: Weigh and Mix your starter and water
In the morning, weigh room temperature filtered water into a bowl. Then add you’re active starter. This is another good check point to ensuring the readiness of your starter- If it is active it will float on top of the water. I used a whisk to mix it all together. This is really fun as it gets nice and bubbly and frothy.
Step Two: Weigh and Add remaining ingredients
Weigh and add the flour and salt to the water and starter mixture. At this point I like to mix with my hands until it’s fully incorporated. This is not kneading, this is just a quick mixing to make sure the flour and water has come together. Next, put a damp tea towel over the bowl and let autolyze (let the flour absorb the liquid) for 30 minutes.
Step 3: A series of Stretch and Folds.
Towards the top of this page I go over details on how to perform stretch and folds in more detail. After the 30 minute autolyze stage, remove tea towel and perform the first set of stretch and folds. Place the tea towel back over bowl and wait another 30 minutes. Perform a second set of stretch and folds. Then, wait 15 minutes, and then another set of stretch and folds, perform three more sets of stretch and folds with 15 minutes in-between for a total of six stretch and folds to complete your series.
Step 4: Transfer dough to a straight-sided vessel with a lid.
Next, transfer your dough into a straight-sided vessel with a lid and set aside on the counter to let the dough rise to a little more than double. This could take anywhere from 2-8 hours. Again, depends a lot on the maturity of your starter and the temperature in your space. Some bakers will mark their vessel where the dough started so that they know when the dough has risen to approximately a little more than half or 75% (roughly).
The biggest problem some bakers run into is over-fermentation.
What does overfermentation mean?
Over-fermentation of your dough means that the dough was allowed to rise and sit at room temperature too long. The wild yeasts have broken down the antinutrients, and they have released carbon dioxide making bubbles. But now, they are hungry again, and the bubbles will start to fall. YOU DONT WANT THEM TO GET HUNGRY AGAIN. When this over fermentation happens, it causes your dough to lose its rise in volume and it becomes a sticky gloopy mess that you can no longer work with. (Although, I would NEVER waist dough, so I will use over-fermented dough to make flat breads)
When it has risen to 75% (roughly) transfer your vessel to the fridge for 12-24 hours. I will sometimes let my dough sit in the fridge longer than this if I get busy and usually it turns out just fine. When my dough is in the fridge it’s less likely to over-ferment because of the cold temperature, and for this reason I look at the fridge as a “safe zone.”
Step Five: Shape, Second Rise and Bake:
When you are ready to bake your sourdough ciabatta rolls, preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Take the vessel out of the fridge and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With clean hands create a rectangle with the dough. Down the center long ways, cut your dough in half using a bench scraper. Now, you have two long sections of dough. Take one section at a time and cut out 4 (depending on how big you want you rolls) smaller rectangles, and transfer to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Take the next long section and, again, cut out 4 rectangles and add to the cookie sheet. You should now have 8 rectangles. Place a damp tea towel over the cookie sheet, and let rise a second time while your oven is preheating. I usually let them rise anywhere from 30 mins.-1hr. depending on the temperature of my kitchen.
Step Six: Bake Rolls
After the second rise and after your oven has preheated, place the cookie sheet in the oven. For the perfect crust on the ciabatta, humidity is required. I use a spray bottle for this, and open my oven just a bit and spray about 30 sprays of water and then close. Some bakers like to add another cookie sheet to the bottom rack that is filled with water. Bake for 10 mins. Then, turn the cookie sheet and bake another 10 minutes, watching more closely for that perfect golden brown color.
Yum! Time for some sandwiches! 😋
Thanks for the awesome recipe! My ciabatta rolls turned out great … definitely should have at least doubled the recipe to make them last longer in my house. Easy directions and great tips. Can’t wait to make all your breads!
Oh! I know, they go quick in my house too! Glad you like them! 🙂