These Ciabatta Rolls are thick and hearty, perfect to use for hot sandwiches! This is bread that can hold up to gravy and sauce.
The secret to good Ciabatta: a fermented starter. Yes, like sourdough, but made a day ahead, with all of it included in the dough.
If you’re not sure how to use up the bread, well, toasted hot with melted butter is always a good option.
Modified from Bake from Scratch May/June 2024.
Bready or Not: Ciabatta Rolls
These chewy Ciabatta Rolls are perfect for hot sandwiches or as big buttery rolls on the side! They do take some planning, though. Modified from Bake from Scratch May/June 2024.
Equipment
- stand mixer
- paddle and dough hook attachments
- parchment paper
- bench knife
Ingredients
Poolish
- 1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons bread flour
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water about 70 degrees
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/16 teaspoon instant yeast
Dough
- 1 cup water about 60 degrees
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
Instructions
Poolish:
- In a medium bowl, stir together bread flour, the water, all-purpose flour, and yeast. Get everything moist. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for 14 to 16 hours. Don’t stir. Just let it do its thing for half a day.
Dough:
- Place the poolish in the large bowl of a stand mixer, paddle attachment on. Add the 1 cup water, oil, and yeast. Follow that up with the two flours and salt. Beat for a few minutes.
- Switch to the dough hook attachment. Beat at medium speed until dough gathers around dough hook and begins to pull away from sides of bowl, 8 to 10 minutes. Pry it off the hook a few times, too, to make sure everything is well kneaded.
- Oil a large bowl. Dump the dough into that, pivoting the dough around to coat the whole surface with oil. Cover with plastic wrap.
- Let rise in a warm (75ish degrees), draft-free place. After 30 minutes, knead dough using a greased or floured hand to take turns folding all four sides over the middle.
- Let rise another 30 minutes. Fold again. Set the timer for another 30 minutes.
- Near the end of that rise, line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Lightly flour a level surface. Turn out dough, then pat it out into a thick 12×6 rectangle. Use fingertips or a butter knife to lightly demarcate the dough into 3-inch squares, then use the bench knife to slice them apart.
- Set the 8 portions spaced out on prepared pan. Pick up each and gently stretch as needed to even out the sides, tucking excess dough underneath.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a floured towel to let rise in a draft-free spot for another 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, until puffed. The dough should hold an indentation if poked with a finger.
- Preheat oven at 425 degrees.
- Remove cover from rolls. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 18 minutes. An instant-read thermometer plunged into the center of one from the side should read 205 degrees at minimum.
- Let cool somewhat before eating fresh, or reheat at meal time. Store in a sealed container up to 5 days. They can also be frozen as long as a couple months.
