NO KNEAD CIABATTA ROLLS

Ciabatta bread is super simple to make. This is a no knead recipe, with very little effort it will yield a delicious bread.

What will you need?

For the starter also called poolish:

Bread flour: highly recommend this over All Purpose flour because this recipe calls for a high content of water and long resting time. Bread flour contains a higher amount of protein which is necessary for this kind of recipe.

Water: depending on the season the temperature of the water will vary. In winter time we use lukewarm water, during summer the cold one is recommended. This recipe, like many of our focaccia recipes, calls for a high content of water and the term for this is “high hydration” dough. It yields soft and fluffy dough.

Yeast: whether you use “instant yeast” or “active dry yeast” it doesn’t really matter for this purpose. The main difference between the two kinds is that “active dry yeast” needs to be activated in warm water and sugar or honey prior to being used. Whereas “instant yeast” can be used right away.

Honey or sugar: yeast loves sugar, so whether you use active dry yeast or instant yeast, we recommend adding it so it feeds the yeast. To make it easy we simply dissolve the honey or sugar in the water.

Salt: personally we prefer to add just a little salt so we can taste the flavor of the bread. but feel free to a little more if you prefer saltier foods.

Extra virgin olive oil: also known as EVOO or EVO oil. We recommend the extra virgin olive oil instead of the simple “olive oil” because it’s much flavorful. Depending on the brand, EVO oil is pure whereas simple olive oil is mixed with other oils.

Instructions:

The night before make starter simply by mixing bread flour, water, yeast and honey. Cover and let rest on the countetop for about 4-5 hours. Then place it in the fridge overnight.
The day after, using a fork or your hands,  mix in the starter, the rest of the flour and the water. Then add salt. Finally, add the EVO oil.  NO KNEADING required.
Cover and let rest for 45 minutes. Then do some stretch and folds: grab the dough stretching it out and then fold towards the center (check my highlights “focaccia” to see how I do it, it’s very simply, I promise). Do this until the dough starts to resist and gets tricky to keep doing stretches without breaking it.
Flip seam side down, shape into a ball and place it in a slightly greased bowl and cover.
The dough will be very wet and sticky.
Let rest the dough for 1.5-2 hours (it has to double in volume).
After this, generously dust the cutting board with flour. Place the dough and gently give it a rectangle shape. Dust the top of the dough with flour as well.Cut into 2 loaves or 4 rolls.
Layer baking pan with parchment paper and place the 2 loaves flipping them upside down. Cover and let rest for 45-60 minutes (depending how warm it is in your house).

Preheat oven at 455°F.
Place a cast iron (or any other pan that can handle high heat) in the bottom.

Place the bread in the oven, fill the cast iron with ice so it creates steam that will help with the crust.
Bake for about 15-18 minutes, until a beautiful golden brown color on top. Please CHECK, every oven is different. We didn’t bake our too long because we wanted a softer crust so everyone could enjoy it.

Why is my dough so sticky? Should I add more flour?

This is a high hydration dough, which means that there is a high water content. If you divide the total amount of water by the total amount of flour in this specific recipe, you will find out that the percentage of hydration of this recipe is 80%.  Here is where the stretch and folds will be helpful: not only they help with gluten development but they will also make the dough easier to handle. So please do NOT add any more flour, otherwise you will end up with a more dense and drier bread.

Why do we let it rest for so long?

There are different reasons why we prefer it this way: first, it helps with digestion because we use less yeast and his makes for longer resting hours. Second, the flavor and texture improve much more when letting rest at least 12 hours.

What pan should you use?

Highly recommend a metal pan instead of a glass one, because it holds the heat differently and will yield a very crispy focaccia on the bottom.

How to store it?

The best way to store ciabatta rolls is to let it cool completely, then put in freezer safe ziplock bags. If you leave them on the countertop uncovered, they will dry out and harden.

To reheat the rolls, you can go two ways. You can microwave on the “defrost” option for a minute or so. Or, alternatively, you can place it in the air fryer for 4 minutes at 360F.

Notes:

-ciabatta rolls can be served many ways, but our favorite is as a sandwich.