Sourdough Ciabatta Bread | Crispy, Airy & Chewy Recipe
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🥖 Sourdough Ciabatta Bread
Crispy crust. Chewy center. BIG beautiful holes.
Don't let the wet dough scare you. This is exactly what makes ciabatta so good.
If you've ever cut into a ciabatta and wondered how bakers get those huge, irregular holes inside, you're about to find out. This Sourdough Ciabatta uses a high-hydration dough, natural fermentation, gentle strength-building, and plenty of restraint during shaping. The dough will feel much wetter than a typical sourdough loaf. That's not a mistake. That's the point.
🥖 Why You'll Love This Ciabatta
✔ Crisp, beautifully browned crust
✔ Chewy, airy interior
✔ Gorgeous open crumb
✔ Naturally fermented sourdough flavor
✔ Perfect for sandwiches
✔ Incredible dipped in olive oil
✔ Fantastic with soups, pasta, and sauces
✔ Looks professional without requiring complicated equipment
🥖 Sourdough Ciabatta
🌾 Dough
- 100 g active sourdough starter
- 400 g warm water
- 500 g bread flour
- 10 g sea salt
- 15 g olive oil
🔥 For Baking
- Extra flour for handling
- Parchment paper
- Hot water for steam
💧 Why Is This Dough So Wet?
This recipe contains approximately 80% hydration.
That's intentionally high. Ciabatta gets its signature open crumb from a wetter dough.
Your first instinct may be to add more flour. Resist it.
🥣 Mix the Dough
In a large mixing bowl, combine the 100 g active sourdough starter with the 400 g warm water.
Stir until the starter is mostly dispersed throughout the water.
Add the 500 g bread flour, 10 g sea salt, and 15 g olive oil.
Mix until no dry flour remains and you have a rough, sticky dough.
Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
💪 Build Strength With Stretch & Folds
This is where the magic starts.
Instead of kneading the wet dough, we'll build gluten strength gradually with a series of stretch-and-folds.
Perform 4 sets of stretch-and-folds, approximately 30 minutes apart.
🔄 How to Stretch & Fold
- Wet your hand lightly with water.
- Grab one side of the dough.
- Gently stretch it upward.
- Fold it over the center.
- Rotate the bowl and repeat around the dough.
After each set, cover the dough and let it rest.
WATCH THE DOUGH CHANGE
After the first fold, it may still look like a sticky mess.
By the final fold, it should feel smoother, stronger, and much more elastic.
⏳ Bulk Fermentation
After your final stretch-and-fold, cover the dough and let it continue fermenting.
You're looking for the dough to become noticeably puffy, airy, and alive.
DON'T WATCH THE CLOCK — WATCH THE DOUGH
Fermentation time depends heavily on the temperature of your kitchen and the strength of your starter.
A warm kitchen may move quickly. A cool kitchen may take considerably longer.
🌾 Prepare Your Work Surface
Generously flour your work surface.
This is one of the rare sourdough moments where you actually want a good amount of flour around you.
The goal is to prevent the high-hydration dough from sticking while handling it as little as possible.
🥖 Turn Out the Dough
Gently turn the fermented dough onto your floured surface.
Let gravity do most of the work.
Dust the top lightly with flour.
PROTECT THOSE BUBBLES
Every time you aggressively press, knead, or reshape the dough, you're knocking out some of the gas you've spent hours creating.
🔪 Divide Into Two Loaves
Using a bench scraper, gently divide the dough into 2 roughly rectangular pieces.
✋ Don't Shape It Like a Boule
Ciabatta is intentionally rustic.
You don't need to tighten the dough into a perfectly shaped loaf.
Gently nudge each piece into a rectangular shape and leave it alone.
⏰ Final Rest
Place the two pieces of dough onto parchment paper.
Cover loosely and allow them to rest for 45–60 minutes.
During this time, the dough should become lighter and slightly puffier.
🔥 Get the Oven HOT
Preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C).
Place a shallow metal pan on the bottom rack while the oven preheats.
STEAM = BETTER CRUST
Steam keeps the outer surface flexible during the beginning of the bake, allowing the bread to expand before the crust sets.
💨 Bake With Steam
Carefully transfer the ciabatta loaves into the hot oven.
Immediately pour approximately 1 cup of hot water into the preheated steam pan.
Quickly close the oven door.
BAKE 22–28 MINUTES
Bake until the loaves are deeply golden brown, crisp, and sound hollow when tapped.
For the most accurate check, aim for an internal temperature of approximately 205–210°F (96–99°C).
❄️ Let It Cool Completely
Remove the ciabatta from the oven and transfer the loaves to a wire rack.
Let them cool completely before slicing.
YES, REALLY.
The inside is still setting as the bread cools. Cutting too early can compress the crumb and make your beautiful ciabatta seem gummy.
🕳️ How to Get Those Giant Ciabatta Holes
The open crumb isn't caused by one secret trick. It's the result of several things working together.
1. High hydration
The wetter dough creates the potential for a more open structure.
2. Strong fermentation
Your starter needs to produce plenty of gas.
3. Gluten development
Stretch-and-folds create enough strength to hold those bubbles.
4. Gentle handling
Don't knock all that gas back out during shaping.
5. A hot oven
Strong heat and steam help the loaf expand rapidly before the crust sets.
👩🍳 Squirrelly Girl Baker's Tips
⚠️ Baker's Warning
You will cut into the loaf looking for those giant ciabatta holes.
If they're there...
You WILL immediately take approximately 47 pictures of the crumb.
Then you'll send them to people who absolutely did not ask to see bread pictures.
Welcome to sourdough. 😂🥖
🫒 How to Eat Your Ciabatta
Slice it and make an incredible sandwich.
Tear off a piece and dip it into good olive oil.
Serve it beside a bowl of soup.
Use it for bruschetta.
Make an Italian-style panini.
Or simply eat it warm with butter.
Honestly, you did all this work. You deserve the first piece.
📚 Continue Your Sourdough Journey
Ready to take your sourdough skills further? Keep learning with the Squirrelly Girl guides designed to make sourdough easier to understand — whether you're baking your first loaf or refining your technique.
🐿️ Ready to Make Better Sourdough?
Great sourdough baking starts with a strong, active starter.
Squirrelly Girl makes it easier to get your starter active, healthy, and ready for baking.
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Get Squirrelly Girl Sourdough StarterOne starter. Endless sourdough possibilities.
❤️ Happy Baking!
Don't be afraid of wet dough.
Don't chase perfection.
Let fermentation do the work.
And when you pull that golden, hole-filled ciabatta from the oven...
Take the pictures. We won't judge. 🐿️🥖