Easy Ciabatta Bread Recipe with Garlic and Basil Bruschetta

If you haven’t ever tried Ciabatta bread, you are missing out! This light, airy, melt-in-your-mouth bread is a rustic bread lover’s dream. And with this Easy Ciabatta Bread Recipe you too can be baking loaves like a champ!

The thought hit me in my favorite grocery store, ready to pick up anther (overpriced) loaf of organic ciabatta bread. “Why can’t I just make this at home!?”

Unfortunately, a lot of guides out there over complicate the process, leaving me (and others) sticking with store-bought!

Fear the Ciabatta No More!

I couldn’t find a simple beginner’s homemade ciabatta bread guide anywhere, so I took it upon myself to write one! This dough is unlike anything I’ve ever worked with… it is notoriously wet and sticky. Flouring your hands won’t even fend the dough off, I ended up using wet hands to handle the dough through the entire process. Once you learn how to handle the dough, the process is so much easier.

Other than the stickiness of the dough, it is an extremely straightforward process! No need to have the yeast feasting overnight, I cheat by adding a tiny amount of sugar to speed up the process. You simply need to mix, rise, mix again, rise again, shape into loaves, rise (I know, I know!), and bake!

The real trick to an authentic crispy-on-the-outside, light-and-airy-on-the-inside ciabatta is to steam the bread while baking. This is easiest achieved by placing a shallow pan in the oven while preheating, and pouring 1 cup of water into it right before the dough goes in! I’m not exactly sure how this results in a crisper bread, but it works wonders! Just don’t be a dumbass (like me) and break your oven thermometer by spilling water all over it.

Bruschetta: The Perfect Excuse to eat an Entire Loaf

Bruschetta, oooooh bruschetta! It’s fun to type, say, prepare, and eat! It can turn any plain-old bread into a fancy finger-food. Fresh basil, garlic, and tomatoes bring this refreshing topping together. The perfect way to show off your newly-acquired bread-making skills.

It also takes less than 15 minutes to throw together, so you can totally make a batch while anxiously awaiting your bread dough to rise!

Nick @ ServingRealness.com Serves Around 16 Portions 491 Easy Ciabatta Bread Recipe with Garlic and Basil Bruschetta If you haven’t ever tried Ciabatta bread, you are missing out! This light, airy, melt-in-your-mouth bread is a rustic bread lover’s dream. And with this Easy Ciabatta Bread Recipe you too can be baking loaves like a champ! 3 hr, 15 Prep Time 25 minCook Time 3 hr, 40 Total Time Save Recipe Save Recipe Print Recipe My Recipes My Lists My Calendar Ingredients For the Bread 1/4 teaspoon sugar

2 1/4 cups warm water (not hot!, drier climates may require up to 1/4 cup more)

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups bread flour (or substitute for more all-purpose)

1 teaspoon salt

For the Bruschetta 2 cloves large garlic

2 teaspoon oil

3 medium sized tomatoes (pick your favorite variety!)

15-20 leaves fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste Instructions Get that Ciabatta going! Mix the sugar, 2 1/4 cups of the water, and the yeast in a small bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes After that’s nice and bubbly, mix with the flours and salt in a stand-mixer. My dough was a little too stiff, so I added another 1/4 cup of water at this time. Let sit for 15 minutes Switch to the dough-hook attachment and mix on medium speed until you start to see it pulling away from the sides nicely Transfer to a greased container to let rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2-2 hours. It should triple in size by then Transfer dough to heavily floured parchment, divide into two sections and shape roughly into desired shape* (*The dough rises a lot more than you’d expect! I suggest using different baking sheets (rather than having to deal with separating the dough masses (*cough cough*) It’s not going to look like much, but these babies are on their way to becoming delicious bread! Let the dough rise for one more hour, until they look nice and puffy Preheat oven to 500°. (If using steam method, place empty, shallow baking tray on the bottom rack now) Once the oven is fully preheated pour 1 cup of water into the not hot baking tray, creating an impressive amount of steam! Quickly put dough in oven and close the door to preserve as much as possible Bake for 25 minutes until nice and golden They will sound hollow when knocked on when baked completely through During any of the rise times, get the Bruschetta going! Throw the garlic cloves into a food processor and run until finely-diced Add the tomatoes and pulse a couple of times, don’t over process! My favorite way to quickly cut the basil is to roll the leaves together and chop into “confetti” Add the basil, oil, salt and pepper to the food processor and pulse to desired consistency If you find the bruschetta is too wet, drain out liquid as needed Cut the bread, toast if you’d like, scoop the bruscetta, and you’ve got a beautiful and refreshing finger food. Notes Store bread sealed at room temperature to preserve moisture. Store Bruschetta sealed in the refrigerator. Nutrition Calories 491 cal Fat 2 g Carbs 99 g Protein 16 g Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info 7.8.1.2 46 Nick Abell

What are you waiting for!? Get baking!

Related