Lovely! I like that it's a small batch recipe.

Thank you, plllog! It's definitely something I'll make "regularly". It has a wonderful chewy texture! . :)

Very NICE! I love ciabatta and use it all the time. Makes great croutons.

That looks really good! Thanks for sharing the link 🙂

P.S. That recipe looks a lot like the one Jacques Pepin shared in one of his videos, but he baked one large loaf in a Dutch oven.

Here's Pepin's video:

Love ciabatta! I'm going to try this! Thanks!

Thanks for posting the Pepin video, Carolb! His version is wetter/softer, but in both cases it's pretty clear that this dough is very easy to do whatever you want with it. lol! I'll bet it would be great baked up in a romertopf! It's so nice to bake regular bread (not gluten-free) for a change. :)

I tried to print a recipe, but I keep getting add after add. Couldn't get to the actual recipe!

Here it is copied and pasted from the 'Print Recipe' page:

Easy Small Batch Ciabatta Rolls

★★★★★ 4.9 from 55 reviews

• Author: Sam | Ahead of Thyme
• Total Time: 4 hours
• Yield: 4 ciabatta rolls
• Diet: Vegan

Easy small batch ciabatta rolls are fluffy and airy with a perfect crunchy, crackly crust. They take only 10 minutes to prepare and require no kneading.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 240 grams water, at room temperature (approximately 1 cup)
• 300 grams all-purpose flour (approximately 2.5 cups)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Prepare the Dough (1 hour rise time):

1. In small cup, dissolve instant yeast in lukewarm water and stir to mix together (the mixture should start to bubble and develop a yeasty aroma). Let it sit for 2 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, add flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture and whisk until fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl (there should be no dry flour particles visible). The mixture is very sticky and wet, with an 80% hydration (flour to water ratio).
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour (Note that a higher room temperature will speed up the fermentation process and will cause the dough to rise faster).

Stretch and Fold the Dough (1.5 hour rise time):

1. Apply some water onto your hands and stretch and fold the dough in the bowl by folding the edges into the centre, one edge at a time. Wet hands make it easier to work with the dough and it should take you less than a minute to fold all 4 sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
2. Repeat this stretch and fold step, then cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for another 30 minutes. Then, repeat the stretch and fold step a final time and let it rest for another 30 minutes. After 3 rounds of stretch and folds with 30 minute resting periods, the dough will rise and approximately double in size.

Shape the Dough (40 minutes rise time):

1. Transfer dough to a floured surface. Note that the dough will still be very sticky and that is okay. Sprinkle dough with a little flour and shape it into a rectangle by gently pulling the dough from underneath. Be careful not to press the dough because the air holes trapped inside might get squeezed out.
2. Roll the dough into a log and press the edge to seal. Divide the rolled dough into 4-5 equal parts, and place each piece at least two inches apart, onto a well-floured work surface. Let the dough rest for about 40 minutes. This is called the final proofing.

Bake the Ciabatta Rolls:

1. Carefully transfer each dough onto a parchment-lined 8x12-inch baking tray. Because the dough is still quite sticky, dust with flour to help with handling it. Set aside.
2. Fill a baking pan with water and place it in the bottom of your oven. Preheat the oven to 420 F, and allow it to fill with steam from the water. When the oven is ready, slide the baking tray in and spray some water over the dough immediately. Bake for 20 minutes.
3. Let the bread cool for 20 minutes. To check if the bread is done, you can tap the bottom of the bread with your finger. The bread will sound hollow when they are done.

Notes

Total time for this recipe is 4 hours. The timing is broken down as follows: 10 minutes prep time, 3 hours and 10 minutes rising time, 20 minutes cook time, and 20 minutes cooling time.

When I bookmarked the site, I accidentally saved the link for the text/print version:

https://www.aheadofthyme.com/easy-small-batch-ciabatta-rolls/print/10364/

I made another batch the other day. I love this stuff. I tried it toasted yesterday - o m g. Slice it, toast it, top it with some melty butter and homemade jam/jelly, and it's just as good as dessert! :O)

btw, I did divide it into 6 rolls this time and I think that's a better size. This dough is SO soft and sticky.... I don't know how the author got theirs to look so neat, other than by adding another cup of flour. lol! I need a bench scraper to divide and move my dough.... here it is once I got it onto the parchment. :O)

eta: re their "stretch and fold" between rise times..... it's too wet/sticky to stretch and fold. This time, I just 'stirred it down' from the sides with a spatula between rise times. :)

Looks very good

This is my 3rd batch and I decided to try using one of those large shallow muffin pans to see how they'd behave. They certainly look "neater" but somehow lose their allure for me. They're not exactly bad... they're just not sexy. :)

it's amazing how little yeast is in that ... and it works.

Dave, all you need is a little yeast, period. Most American bread recipes assume you want to be done in a few hours, so the size of a traditional yeast cake = a packet of ADY will give you a good rise on a one pound loaf in an hour, given a warm kitchen, proofing box or the traditional pot of steamy water. Less yeast and a longer rise time generally gives you a better flavor and potentially better gluten development. This is especially true for wetter doughs, like ciabatta.

Ciabatta is always a funny shape - ideal bread for messy people like me!

For anyone baking gluten-free, I made a gf version of these yesterday and they were rated "excellent". It was my first try, so they will be even better next time. :)

Gluten-free Ciabatta:

2.5 cups ap gf flour mix*

1 tsp xanthan

1 tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

2 cups warm water**

Mix all dry ingredients first, then add enough of the warm water to make a very soft wet dough when mixed thoroughly.... the texture should be somewhat like a thick cake batter. I only mixed by hand.

I let rise until double as follows: 1 hr (stir down), 1 hr (stir down), 1 hr (stir down), then divided into a lightly oiled 6 'roll' pan, let rise about 40 min, then I baked at 385F for 30 mins. w/ a pan of water in the oven. I think they definitely could have used another few minutes in the oven. Once they cooled, we split one to try in a sandwich... great texture for gf.

*My flour mix was 1/2 c sorghum flour and 2 cups of a blend (brown rice flour, potato starch, and oat flour -- I'd normally use tapioca starch for the oat, but I'm out).

**The amount of water needed will vary with the flour mix, but you want the mixed dough to be very soft, almost like thick cake batter.