How to Make Ciabatta Bread in a Wood Fired Oven

From our friends at Forno Bravo, here is an incredible method to make Ciabatta Bread.

This bread has a good crust with lots of taste. The process is not that difficult. However as with most great breads, this one starts with a poolish.

Ciabatta Italian Hearth Bread

Poolish (the starter dough)


By weight
300 g general purpose flour (Caputo Tipo 00 works well)
300 g room temperature water
1 g (pinch) yeast

By volume
2 1/4 cups general purpose flour (Caputo Tipo 00 works well)
1 1/4 cups room temperature water
1/8 tsp yeast

Mix to a pancake batter consistency, cover with plastic wrap and let ferment for 3-4 hours, or overnight. Refrigerate after 3-4 hours.

The Finished Bread
By weight,
The poolish, plus:
700 g flour
20 g salt
9 g yeast
430 g water (73% final hydration)

By volume,
The poolish, plus:
2 7/8 cups flour
1 Tbs salt
1 1/4 tsp yeast
1/2 cup water

Mix the dough until it is well hydrated (it is very sticky).

Stretch and fold (like a letter) and let rest covered with plastic for 30 minutes.

Stretch and fold again, and let rest for 1 1/2-2 hours covered. (The stretch and fold lines up the gluten to give the dough structure.)

Cut the ball into 3 pieces, and stretch into the final shape.

Proof for 1 hour, then bake at 500ºF (plus or minus) until the internal temperature reaches 205ºF.

It’s a very moist dough, and you don’t slash it. The final shape looks almost like a dog bone, and the final bread is crusty, with big holes in the crumb.




Visit Forno Bravo, for a wide range of woodfired oven needs.

If you are looking for Italian Recipes go to, Pizza Therapy.

Learn how to make outstanding bread, here are two resources I recommend from my friend
Peter Reinhart.