These easy ciabatta rolls use just 4 ingredients and a simple stretch-and-fold method for a crisp golden crust and light, airy crumb-no kneading or stand mixer needed.
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These easy ciabatta rolls are made with just four ingredients and an 80% hydration dough, which is the key to their light, irregular crumb and chewy texture.
Instead of kneading, I use four rounds of stretch-and-folds to build gluten, then bake the rolls with steam for a thin, crisp crust. The dough will feel very wet and sticky-resist the urge to add extra flour, since that moisture is what creates those signature ciabatta air pockets.
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👩🏼🍳 Why You'll Love These Homemade Ciabatta Rolls
- Just 4 ingredients: Bread flour, water, yeast, and salt.
- No kneading or mixer: Stretching and folding develops the gluten with very little hands-on work.
- Crisp outside, airy inside: High-hydration dough creates ciabatta's chewy texture and open crumb.
- Same-day recipe: No poolish or overnight fermentation required.
- Perfect for sandwiches: Make 4 large sandwich rolls or 8 smaller rolls.
🍞 Ingredient Notes
- Bread flour: Its higher protein content provides enough gluten structure to support this very wet dough. All-purpose flour can be substituted, but expect a slightly tighter, less chewy crumb.
- Water: This recipe uses an 80% hydration dough, meaning the weight of the water is 80% of the flour weight. The dough should be unusually wet and sticky-don't add extra flour to make it resemble conventional bread dough.
- Instant yeast: Provides the lift for the rolls and allows them to be made in one afternoon.
- Salt: Essential for flavor and helps strengthen the dough.
🔪 How To Make Ciabatta Rolls
*See recipe card below for printable instructions
In a small bowl, dissolve instant yeast in room temperature/lukewarm water. Stir to combine, and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. The mixture should create small bubbles.
In a large mixing bowl, combine bread flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture and stir until well-combined using a fork or large spoon. Make sure you scrape down sides of bowl so that there are no bits of flour or dough left behind. Your dough will be very wet and sticky.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, this may take less or more time.
Wet your hands and begin the stretch-and-fold process: Grab one edge of your dough and stretch it up and then towards the center of the dough. Rotate bowl and repeat this process with all four sides of your dough. It shouldn't take more than 1 minute to fold all 4 sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 30 minutes.
Repeat this step 3 more times, every 30 minutes, for a total of 4 stretch-and-folds (totaling 2 hours). Your dough should be doubled in size after this step.
Shape your dough: Transfer dough to a floured surface. Sprinkle top of dough with a small amount of flour and shape it into a rectangle by gently pulling the dough from underneath. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with all-purpose flour.
Divide into rolls: Roll the dough into a log and press the edge to seal. Divide the rolled dough into 4 equal parts (or 8 if you are making slider rolls) using a bench scraper or bread knife, and place each piece onto floured baking sheet. Let the dough rest uncovered for 40 minutes.
Fill a large baking pan with water and place it in the bottom of your oven. Preheat the oven to 420 degrees F, and allow it to create a steam bath in your oven.
Spritz rolls with water and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and nicely crisp on the outside. Let rolls cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
⏲ Expert Tips For Airy Ciabatta Rolls
Don't add extra flour to the dough. A wet, sticky dough is exactly what you want. Adding too much flour can produce dense rolls with a tight crumb.
Wet your hands before folding. This makes high-hydration dough much easier to handle without incorporating additional flour.
Handle the risen dough gently. Don't punch it down. Preserving the bubbles you've created helps produce the large, irregular holes associated with ciabatta.
Use plenty of flour on your work surface. Flour the outside of the dough rather than working additional flour into it.
Create steam while baking. Steam helps the rolls develop a thin, crisp golden crust.
Let them cool before slicing. Cutting bread while it's still hot can leave the interior gummy.
💬 Troubleshooting Ciabatta Rolls
That's normal. Ciabatta is a high-hydration bread, and this recipe contains 80% water relative to the weight of the flour. Use wet hands and a bench scraper rather than adding additional flour.
The most common causes are adding too much flour or handling the dough too aggressively after it has risen. Keep the dough wet and gently divide and transfer the rolls so you preserve as many air bubbles as possible.
Yes, but bread flour is preferable because its higher protein content gives the dough more structure. Rolls made with all-purpose flour will likely have a slightly tighter crumb.
How To Store ciabatta Rolls
Ciabatta is best the day it's baked. Store cooled rolls tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 2 days.
For longer storage, freeze the cooled rolls in a freezer-safe bag. Reheat at 350°F for about 5 minutes to refresh the crisp crust.
How To Serve Ciabatta Rolls
Use these rolls for a chickpea salad sandwich, veggie BLT, or crispy BBQ tofu sandwich. They're also perfect alongside a bowl of Italian soup with chickpeas, where the crisp crust is ideal for soaking up the broth. You can also toast them for breakfast and slather with your favorite freezer jam.
🥖 More Bread Recipes
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Ciabatta Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 240 grams room temperature water (approximately 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon)
- 300 grams bread flour (approximately 2 ¼ cups)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve instant yeast in room temperature/lukewarm water. Stir to combine, and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. The mixture should create small bubbles.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine bread flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture and stir until well-combined using a fork or large spoon. Make sure you scrape down sides of bowl so that there are no bits of flour or dough left behind. Your dough will be very wet and sticky.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, this may take less or more time.
Stretch and Fold:
- Wet your hands and begin the stretch-and-fold process: Grab one edge of your dough and stretch it up and then towards the center of the dough. Rotate bowl and repeat this process with all four sides of your dough. It shouldn't take more than 1 minute to fold all 4 sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Repeat this step 3 more times, every 30 minutes, for a total of 4 stretch-and-folds (totaling 2 hours). Your dough should be doubled in size after this step.
Shape the dough:
- Transfer dough to a floured surface (your dough will be very sticky). Sprinkle top of dough with a small amount of flour and shape it into a rectangle by gently pulling the dough from underneath. We want to be very gentle during this step so as not to deflate our air bubbles that we just spent time creating.
- Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with all-purpose flour.
- Roll the dough into a log and press the edge to seal. Divide the rolled dough into 4 equal parts (or 8 if you are making dinner rolls) using a bench scraper or bread knife, and place each piece onto floured baking sheet (using a bench scraper or sturdy spatula will help with this step). Let the dough rest uncovered for 40 minutes.
Bake the rolls:
- Fill a large baking pan with water and place it in the bottom of your oven. Preheat the oven to 420 degrees F, and allow it to create a steam bath in your oven.
- Spritz rolls with water (not necessary but will help them along) and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and nicely crisp on the outside. Let rolls cool completely on a wire rack before using.
Danielle says
My daughter and I made these as a science project - she especially enjoyed stretching the dough! We ate them for toast the next morning and they were delicious!
Gastronotherapy says
What a great idea, Danielle! I'm so glad you and your daughter enjoyed them! 😍