Garlic and Basil Ciabatta Bread

Garlic and Basil Ciabatta Bread

There’s nothing like homemade bread in the fall. It seems as though meals eaten in colder weather go great with bread (pasta, stews, pot roast, etc.). Ciabatta bread is unbelievably easy to make and incredibly cost-efficient compared to store-bought breads. Follow this recipe and you will have delicious gourmet bread for a fraction of the cost.

Ingredients

¼ tsp activated dry yeast

2-2 ½ cups warm water

3 cups bread flour or all purpose flour if that’s all you have; you will need some additional flour to keep the dough from sticking to everything, and I mean everything,

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp basil

2 tsp granulated garlic

Process

Pour the warm water into a mixing bowl. Follow with the yeast and stir until combined. You don’t have to wait for the yeast to foam up before going to the next step.

Pour the flour and salt into the yeast mixture and combine until dough is formed. The dough needs to be fairly wet and sticky so add water as necessary.

With the hook attachment of your mixer, mix on low speed for about 15 minutes, or until the dough is smooth.

Pour some of your additional flour into a large container. Separate the dough into two large pieces and let sit for an hour or so. The dough should double in size. Fold the dough over three times and let it sit for another hour. Continue this process one or two more times before continuing to the next step.

When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Spread the pieces onto a floured baking sheet, forming a rectangle. Sprinkle the garlic and basil onto each one (you can be creative with the seasoning; rosemary and oregano are also good choices), followed by a light drizzle of flour.

Cook in the preheated oven until the bread has a golden brown color, about 25-30 minutes.

When the bread is done cooking, let it sit for 10 minutes before slicing.

Taste Test

The bread has a great consistency; it is a great balance between doughy and fluffy. The garlic and basil on top of the bread add great flavor. I used the bread as a side for soup as well as buns for sandwiches and they were perfect.

Leftover Quality

The bread should be good for 4-5 days. Two loaves only lasted me a couple of days and they were consistently in texture and taste each use.