Ciabatta Bread is my second favorite bread after French Baguette. I guess it is because it reminds me of a French Baguette. Ciabatta bread is not Caribbean, and I am choosing to share the recipe because I believe we should adventure a little bit into other cuisines. So let’s dive into this delicious Ciabatta Bread Machine Recipe.

What is Ciabatta

Ciabatta is an Italian white bread made from wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast. It originated or was created in the 1970s in Italy, in response to the popularity of French baguettes. It became very popular in the late 1990s across Europe and in the United States. The handmade Ciabatta is somewhat elongated, broad, flat and is baked in many variations. The bread machine Ciabatta bread is elongated but not so flat. It is somewhat hollow and crispy.

My thoughts

When I first made this recipe, I was hoping that it would be the same texture as the handmade Ciabatta. I was disappointed but again happy to find out that everyone in my family loved it. Although it was not the authentic recipe, it became apparent that I would have to make it more often.

My experience with bread machine recipes

Bread machines are the laziest and quickest way for someone like myself to enjoy freshly baked bread.

From experience, a bread machine will not give you the same bread texture as a freshly handmade bread. If you don’t mind the texture, then you will be very satisfied and eager to make your bread recipe. The taste alone will win your heart.

The recipe

The Ciabatta bread machine recipe is as simple as it may sound. The ingredients are water, flour, oil, salt, sugar and bread machine yeast – typical ingredients for bread. I have tried the recipe with both olive oil and grapeseed oil. I prefer grapeseed oil because not only because it is tastier but because it has a lighter texture in my opinion.

I also use organic raw sugar instead of granulated white sugar just a preference. As far as flour, you can use bread flour or regular all-purpose flour. I prefer bread flour instead of regular flour because of taste. I enjoy bread flour in bread making better than regular all-purpose flour.

Ciabatta Bread - caribbeangreenliving.com — Ciabatta Bread

The bread texture is not as light and crispy as the authentic Ciabatta as initially mentioned earlier. The bread is not very chewy and has an excellent crust. The baking time is 25 to 30 minutes. If the baking time is increased by 5 minutes, the bread will be crispier.

Storage

To tell you the truth, I am still trying to figure out the best ways to store my freshly baked bread. I have researched different box storage options and found out that many of them to do not store freshly baked bread properly.

One of the challenges that many people have is the size of the box. Many bread boxes are large and take up a lot of counter space. I have also learned that paper bags are the best ways to store bread. But the problem is finding the right size paper bag.

Freezing is an option which I am not too fun of, but I guess it is better than having a bread box that does not work. I also store my bread in a plastic bag (freezer bags) and do not close it all the way, just to let some air in to control the humidity better.

Final thoughts

When making freshly baked bread, whether handmade or in a bread machine, always use good ingredients. Don’t be cheap and try not to alter the recipe on the first try.

Hope you enjoy this recipe for Ciabatta Bread taken from 250 Best Canadian Bread Machine Recipes by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt.