Fresh Homemade Chewy Ciabatta Bread Rolls

July 16, 2017 by foodnessgracious 50 Comments

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These Ciabatta Bread Rolls taste just like they would if you bought them in a real Italian bakery! Soft on the inside with a chewy exterior, they’re perfect for making the ultimate sandwich!

If there’s one meal I love it’s a sandwich, but not just on ordinary plain bread. I love chewy bread with a slightly burnt taste to it, something like a french boule – or better still, these Italian Ciabatta Bread Rolls.

These rolls are so simple to make, as are most bread products. I always say that the hardest part is waiting for the yeast to do its magic. Once that reaction has taken place then you can get your bread fired and fill the kitchen with that toasty smell, just like the scratch bakery where I learned my trade.

Of course a lot depends on the yeast process, so I use Red Star Yeast. They have a few varieties to try, and each one works best for a particular recipe. For these ciabatta rolls I used their Platinum Yeast. It never fails and always gives me amazing results!

Making ciabatta bread rolls isn’t an instant kind of thing, so if you’re short on time then you might want to make something else. This recipe takes a bit longer because it requires making a small dough mixture 24 hours ahead of time. This is called the “biga” and it’s the same idea as the starters used in some other bread recipes. You just add the biga to the main recipe and it gives you the crucial airy interior that ciabatta is famous for. The end result should be a great chewy crust and a light interior full of holes, perfect for dipping in some olive oil or making a toasted caprese panini!

Visit the Red Star Yeast Pinterest page for more ideas and recipes for all things yeast related. If you run into problems, you can always use the troubleshooting guide to answer any questions you might have!

Here’s a few other awesome bread recipes you might be interested in!

Cinnamon Crumb Breakfast Bread

Kalamata Olive Boule

Salted Chocolate Brioche

This was a sponsored post for Red Star Yeast. Compensation was provided but as always, thoughts and ideas are 100% my own.

*This post has been updated with new photography*

5 from 1 vote

Homemade Ciabatta Bread Rolls

Prep Time 1 day

Cook Time 20 hours

Ingredients

For The Starter Dough:
1/4 teaspoon Red Star Platinum Yeast
1 cup warm water not hot
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup regular temperature water
For The Second Stage Dough:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons Red Star Platinum Yeast
2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon olive oil
The biga starter from the previous day
Cornmeal for dusting your baking sheets or pizza stone.

Instructions

Combine the 1/4 teaspoon yeast with the first cup of water and dissolve. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Take one teaspoon of this water and add it to the 3/4 cup regular water. Dispose the first yeast water.
In a medium sized bowl, add the flour and water and mix together to form a stiff dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and leave on the counter overnight.
Next day combine the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl.
Add the water and mix gently. Add the biga from the previous day and mix it through the dough.
Squeeze the biga to break it up, it'll still be slightly stringy and chunky but the dough will get smoother.
The dough will be sticky, dump it onto a well floured surface and dust again with flour. Carefully turn it over multiple times to knead it adding just enough flour to prevent it sticking. A dough scraper is an excellent tool to use for this task.
Transfer the dough to a large bowl which has been coated with olive oil. Cover again and let sit for about three hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
Dump the dough back out onto a floured surface and fold it in three times like folding a letter. Cut into roughly 9 square pieces. Transfer each piece to a towel which has been heavily dusted with flour seam side down.
Let the rolls sit covered for another hour. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and dust a pizza stone or some baking trays with a little cornmeal.
After an hour, carefully flip the rolls over transferring them to the stone or baking trays finishing seam side up.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes ending with a nice golden color on the top and bottom of the rolls.

Recipe Notes

The dough will be sticky, handle it quickly but gently, using flour to prevent it sticking to your hands too much. These rolls are rustic so don't worry too much about the size or shape being uniformed.