How to make whole wheat ciabatta bread

Whole wheat ciabatta bread. Make bakery style whole wheat ciabatta bread right in your own kitchen! No dutch oven required for this ciabatta bread!

My Whole Wheat Ciabatta Bread Recipe is:

• Crispy on the outside
• Chewy on the inside
• Full of holes!
• Flavorful
• Gut healthy

Ever since I learned how to make ciabatta bread at home I have been obsessed with it! All it takes is a little patience with waiting for it to rise multiple times, and you can get that perfectly chewy ciabatta bread. But, I wanted to make a healthier option with more fiber.

I was looking on line for some recipes and all that claimed "whole wheat" in the title were mixed with all purpose flour... I was confused. So I looked back at my all-purpose flour recipe, looked up some food chemistry tips on changing the yeast, water, salt, etc. for the wheat flour version. And I came up with an amazing recipe! So if you want to learn how to make whole wheat ciabatta bread, read on!

Something interesting that I found out when converting all-purpose flour to whole wheat flour was that whole wheat flour actually requires LESS yeast!

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST WHOLE WHEAT CIABATTA BREAD

YES, ADD THE TEASPOON OF WATER. That tiny bit of water in your ciabatta dough WILL make a difference. When converting all purpose flour to whole wheat flour, the recipe will require an additional teaspoon of water for every half cup of whole wheat flour.

KEEP KNEADING YOUR CIABATTA BREAD UNTIL IT IS SHINY. You will know the gluten has developed enough when the ciabatta bread dough looks slightly shiny or glossy.

DON'T SKIP THE STRETCH & FOLDS. Stretching and folding the dough is necessary to develop the gluten and aerate it for those signature ciabatta air pockets.

BE GENTLE SHAPING YOUR CIABATTA LOAVES. Once your loaves are shaped, be gentle with them and don't pop any bubbles. Those bubbles will bake into your bread and become nice big air pockets!

ADD MOISTURE DURING THE BEGINNING OF BAKING. Spraying your dough with water in the first couple minutes of baking is necessary to get a perfect crispy ciabatta bread shell.

FAQ'S

Frequently asked questions about homemade whole wheat ciabatta bread.

Is whole meal the same as whole wheat ciabatta?

Whole meal, whole wheat and whole grain bread are basically different terms for the same thing and all are considered wholegrain. Whole grain means, the entire grain was ground up to make a flour. My wholemeal ciabatta bread recipe is made with all whole wheat flour and is considered whole grain! (Read that again three times fast! 🙂 )

What makes ciabatta bread different?

Ciabatta is a type of bread that is unique for its holes. It has a signature crispy shell and chewy center.

What is a sponge for ciabatta bread?

A sponge?! When I first read about the sponge needed for ciabatta bread I was like what the heck is that.

Well, think of it as the starter for your dough.. a preferment. If you play with any sourdough recipes, you could also think of it as a baby sourdough starter.. but the ciabatta version since you're using commercial yeast, and not wild like with sourdough.

Why is ciabatta bread healthy?

Traditional ciabatta bread is not the healthiest bread. Ciabatta is high in refined white flour and has nearly zero grams of fiber. Whole grain ciabatta bread, on the other hand, is higher in protein and fiber, both of which will lower the blood glucose spike. And fiber is excellent for your gut health! Plus the whole grain provides several minerals and B vitamins.

Why is my ciabatta bread not crispy?

The main reason your crust is soft is lack of moisture during cooking. Your bread could also be moist from not using a cooling rack to allow air to circulate during cooling. Ciabatta bread is very moist on the inside and needs to be cooled on a rack.

OTHER HOMEMADE BREAD RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:

1. Homemade Ciabatta Bread
2. Ciabatta Bread Rolls
3. Whole Wheat Naan Bread
4. Homemade Classic Naan

WHOLE WHEAT CIABATTA BREAD INGREDIENTS

For the pre-ferment/sponge:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ⅛ teaspoon instant yeast
• ½ cup room temperature water + 2 teaspoons

For the ciabatta bread dough:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons pink sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
• ¾ cup room temperature water + 4 teaspoons
• ⅛ cup plain yogurt

For kneading/rolling:

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup all-purpose flour (can use whole wheat)

HOW TO MAKE WHOLE WHEAT CIABATTA BREAD AT HOME

STEP 1: MAKE THE SPONGE

Make the sponge right in the bowl of your standing mixer. There really is no need to use a separate bowl because you will add the rest of your ingredients to the sponge after it ferments anyway.

For your sponge, add the following ingredients to your bowl:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ⅛ teaspoon instant yeast
• ½ cup + 2 teaspoons of room temperature water

Cover your bowl with a towel and let it sit 8-24 hours at room temperature. Times may vary depending on the season and how warm it is in your house. Hotter temperatures= shorter fermentation. Cooler temperatures= longer fermentation.

I usually make this in the evening and then finish it the next afternoon.

This is what it looked like before fermenting:

How to tell if your sponge is ready? Well, look at the picture below for a reference!

Your sponge should be almost triple the size as before AND have a lot of bubbles in it!

This is what it looked like after 14 hours:

STEP 2: MAKE WHOLE WHEAT CIABATTA BREAD DOUGH

Now that you have patiently waited for your sponge to become bubbly and active, you can add the rest of your ingredients.

Add the following ingredients right on top of your sponge:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons pink sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
• ¾ cups + 4 teaspoons room temperature water
• ⅛ cup plain yogurt

Turn your mixer on the lowest setting and let it mix tor ~4-6 minutes.

You may have to turn off your mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl once.

Mix it till it looks like this:

Look at the strength of this dough that it is clinging to the paddle!!

Next, change to a hook attachment.

Dial it up to the speed #2 or #3 and allow it to run for ~10 minutes.

How to tell if your whole wheat ciabatta bread dough is ready:

1. It will NOT be sticky (tacky, yes, especially if you live in a humid climate, but the dough will not be on your fingers)
2. It will be shiny

And yes! Ciabatta is a very wet dough and will look like this when it is ready:

Transfer your dough to a clean bowl.

Cover it with a towel

Let it rise somewhere warm for 2 hours.

STEP 3: MULTIPLE RISING TIMES WITH STRETCH & FOLDS

TIP: if you have a cold house or it is winter time, wrap the bowl with a towel to insulate it and place it in the microwave or stove (turned off of course) to rise.

After 2 hours it is time for the first "stretch and fold." Basically, you are stretching the dough up towards the ceiling and in towards the center. This helps to strengthen the dough by developing the gluten, aerating it, and dispersing the yeast.

HOW TO STRETCH AND FOLD YOUR CIABATTA DOUGH:

Drizzle your dough with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Rub the oil all over the dough.

Stretch the dough up towards the ceiling, and then fold it towards the center.

Do this 8 times, working around the sides of the dough.

Next, cover it with a towel and let it rest 1 hour.

After 1 hour, you will repeat the stretch and fold process again.

Cover it with the towel again.

Let it rest another hour.

An hour after your second stretch and fold, you should have a fluffy dough like this:

If it is not doubled in size, don't rush! Let the dough sit longer to rise. The rising is necessary to get those ciabatta air pockets!

Look at the texture and all those air pockets!

Even though I couldn't help myself to show you guys the texture, you want to be very careful to NOT deflate the bubbles!

STEP 4: MAKE 2 LOAVES OF BREAD & RISE AGAIN

HOW TO SHAPE WHOLE WHEAT CIABATTA BREAD LOAVES

Now it is time to shape your bread!

Gently turn your dough onto a floured surface.

Using a pastry cutter, or a sharp knife, cut your dough in half.

Gently press each of them into ~6 x 12 inch rectangle. This is about the size of a standard sheet of paper.

TIP: be VERY gentle with your dough and try to keep the air pockets intact. DO NOT USE A ROLLING PIN!

Fold your dough towards the center (kind of like a letter!)

Fold it the other side on top:

Make sure you put your dough SEAM SIDE DOWN.

Let your shaped loaves rest on a parchment or baking mat lined tray for another 1 hour, covered lightly with a dry towel.

This allows those final air pockets to form!

STEP 5: BAKE YOUR WHOLE WHEAT CIABATTA BREAD USING MOISTURE

And NOW it is TIME TO BAKE!

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Put the rack in the center of the oven to allow even air circulation around your bread.

You will be baking 1 loaf at a time.

Using a spray bottle filled with water, spray the outside of your loaf.

Put it right into the oven.

Set the timer to 22 minutes.

Spray it again 3 times during the first 5 minutes of baking.

Remove your bread from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

And remember what I said about seam side down? I forgot with one of them, as you can see in the picture below. But no worries, because I wasn't taking these anywhere and they tasted amazing!

Just look at the ABSOLUTELY perfect texture!!

If you are a fan of ciabatta bread, you will definitely love this one! I used it to make sandwiches and they were so delicious!

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