Sourdough Ciabatta Rolls

Mixing, Gluten Development, Bulk Fermentation

Combine ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Mix on low speed about a minute until combined. Pause the mixer, scrape down the sides, and continue mixing on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. If mixing by hand, use the rubaud method for a couple of minutes to develop the gluten. Here are videos of rubaud mixing and the other gluten development methods.

Transfer the dough to lightly oiled, straight-walled container or bowl. Cover and let it rest 20-30 minutes. Do three rounds of gluten development spaced 20-30 minutes apart.

Let the dough ferment until it has expanded by 50-75%, then refrigerate it overnight (8-16 hours) to further strengthen the gluten and develop more flavor. My dough was at room temperature for 4 hours at summer temperatures (high 70s). The dough continued to rise in the refrigerator as it cooled and it had doubled by morning. In cooler temeratures/seasons, you may need to remove the dough from the refrigerator in the morning and let it continue rising for several hours until it has almost doubled in size.

Shaping

The dough can be cold or room temperature for shaping.

If you're baking the rolls on a baking sheet, line it with parchment paper.

If you're baking the rolls on a stone, flip a baking sheet upside-down and place the parchment on the inverted "top." This way the baking sheet can act as a peel and the parchment can slide onto the hot baking stone.

Flour your work surface and scrape the dough out onto it.

Gently slide your fingers under the dough from all sides to pull it outward into a square shape about 1" thick. Flour the top of the dough.

Using a bench scraper, cut the dough in 8 pieces (or more for smaller rolls).

Transfer the dough pieces to the parchment paper and cover loosely.

Proofing, Baking

Let the ciabattas proof for 30-90 minutes. Stick with the shorter time if the dough or ambient temp is warm. My cold ciabatta dough proofed for 40 minutes in a warm kitchen.

Preheat the oven during the last 15-30 minutes of the final proof and prepare 1 cup of boiling water for oven steam creation.

The method I used for the rolls in the photos was a quicker "summer" baking process. This and the traditional baking methods are outlined below. The traditional method is hotter and usually yields a little more oven spring.

Summer baking: Preheat to 475°F the oven and an aluminum pan with a pinhole poked into it on the bottom shelf of the oven. When the oven is preheated, load the baking sheet of ciabatta rolls and pour the boiling water into the aluminum pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating the sheet if needed. When the rolls are done, turn off the oven and place the rolls directly on the oven shelf. Leave them in the oven with the door propped open. This will crisp them up a bit more.

Traditional baking: Preheat to 500°F the oven, a baking stone on the middle shelf, and an aluminum pan with a pinhole poked into it on the bottom shelf. The stone will need a preheat of 30+ minutes. When the preheat is complete, slide the parchment sheet onto the stone with a peel or an upside down baking sheet and pour the boiling water in the aluminum pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn off the oven, crack open the door a couple of inches, and leave the ciabattas in the oven for another 5 minutes. This will crisp them up a bit more. The bottom of the stone-baked ciabatta rolls is crispy enough that they don't need airflow and can continue to rest on the stone.

Bag the rolls after a day and freeze after 3-4 days.