This whole wheat ciabatta is similar to the previous no-knead variety but has more fiber. I didn’t do any research because I don’t have a lot of experience baking with whole wheat, but instead I just attempted to figure it out like any good cook would. Going 50/50 with the all-purpose flour produced just enough of that crusty, chewy “normal” bread sensation, and I was pleased with the flavor and texture.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Additional Time: | 16 hrs 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 17 hrs 30 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 loaf |
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup rye flour
- ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup water at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons shelled sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon polenta
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 1 ¾ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, for dusting
- ½ teaspoon cornmeal, or as needed
Instructions
- Make the sponge: Stir warm water, flours (all-purpose flour, whole wheat, and rye), and yeast together in a large bowl until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit until bubbly and doubled in volume, 5 to 6 hours.
- Start the ciabatta: Stir all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, water, sunflower seeds, polenta, flax seeds, salt, and honey into sponge with a wooden spoon until a very sticky dough ball forms, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in volume, 10 hours to overnight.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust parchment paper with 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour and cornmeal.
- Scrape dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface; press down to remove air, then form into a smooth oval loaf. Place dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Dust top of loaf lightly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a baking dish filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven.
- Remove plastic wrap from risen dough and mist the top of the dough with water.
- Bake in the preheated oven, misting the top of the loaf with water every 8 to 10 minutes, until loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped, 30 to 35 minutes total. Transfer bread to a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 135 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 27 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0 g |
| Sodium | 349 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 2 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
My first time making ciabatta, but definitely not my first Chef John recipe. I couldn’t find rye flour anywhere nearby, so I read up on it and substituted coconut flour. I may have over-proved it but it came out beautifully rich and somehow buttery. Will definitely need making this one again.
Simple, never-fail recipe! There is some play with the ingredients too, i.e. if you don’t have sesame seeds, add some other seeds or hemp. If you don’t have rye flour, add extra whole wheat or oat flour. I am still playing with my oven temps and timing to get it just right, but the outcome is always yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Recipe worked great. I was concerned about the outcome of adding the whole grains – sort of seemed like mixing the metaphor- but this makes a lovely hearty loaf with an excellent chewy crust. Will make this again!
takes some time to do but well worth it , didnt have rye flour so instead used teff flour and rice flour along with the wholewheat and regular flour ,bread came out amazing will definitely make again
I made the “sponge” starter with 1/4 cup amaranth flour instead of rye and it gave the bread a very earthy, pleasing taste. I also let the sponge sit for a full 24 hours instead of 12 (due to a busy schedule) and I noticed no change in taste or texture. Instead of a loaf, I made them into sandwich sized loafs. I would reduce the baking time down to maybe 20 mins at the most as the crust for these loafs were too crunchy for my liking. I didn’t spray the tops with water. Not sure if that would have changed anything other than that way it’s looks. Good recipe for crunchy bread.
Great recipe, easy to follow, and very little work (no kneading). I was able to speed up the rise time by having a (very) slightly previously warmed oven ready. I placed the dough inside the oven (with the door closed). The tiny amount of extra heat in the closed space made the dough rise significantly faster. Altogether a tasty ciabatta, recommended!
added TB olive oil doubled yeast, halved time
Delicious! Crisp crust, delicious flavor. I will make this again and again. Gone in 2 days! Easy recipe.
have made it 3 times and love it
Thanks Chef John for this wonderful recipe my family loves how it turned out my beautiful ciabatta bread. It is so flat cause I exceeded the proofing time so next time I will make it oval shape.
I made something wrong, looks more like central European bread 🙂 more round and higher. But still tasty. Thanks John!
I baked these today and they turned so good, however I used a little less time for spong and dough fermentation that could be the reason the loaf does not have much open crumb. I have sponge going on again and this time instead of 3 hours I am leaving it overnight.
This was so incredibly easy and delicious! Loved listening to the video, and so well explained, it was a no-brainer. Husband said it was the best bread I’ve made so far 🙂 Thanks!
We followed Chef John’s video with his “sexy cold voice” to make a version of this amazing no knead bread! It is so good! Super easy to make. Put it together at 9:00PM and let it set until 3:00PM following day, after shaping and resting for 2 hours it went into the Oven and then the dinner table by 6:30!
PLAN IN ADVANCE. Yummy texture. Super easy to make.
Very simple to make and it tastes great.