Ciabatta (, ; literally "
slipper")
is an
Italian white bread made from
wheat flour,
water,
salt,
yeast and
olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
, created in 1982
by a baker in
Adria, province of
Rovigo,
Veneto,
Italy, in response to the popularity of French
baguettes.
Ciabatta is somewhat elongated, broad, and flat, and is baked in many variations, although unique for its alveolar holes. Ciabatta is made with a strong flour and uses a much wetter
dough than traditional French bread.
While ''
panino
A panini (, meaning "small bread, bread rolls") or panino (meaning "bread roll") is a sandwich made with Italian bread (such as ciabatta, rosetta, and michetta). They are sometimes served warm after grilling or toasting.
In many English-speaki ...
'' indicates any kind of
sandwich regardless of the bread used (whether slices or a bun), a toasted sandwich made from small loaves of ciabatta are known as ''
panini'' (plural of panino) outside Italy.
Italy
Ciabatta bread was first produced in 1982,
by Arnaldo Cavallari, who called the bread ''ciabatta polesana'' after
Polesine, the area he lived in. The recipe was subsequently licensed by Cavallari's company, Molini Adriesi, to bakers in 11 countries by 1999. Cavallari and other bakers in Italy were concerned by the popularity of sandwiches made from
baguettes imported from
France,
which were endangering their businesses, and so set about trying to create an Italian alternative with which to make sandwiches.
The recipe for ciabatta came about after several weeks of trying variations of traditional bread recipes and consists of a soft, wet dough made with high
gluten flour.
Many regions have their own variations on the original recipe or a bread that closely resembles ciabatta and has become accepted as a variety of ciabatta; the ciabatta from the area encompassing
Lake Como
Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...
has a crisp crust, a somewhat soft, porous texture, and is light to the touch. The ciabatta found in
Tuscany,
Umbria, and
Marche
Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
varies from bread that has a firm crust and dense crumb to bread that has a crisper crust and more open texture, and in
Rome, it is often seasoned with
marjoram.
[
New variations of the recipe continue to be developed. Wholemeal ciabatta is known as ''ciabatta integrale'', and when milk is added to the dough, it becomes ''ciabatta al latte''.][
]
Other countries
Ciabatta bread was introduced to the United Kingdom in 1985 by Marks & Spencer, then to the United States in 1987 by Orlando Bakery, a Cleveland firm.[ Three bakers from Italy went to Orlando Bakery to develop the product for ]mass production
Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
. They successfully introduced a fresh bread, and later a frozen version. It was quickly copied throughout the US. The more open-crumbed form, which is usual in the United States, is made from a very wet dough, often requiring machine-kneading, and a biga or sourdough
Sourdough or sourdough bread is a bread made by the fermentation of dough using wild lactobacillaceae and yeast. Lactic acid from fermentation imparts a sour taste and improves keeping qualities.
History
In the ''Encyclopedia of Food Microbio ...
starter.
References
External links
BBC Food ciabatta recipe
{{Italian bread
Cuisine of Veneto
Italian breads
Yeast breads
Products introduced in 1982
