Sourdough Ciabatta Buns
While they do take a bit of time to make, these homemade sourdough buns are worth it. Plus, most of the time is spent waiting! Make larger buns for burgers and sandwiches, or smaller ones for sliders and dinner rolls.
Equipment
- Danish Dough Whisk
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Clean Kitchen Towel
- 1 Half Sheet Pan
- 1 Quarter Sheet Pan
Ingredients
- 720 g Warm Water 75-78ºF
- 225 g Active Sourdough Starter
- 900 g Bread Flour
- 24 g Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Mix together 720 g Warm Water and 225 g Active Sourdough Starter in a large mixing bowl until fully uniform.
- Add 900 g Bread Flour, whisking until it forms a shaggy dough. Cover with a damp cloth for 25-30 minutes to rest.
- Add 24 g Sea Salt, shaking it evenly across the bread dough. Knead until the salt is well distributed and feels like it has dissolved (you shouldn't feel any grains). This should take about 5 minutes. The dough will feel wet and sticky; this is normal. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and rest for 30 minutes.
- Over the next 2-3 hours, complete 4 series of stretch and folds every 30-45 minutes. The first should be a normal stretch and fold, followed by 3 coil folds. (To perform a coil fold, reach both hands into the bowl at 9 and 3, then lift the entire dough from the bowl, letting the two halves stretch out in front and back. Replace the dough to the bowl, do a ¼ turn and repeat 3 more times.)
- For proofing, you have a few options depending on your schedule. Option 1: Shortest (Room Temp Ferment). After the final stretch and fold, cover with a damp towel and allow the dough to do a bulk rise at room temperature, increasing by about 75% in volume. Cover tightly (first with a damp towel, then a lid or plastic wrap) and pop in the fridge for 6-24 hours.Option 2: Medium (Mixed). After the final stretch and fold, cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for about 1 hour to rest. Cover tightly (first with a damp towel, then a lid or plastic wrap) and pop in the fridge for 24-48 hours.Option 3: Longest (Cold Ferment). After the final stretch and fold, cover tightly (first with a damp towel, then a lid or plastic wrap) and pop in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Line a half sheet and quarter sheet pan with parchment paper for easy cleanup.After the bulk rise and refrigeration, liberally sprinkle the top of the dough and your work surface with flour. Press the dough into a rough rectangle shape. Divide the dough into 12 even pieces approximately 150-155g apiece.
- (Optional) Gently shape each piece into a boulé—pull in both sides to the middle, then the top and the bottom. Flip over so the seam side is down and cup your hands on either side. Begin to rotate the roll in a circle, tightening the shape and creating a gluten cloak. Place the completed rolls on the parchment-lined pans. (I usually do a 2-1-2 formation to give space for the rolls to expand; 7-8 should fit on the half-sheet, 4-5 on the quarter-sheet.) Let rest at room temperature for an hour, or until slightly puffy.
- Preheat oven to 475ºF and move the racks to the center positions. When the oven is preheated, add the rolls and immediately reduce the heat to 450ºF. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until the tops are starting to turn golden. (If you have to use two racks, make sure to switch the pans halfway through baking.)
- Remove the baked buns from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes on the sheet pans before transferring to a wire rack to continue the cooling process. Wait at least 1 hour before slicing for the best results.
- Once buns are completely cooled, transfer to 2 gallon-sized zip top bags. They are best within the first 24 hours, but will keep well enough at room temperature for 5 days. I usually leave one bag out and pop the other in the freezer, where they'll last for up to 6 weeks. To serve, allow to defrost at room temp ~or~ pre-slice the buns before freezing and toast open-faced directly from frozen.
Notes
Optional Variations
- Go Small - This recipe works equally well for making smaller ciabatta sourdough rolls as either slider buns or dinner rolls. Generally speaking, 60-80 grams per roll is ideal (though they should all be roughly the same in a batch so they cook evenly). To make ciabatta rolls, follow the same shaping and proofing instructions above, but reduce the temperature. Preheat the oven to 450ºF, then drop it down to 400ºF when you put the baking sheets in. They should take around 18-30 minutes depending on the size you choose. (King Arthur has more info on converting bread recipes to rolls.)
- Go Big - Don’t wanna fuss with all the divvying and shaping? No worries! After you flatten the dough out into a rectangle, cut it into 3 even loaves, around 610-615 grams apiece. You can skip the shaping and leave them as rectangles, or shape how you like. The baking time will increase a bit. Start checking around the 30 minute mark—they’re ready when the tops are golden and they sound hollow when you tap on them.
- Scale Down. This sourdough ciabatta recipe makes enough for a dozen burger-sized buns. Feel free to ⅔ the recipe to make just 8 which should fit on one standard half-sheet pan. (They also freeze well—check out storage instructions below.)
- Wait on Salt. While kneading isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I recently started waiting to add salt to my sourdough until after the first 30 minute rest. Boy, does it make a difference! The rise comes out way stronger. I kind of like the meditative act, but feel free to use your stand mixer outfitted with a dough hook to help you.
- Use Plenty of Flour for your floured surface and for the top of the dough before shaping. Ciabatta has a rather wet dough compared to other recipes, and high-hydration dough is typically quite sticky.
- Get a Danish Dough Whisk. If there was a single tool I’d recommend for making sourdough bread (or any bread) at home, a Danish dough whisk would be it. The circular design ensures it’s easy to clean off, but also does a remarkably good job moving through stiff doughs.
- It’s important to preheat your oven to a higher degree than you’ll be baking. Why? As soon as you open the door to put the baking sheet in, the oven temperature dips considerably—up to 150ºF or more. By starting with a higher temp, your rolls will get a better chance of baking at the right temperature from the start.
- Before storing (or slicing), let the ciabatta buns cool completely to room temperature. If you place them in a storage container before they’ve cooled, condensation will accrue, then rain down on the rolls as they continue to cool off, leaving your crust more soggy than crisp.
- Once buns are completely cooled, transfer to 2 gallon-sized zip top bags or the airtight container of your choice. They are best within the first 24 hours, but will keep well enough at room temperature for 5 days.
- You can also pop them in the freezer, where they'll last for up to 6 weeks.
- To serve, allow the buns to defrost on a wire rack at room temp to allow any ice crystals to evaporate ~or~ pre-slice the buns before freezing and toast open-faced directly from frozen.
Nutrition
Calories: 288kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 9gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 780mgPotassium: 75mgFiber: 2gSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 2IUCalcium: 14mgIron: 1mg
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