A ciabatta with a crispy crust, an airy inside and a filling of vegetables, sausage and cheese, baked in the air fryer. And you never knead it. The dough is stirred together in a bowl, then stretched and folded a few times while it rests. That’s all the work there is.
The amounts are small and exact, 200 g of flour and 160 g of water, so a kitchen scale helps here.
Air Fryer Garden Ciabatta
No-knead dough (200 g flour, 160 g water, 2 g yeast, 2 g salt, 8 g oil), stretched and folded, filled and baked at 200°C.
Ingredients
Method
Make the dough
- Put 160 g of water and 2 g of salt in a bowl. Add 2 g of yeast and stir well.
- Add 200 g of high-gluten (bread) flour and stir until no dry flour is left.
- Add 8 g of corn oil and stir until it is absorbed.
- Cover and let it stand for 30 minutes.
Stretch and fold
- Wet your hands. Stretch the dough out all around and fold it to the middle. Turn it seam side down.
- Let it sit for another 30 minutes.
- Wet your hands again, stretch the dough around, fold it in the middle and turn it seam side down. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Repeat the resting and folding process three times.
Fill and shape
- Sprinkle flour on the work surface, turn the dough out upside down and stretch it gently.
- Scatter the vegetable pieces over it, then the grilled sausage and cheese. Lay the spinach on top so it wraps the dough and the filling together.
- Gather it back into the bowl and let it rise at 38°C (100°F) for one hour.
- Sprinkle flour on the surface again, turn the dough out upside down and stretch it gently.
- Cut it into two even pieces. Gently roll each one up and pinch the edge closed.
Bake
- Put both loaves in the lined air fryer basket and let them rise in the air fryer for 30 minutes without turning it on.
- Bake at 200°C (392°F) for 18 minutes.
- Turn the loaves over and bake for another 7 minutes.
Video
Notes
No kneading. The rests and folds develop the dough for you.
Keep your hands wet when you stretch and fold. The dough is soft and sticky, and water stops it sticking to you.
No proofing setting? A warm spot in the kitchen works. It just takes a bit longer to rise.
Tips
- Weigh everything. With only 2 g of yeast and 2 g of salt, a scale makes the difference.
- Use bread flour. High-gluten flour gives ciabatta its big holes and chewy crumb.
- Don’t add flour to the dough. It’s meant to be wet. Use wet hands instead.
- Change the filling. Olives, sun-dried tomatoes, ham or just herbs all work.
Questions people ask
Can you bake bread in an air fryer?
Yes. These loaves bake at 200°C (392°F) for 18 minutes, then 7 more minutes upside down so the bottom crisps too.
Why fold the dough instead of kneading?
Each stretch and fold builds the gluten a little while the dough rests, so after three rounds it’s strong enough to hold its shape, with no kneading.
