The ciabatta we see in South Africa are really not the same as the Italian ones. They are too big, too tall and just too fat.

The Motherdough Ciabatta is closer to the traditional slipper shape of this famous Italian bread. Traditionally this is a sandwich bread, conceptualised by an Italian baker in 1982 to compete with the French baguette.

Typically it should be sliced through the middle horizontally and then filled like a sandwich. It has a soft flexible crust and an airy but chewy crumb. Because of the type of crust it tends to get a bit hard if toasted for too long.

Shelf life: 2 days

Freezes well, but crust may get hard if reheated too long.