Perfectly Soft & Chewy Sourdough Ciabatta Hamburger Buns

Nothing makes a hamburger better than a perfectly soft and chewy sourdough ciabatta bun! These ciabatta buns are extremely simple to make and can be used for sandwiches, burgers or enjoyed slathered with butter.

We love making Sourdough Ciabatta in this house because it only takes a couple ingredients and turns out perfect every time. These buns have perfect light and airy holes while still being that classic chewy texture.

Sourdough Ciabatta dough, requires just the main sourdough ingredients, unlike most buns. Flour, starter, water and salt are all you need. This recipe however, has the addition of some olive oil for extra flavor and tenderness. You can choose to make these with or without the olive oil, but I highly recommend adding it!

You can make a big double batch of these buns and store them in your freezer or keep them fresh on the counter for up to a week. I like to enjoy them lightly heated in the oven or toaster for ultimate softness and a perfect lightly crisp edge.

Tips For Perfect Sourdough Ciabatta

1. Use a nice and active sourdough starter at its peak. I recommend feeding your sourdough starter a 1:4:4 ratio minimum for your feed before making bread. This gives your starter tons of food to eat through, resulting in a strong starter. You will know it is at its peak when it stops growing and the top of the starter has flattened out.
2. Do a minimum of 2-3 sets of stretch and folds to help build structure in your dough. You should have bubbles forming on the surface of your dough by the end of your stretch and folds/ coil folds.
3. Be sure your dough has enough proofing time. Under proofed dough with yield dense, gummy buns. You will know it has proofed long enough once with it has roughly doubled in size, feels light to the touch and has bubbles surfacing. Typically this takes anywhere 5-8 hours depending on the temperature in your house.
4. When shaping the buns into rounds, shape them as gently as possibly to keep those nice bubbles. Wet your hands and gently shape them just until they are rounded.

Sourdough Ciabatta Hamburger Bun Ingredients

Flour- These buns can be made with unbleached all purpose flour or bread flour.

Sourdough Starter– You will want active sourdough starter for this recipe, not sourdough discard.

Water– Room temperature water is best. Use whatever water you use for your starter.

Salt- You can use whichever type of salt you usually use in your sourdough. I use pink salt.

Olive Oil– This is optional, but love the addition of olive oil in these buns for texture and a very subtle hint of flavor.

The Steps

1.Start by mixing together the water and sourdough starter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon or dough whisk.

2. Once milky and bubbly, add in the fluor, salt and olive oil. Continue to mix until a shaggy dough forms with no dry spots of flour remaining. I like to use my hands at the end to get it nicely mixed.

3. Cover the dough with a tea towel and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

4. After 30 minutes, perform your first set of stretch and folds or coil folds. Cover the bowl with the tea towel and let rest another 30 minutes.

5. Repeat step 4, 2 more times, then cover the bowl and let it rest on the counter for 5-8 hours. This all depends on the temperature of your house. You want the dough to have some light bubbles forming and be soft and not too sticky to touch. Mine takes about 7-8 hours and it is 19 degrees Celsius in my house.

6. Once the dough is proofed, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for minimum 12 hours. You can leave it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

7. An hour before you are ready to bake the buns, remove the dough from the fridge. Dump it onto the counter and cut it into 8 roughly equal size pieces.

8. Wet your hands and gently shape each piece into a round bun shape. Be gentle with the dough! You do not need to get tight tensions like when shaping a sourdough loaf. You are just mainly pushing the edges under to make them rounded.

9. Place the rounded dough balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and sprinkled with flour. Gently flour to the top of the buns before covering with a tea towel and letting rest for 1 final hour.

10. Finally, preheat the oven to 475F. Bake the buns for 10 minutes then reduce temp to 450F and bake for another 10-13 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let the buns cool for a few minutes before slicing and using for your favorite burger. Enjoy!

If you are looking for more delicious sourdough recipes to try, check out my sourdough English Muffins!

https://cmbarndominium.com/how-to-make-soft-fluffy-sourdough-english-muffins/

Let us know in the comment if you try these Sourdough Ciabatta Hamburger Buns 🙂