ciabatta

American  

[chuh-bah-tuh, chah-baht-tah] / tʃəˈbɑ tə, tʃɑˈbɑt tɑ /

noun

1. a slightly flattened Italian yeast bread made with olive oil and having large air pockets within.

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ciabatta British  

/ tʃəˈbætə /

noun

1. a type of open-textured bread made with olive oil

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Etymology

Origin of ciabatta

1985-90; < Italian: literally, slipper

Explanation

Ciabatta is a broad, flat Italian bread that's deliciously chewy and great for sandwiches. Ciabatta is a relatively recent invention, developed by a baker in 1982 to be the Italian version of the baguette. These two loaves couldn't look more different; unlike the long French bread, ciabatta is boxy and flat (though not as flat as focaccia). They're both crusty on the outside and soft inside, but ciabatta is made with a wet dough that gives it lots of distinctive air holes. In Italian, ciabatta literally means "carpet slipper."

Example Sentences

A new bakery cafe has just opened, offering ciabatta and sourdough loaves as well as hot cross buns, syrupy cakes, vegetable quiches and of course coffee.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2025

Tear the ciabatta into big, rough chunks, about 1 1/2-inches large.

From Washington Times • Jul. 20, 2023

These footlong hoagies are overstuffed, with the melted cheese binding the fillings to keep them from falling out of the ciabatta bread.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2022

Brush the interior of the ciabatta rolls lightly with some of the dressing and place cut-side down on the grill pan or the hot grill until they are toasted with light grill marks.

From Washington Post • Jun. 28, 2022

Our favorite way to show our love for garlic is by cooking the largest loaf of ciabatta bread that we possibly can and then spreading it with the garlickiest garlic butter.

From Salon • May 16, 2022