Bread, Ciabatta
Introduction
Ciabatta is an Italian baked white bread with a thin, crisp crust, a pale chewy inside full of large, uneven holes, and an oblong, slipper-like shape. It’s made from a simple dough — wheat flour (often strong bread flour), water, salt, yeast or a preferment, and sometimes olive oil.
Originally made in the 1980s by Arnaldo Cavallari in Veneto as an Italian answer to the French baguette, ciabatta follows older rustic Italian bread traditions.
How it differs from sandwich bread: higher water content and longer fermentation give a more open, airy crumb and chewier texture; the crust is thinner and crisper; olive oil can add flavour and softness. The pale inside comes from refined flour and lighter browning; the crust’s colour comes from baking and some caramelisation.
Nutrition: mainly carbohydrates (starch), some protein from gluten, and small amounts of fat (more if olive oil is used). Micronutrients are like other refined wheat breads: B vitamins, some iron (often fortified), and small amounts of minerals; fibre is low unless wholemeal flour is used.
Nutrition Snapshot per 100g
Kcal nn kcal
Protein nn g | nn %
Fat nn g | nn %
Carbohydrates nn g | nn %
Percentages reflect this food’s Balance*
Fibre nn g
Total Sugars nn g
Saturated Fat nn g
Salt nn mg
Nutritional values are per 100g and sourced from UK CoFID data.
Carbohydrates value includes Fibre (AOAC method).
Carbohydrates value includes Total Sugars including naturally occurring sugars such as glucose, fructose, lactose or sucrose.
Balance*
The Balance value expresses how protein, carbohydrate and fat contribute to a food’s total energy.
Using CoFID data per 100g, each macronutrient is converted into energy using the standard Atwater convention (protein × 4 kcal, carbohydrate × 4 kcal, fat × 9 kcal). The energy from each macronutrient is then calculated as a percentage of the total macro energy.
This provides a simple way to see whether a food is predominantly carbohydrate-based, protein-based or fat-based.
It does not determine whether a food is “good” or “bad”, but helps visualise its macronutrient profile within a broader eating pattern.
When assessing a full meal or daily intake, portion sizes should be taken into account.
Why this matters
Understanding the structure of individual foods can help you make more confident decisions when adjusting to a health diagnosis or long-term condition.
If you are organising meals, tracking intake or reflecting on patterns, you may find the Aardelia digital journals helpful.