‘The Great British Baking Show’ “Bread Week”: What Are Ciabatta Breadsticks?

The Great British Baking Show committed slander against breadsticks during “Bread Week” this year in more ways than one. Judge Paul Hollywood asked the bakers to bake one of his own creations, ciabatta breadsticks, for the dreaded Technical Challenge. If “ciabatta breadsticks” sound counter-intuitive — as ciabatta is a soft, chewy, loaf-y bread — and breadsticks are snacks, then guess what? Many of the contestants were confused, too. In fact, the prevailing mood in the tent seemed to be less stress and more frustration. More than one baker moaned that no one even likes breadsticks and host Noel Fielding joked that the whole challenge was pointless.

No matter how you feel about breadsticks — and for the record, I love them — this was a confounding challenge. And the results proved that. From completely raw dough to perfectly twisted breadsticks, the “Bread Week” Technical Challenge was sheer chaos. Entertaining chaos, but chaos nonetheless.

But perhaps the root of all this chaos is the recipe itself. Are ciabatta breadsticks a real thing? The Great British Baking Show seems to think so! Here’s everything you need to know about The Great British Baking Show “Bread Week” Technical Challenge, ciabatta breadsticks…

The Great British Baking Show: What Are Ciabatta Breadsticks?

So this is a great question! Because the internet is telling me a lot of different things. You see, I know what ciabatta is. It’s a chewy Italian bread. Love it with a pesto chicken sandwich. I also know what breadsticks are. They are typically long, sometimes hard/sometimes chewy baked snacks that you munch on while waiting for your main course at an old school Italian restaurant. Olive Garden’s are clutch. What I was hitherto unfamiliar with was a ciabatta breadstick hybrid and it seems…so is everyone else not named Paul Hollywood.

While you can buy pre-maid “ciabatta breadsticks” from UK retailers like Sainsbury’s, they tend to look more like sliced ciabatta. Paul Hollywood’s are they’re own Frankensteined bake, using the ciabatta technique to make thinner, longer rolls intended for single-serve consumption.

So no wonder the bakers were confused!

How to Make Ciabatta Breadsticks: Free Recipes Online

As always, our first port of call in this culinary storm is the official Great British Baking Show website. Lo and behold, they have Paul Hollywood’s very own ciabatta breadstick recipe from the show. Note that you’ll need strong bread flour, green queen olives, and manchego cheese. Paul’s recipe doesn’t include the nifty twist that Giuseppe added, but if it were us, we’d follow Giuseppe‘s lead on this one. After all, he’s the Italian Baking Stallion.

Funnily enough…I had trouble finding any other ciabatta breadstick recipe that looked like Paul’s. So, good for you, Paul. I think you invented a new bread.

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