Mediterraner Ciabatta-Auflauf (Mediterranean ciabatta bread bake)
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Bake
- 350 g stale ciabatta, torn into 3 cm chunks rounded
- 300 g cherry tomatoes, halved rounded
- 200 g zucchini, diced rounded
- 150 g red bell pepper, diced rounded
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced rounded
- 60 ml olive oil rounded
- 5 g dried oregano rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
- 150 g mozzarella, torn rounded
- 15 g fresh basil (optional) rounded
Method
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C. Toss the torn ciabatta, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, pepper and garlic with the olive oil, oregano and a good pinch of salt in a baking dish, spreading evenly.
- Bake 12 minutes, until the vegetables have started to soften and the bread edges are lightly toasted.
- Scatter the mozzarella over the top. Bake a further 6 to 8 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the bread is crisp at the edges but still soft in the centre.
- Tear fresh basil over before serving, if using.
Notes
- Use genuinely stale bread, at least a day or two old. Fresh bread has too much moisture and structure to hold up in the oven; it turns to a soggy mass instead of absorbing the tomato juices while keeping some bite.
- Do not skip tossing the bread in oil before baking. A dry chunk of bread stays hard and chalky; coated in oil, it toasts properly at the edges while softening in the middle.
- This is a good way to use up bread that would otherwise be thrown away, and the vegetables can flex depending on what is in the fridge.
- It is best eaten fresh from the oven; it does not reheat particularly well, since the bread’s texture depends on being served straight away.
Ingredient substitutions
- Ciabatta can be any rustic, open-crumbed bread; a tight-crumbed sandwich loaf does not work as well here.
- Zucchini and pepper can be any vegetables that roast in a similar time; mushrooms and red onion both work.
- Mozzarella can be any good melting cheese; a scattering of feta on top after baking is a good, sharper alternative.