Revised 18 October 2026; first published 2023-12-13. Original byline and URL retained.
Wheat ciabatta contains gluten. A poolish, long fermentation, or series of folds does not make a conventional wheat loaf low-gluten or gluten-free. The baker can make more precise claims about the dough: its hydration, flour, fermentation, and the way strength develops.
Hydration and flour
The published John Deacon formula uses 700 g water to 1,000 g flour, or 70% hydration. Hydration is a ratio by weight; flour properties determine how that ratio behaves. Protein quality, milling, and storage influence absorption and the dough’s ability to stretch while retaining structure.
Fermentation and strength
The recipe starts with a poolish made from flour, water, and instant baker’s yeast. The preferment develops before the final dough is mixed. Three folds at roughly 45-minute intervals help organize the dough during bulk fermentation; rest between folds allows it to relax. These are process decisions, not measures of gluten content.
Read the claim precisely
Reducing gluten in a particular bread is a composition claim that requires measurement of that bread. A 2022 comparison measured 48 breads sold in Spain and found lower average gluten and higher average fructans in the sampled long-fermented artisan breads than in the sampled short-fermentation supermarket breads. It did not test this formula or establish a health outcome.
The distinction matters: a baker can describe a 70% formula and its handling method directly. Wheat ciabatta remains a gluten-containing bread. For the ingredients and process, see the published formula; for the evidence and its limits, see bread and evidence.