Any Italian restaurant in America better be serving me some pre-meal bread. And the ultimate free bread basket is a warm, sliced loaf of ciabatta accompanied by an herbaceous olive oil pool for dipping. Ciabatta and Italian food go hand in hand, but it wasn’t always the case. Here’s a nice slice of history for this iconic loaf.

What is ciabatta bread?
Ciabatta is a white bread loaf, notable for its hard crust and soft, porous interior that resembles a slice of Swiss cheese (here’s why Swiss cheese has holes, BTW, if you were wondering). The name comes from the Italian word for slipper, a nod to the overall look and shape of the loaf. I’ve tried wearing ciabatta bread as slippers before, highly recommended.