Monday, November 12, 2012

Fresh, Homemade Bread - Every Day!

A homemade loaf from my oven, baked by this method
.A few years back, I stumbled upon a GREAT bread cookbook, and a great blog to go with it. Being a frugal person, I checked the book out from the library the first time I used it. It was so amazing that I have since bought SEVERAL copies of it, and I regularly visit the authors' blog.

Really, once you have tried their the method - which they share on their Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day website - a few times, you might do what I did - donate your bread machine!

Personally, I'm not sure why other bread-book authors are out there. These guys have done it!

These recipes allow me to have homemade yeast bread on the table at virtually every meal, with almost no work. Boule, Foccacia, Naan, Pita, Pizza - it's all fresh from MY kitchen. And, it costs about 40cents/pound : )

I have control over all the ingredients - nothing yucky in my bread that I don't want there!

And, they have great recipes for Gluten Free Bread & Pizza Crusts, Whole Wheat Bread (I frequently make that one, too) and lots of other yummy stuff. Like Cinnamon Rolls : )

I use a slightly different baking method. The authors of the book & website allow their bread to rise on a board, then transfer it onto a preheated pizza stone. I prefer to use a perforated, non-stick pizza pan for rising & baking - no preheating of the pan is necessary, and there's no risk of a clumsy cook dumping a loaf of dough on the bottom of the oven ; ) Best of all, it still turns out a delicious, artisan loaf.

The perfect container to mix and store the dough? A brand new plastic shoe box from the Dollar Store! 

Check out their blog - and seriously consider buying one or more of their books!

Here's the link to their wonderful recipe & method:

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day 

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10 comments:

  1. This is the book that I have used ("Artisan Bread Every Day by Peter Reinhard...who is Orthodox, also got from the library): http://catalog.cincinnatilibrary.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2692958__Sartisan%20bread%20every__Orightresult__X1?lang=eng&suite=cobalt

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  2. I realized after posting this that the link I put in the article may not be so easy to find (it's behind the word "method") - so here's the link all by itself http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/

    I checked out your link last night, Martha : ) I read a bunch of the amazon reviews, and ordered it from the library.

    This method has many less steps that then Reinhart method and it turns out - hands down - the tastiest bread I have ever eaten (although my sister's Challah & rye are amazing, too). I really like that this method is super-efficient and gives me 4 loaves' worth of dough to use throughout the week - for pizza, foccacia, naan, loaves, whatever. And, it *really does* take 5 minutes a day!

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  3. I just discovered my link was broken. Instead of pointing to the individual post that has the great directions, it only posted to the (also great) daily blog entry. Here's the right link http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/02/09/back-to-basics-tips-and-techniques-to-create-a-great-loaf-in-5-minutes-a-day

    (I also updated the links page)

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  4. Wow, another great collection of meal plans from around the world. I love trying recipes from other cultures and making my meals in batches too. I'm interested in making my own bread from scratch as I've heard it's healthier and have just read all your posts on bread. I was just wondering if you can use this 5 minute technique with whole wheat flour?
    Thank you so much for sharing this week Healthy Vegan Fridays: http://www.greenthickies.com/healthy-vegan-fridays
    Have a great weekend and I hope to see you back again on Friday, Katherine :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for stopping by!
      You can absolutely make it with Whole Wheat Flour! I do regularly, tho I prefer WW Naan to WW loaf bread : ) You can use the link here http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/2012/12/homemade-whole-wheat-naan-without-dairy.html or, for 100% Whole Wheat, there is a great recipe in their book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. WW bread has slightly different proportions of flour & water than does white in this method, and the recipe calls for some Vital Wheat Gluten - which really is "vital" for a good textured loaf, pardon the pun : )

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  5. Girly, thank you and thank you. I want to make bread tomorrow and I stumbled upon your post. I'm so excited because I haven't made bread in 15 years.

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    Replies
    1. Glad you found it! This bread is amazing. I so admire the ingenuity of the people who created this recipe : )

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    2. I made it and it taste great but it doesn't look like yours LOL.

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    3. So glad you tried it & got tasty bread! : ) That makes me happy!

      Their book has a page of great troubleshooting ideas (like if the holes in your bread are too big, or if it flattens - what to adjust). My loaves haven't always turned out beautiful, but they've always been delicious!

      With a little more practice & minor adjustments, it will turn out pretty, too.

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  6. If I were new to bread baking, I'd definitely get this book, Anna. But I've been making all kinds of bread since childhood, so I've pretty much got it down, including gluten-free and true wild yeast sourdough. I've never had a bread machine. Homemade bread is so much better, it makes store-bought bread seem really bad!

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