I own a cookbook that has a recipe titled “Best and Easiest Home-Baked Bread.” The recipe has you mix up a starter and let it sit 2 to 8 hours; make a sponge and let it rise 4 to 8 hours; knead more flour into the sponge to form a dough (by hand, mixer or food processor); let that dough rise an hour; turn it out into a bowl or basket so the loaf can rise; heat the oven to 500 degrees and put cornmeal on a baking stone; slash the loaf — and bake. The next time you want bread, do it again.
Don’t get me wrong. That makes a good loaf of bread. But I think I’ve REALLY found the easiest and best way to make the easiest and best bread — not to mention pizza, sweet rolls and other things I haven’t even discovered yet.
My new method is a hybrid of the no-knead bread I wrote about last year, and the methods described in the wonderful cookbook Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. The latter has all the information you need to make many different varieties of bread, from bialies to whole-grain to sweets to … you name it. Honestly, I haven’t delved completely into the book, because I have been hung up on the perfect bread.
Read to the end to win a free, autographed copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day!
Where the melding comes in is in the baking process. Artisan Bread in Five calls for you to put the loaf on a stone, spritz the oven, etc. Those steps make for a great bread, and for a special loaf I’m willing to do them. But for every day, I find all those steps so time-consuming (and likely to burn my clumsy hands) that years ago, I gave up and started buying my bread at Costco.
But by combining the two, I haven’t bought a loaf of bread in weeks and weeks.
The only caveat: You must mix it one day and bake it on another day. The days don’t have to be consecutive, but you do need to give the dough time to grow.
Here’s how to do it:
Mixing day:
1. Get a container that can hold several quarts of dough. This is a 2-gallon plastic container with a lid, from Wal-Mart. I contemplated using a glass jar (perhaps my old pickle crock that has no pickles in it), but the dimensions of this one mean it takes up little space in the fridge.
Add ingredients as follows:
- 3 cups of warm water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt
- 6 1/2 cups of flour. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour. I usually bake bread with bread flour, which is a higher-protein flour that typically makes longer strands of gluten. And I like a little bit of whole-grain tooth. For this recipe, I’ve generally been using 1 cup of whole wheat flour (ours is stone-ground and quite rough), 1 1/2 cups of bread flour, and 4 cups of all-purpose flour. Experiment with mixtures you like.
(The book describes a mnemonic device to remember quantities: 6-3-3-13. That stands for {*EDITED* to be correct! Thx Jessie!} 6 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of yeast, 3 tablespoons of salt, and 13 cups of flour. HALVE this for one batch of dough … or make a huge batch in a bigger container.)
2. Stir up the ingredients until everything is damp. If you live in a dry climate and your flour seems exceptionally dry, add a little bit more water (a couple of tablespoons). Don’t worry about being super thorough — overmixing isn’t necessary. This should take about 2 minutes.
3. Put it in the refrigerator. Overnight is good. A full day is great. Up to a week or two should be OK. This is what it will look like after it’s been chilling and rising:
Baking day:
1. Get the dough out of the fridge. You’ll want a nice, peaceful, nonstick surface for your dough to rise on. I like to use a Silpat mat — it is nonstick, nontoxic, reusable, heat safe, and flexible for easy dough-dumping. (I got mine 10 years ago at New York Cake & Pastry, which is stamped on the mat, making them a useful souvenir of my time cooking in NYC.) If you don’t have a Silpat, you can use the counter, a towel or a small plate or cutting board.
2. Dust your rising surface with a good coat of flour. Any kind will do.
3. Pull off a hunk of dough. Again, the book gives fabulous guidelines: A piece the size of a grapefruit is about a pound. A piece the size of a cantaloupe is about 1 1/2 lbs. I use a piece probably closer to 2 pounds — the size of a really big cantaloupe, or maybe a somewhat petite honeydew. The book suggests cutting the dough; mine usually tears easily and doesn’t require cutting.
Set the dough on the floured surface. Flour your hands. Shape the wad of dough into a round loaf just like this:
4. Cover the dough with a towel and let it nap for a while. How long it rises will depend on how warm your kitchen is. An hour is sufficient if it’s warm (75-80 degrees and up). My kitchen is usually freezing (60-62 degrees), so I leave it out about 2 to 3 hours.
5. About 25 minutes before you want to start baking the bread, put your covered heatproof pan in the oven and turn the oven on to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. (My pan is a Williams-Sonoma covered cast-iron Dutch oven skillet that my co-worker Jill, God bless her, gave me in 1992.) I like to put the pan in the oven when I start the bread rising, long before I turn the oven on; otherwise, I am prone to forget it and just heat the oven sans pan. We leave our pizza stone in the oven all the time, so that’s the surface that you see under the pan.
6. When the oven is preheated, uncover your dough. It doesn’t look too much different — just a little bit taller, softer and more refreshed after its rising “nap.”
7. I bend the edges of the Silpat around the dough to shake as much flour close to the dough as I can to minimize the mess. Take the pan out of the oven (careful! It’s SO hot) and remove the lid. Carefully dump the dough into the pan. What was the bottom will be on top, with some rough edges showing. That’s OK! It will all work out in the end.
8. Bake for about 30 minutes. Then open the oven, take off the lid, and let the bread keep on baking for about 20 minutes longer. (Notice how those rough edges have made a gorgeous crown on the bread.)
9. It comes out of the oven brown and amazing!
10. Gently (and carefully!) tip the bread out of the pan and let the bread cool completely on a rack.
12. Slice it and enjoy the texture. It should be moist, chewy and crusty — perfect for toast, sandwiches or just scarfing down with butter. (For the butter, check out this post.)
Please note that it has probably taken you almost as long to read this post as to make the bread!
Tip: For breads with a firm crust like this, you don’t even have to wrap them up to store them for a day or so. Just set them with the sliced edge down on a clean cutting board and slice as needed.
What else can you do with this dough?
The short answer: What do you want to do?
So far, we’ve used it for:
- Sandwich bread. Instead of forming a boule, stretch the dough into a rectangle, about 8″x10″, with your hands. Roll it up from one short end and place in a greased loaf pan to rise. Bake (by itself at 375F, or pop it into the oven with the boule) for about 40 minutes. Knock on it to see if it’s done — if it sounds hollow, it’s ready. Brush the top with butter or oil before or right after baking if you want a non-ashy finish.
- Pizza. Mr. Cheap is a champion pizza maker, and this dough makes the best (and easiest!) pizza dough ever. No starting dough after work (even though that is fast). Just grab a lump from the fridge, roll it out flat, top it and pop it in the oven, either on a pizza pan or using a peel and sliding it onto a stone.
- Little rolls from the last bit in the container.
- Baguettes – stretch the dough into a rectangle, roll it up from the long side, pinch the bottom together, elongate the ends and let rise in a baguette pan. Slash the top (I think I forgot with the ones in the photo!) and bake at 450F for about 25 minutes. (For this one, because the steam won’t be trapped inside the Dutch oven, and a crispy, firm crust is necessary, I did use a water bath in the bottom of the oven. The steam helps form a hard crust and seal moisture into the loaf. Fill a metal pie pan with about 1″ of water and place it on the bottom rack when you preheat the oven.)
- And of course, I made the pecan rolls from the book. They’re as good as they look!
Then what do you do?
This might be the best part: When you use up the last bit of dough, you … start again.
No washing the container. No scrubbing little bits of sticky bread-dough goo out of the bowl, out of your sponge or brush, out of the sink.
And on about my fifth batch, the container has begun to develop a faint, wonderful sourdough aroma. No-hassle sourdough? That’s phenomenal! Just begin again with the ingredients, mix it together, and wait for your dough to get more and more delicious.
(but please note: If you forget your dough, or your container with dough in it begins to develop any suspicious colors, aromas, etc., please do wash and sanitize the container and start ALL over.)
The only drawback?
I’m afraid we’re spoiling our 7-year-old and creating a bread-snob monster. This week, I found a loaf of store-bought sandwich bread in the freezer and brought it in to use up in toast and sandwiches. Yesterday, her lunchbox returned home with what looked like her sandwich … minus the innards — just the two half-slices of bread resting neatly together in her box, the cheese gone from inside.
“What’s up with the bread?” I asked. “You didn’t like your sandwich?”
“The cheese was good,” she answered. “But the bread … I really didn’t like it. It was neither warm, nor crusty.”
So parents, beware — but I think the price is worth the suffering.
Enter the giveaway
The Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook includes information on how to make a same-day loaf, rye bread, bread with nuts, seeds or other goodies, whole wheat bread, corn bread, flatbreads — and a lot of great-looking recipes using those doughs. It also includes all the details you need to bake perfect bread yourself.
Want a copy? Leave a comment below by the end of the day Wednesday, March 18, and you’ll be entered in the random drawing to win a free, autographed copy of the book from the authors, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois! Be sure to include an e-mail address, either in your login or your comment itself, so we can contact you if you’re the winner!
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I’ve used the master recipe from Mother Earth News, and I am dying to have a copy of the book! My kids have become quite the “bread snobs” as well.
So cute.
I am looking forward to trying this!!
love the pics of the bread and your detailed instructions. I love baking bread but have not had any success with those silly bread machines. I am looking excited to try this!
I make bread in a bread machine. This method is great because there is always dough ready to bake. The bread is delicious!
Thanks for the recipe. I bought a bread maker recently for the convenience of it but I find it just doesn’t give the best results. I am going to try this on my days off on the weekend. Thanks again.
I thought I had perfected making bread in my bread machine, but this method is even easier, and tastes GREAT! We always eat it hot from the oven, although the recipe says it’s better cool. Put cold butter on it for the best treat!
As have many others, I started baking my own bread with the New York Times no-knead recipe. It is such a successful formula that it has made me lazy and reluctant to try other methods. Your photos and writeup are very persuasive – I am going to try it this coming weekend.
I love love love this bread. Just made a loaf last night and have been telling my mom, mother-in-law and sister about the joys of making our own breads, so I would love to be able to win a copy to give to one of them!!
I have never every tasted a bread machine loaf I have liked…the crust is too blah…I don’t know. It just never tastes like the other loaves that come from the oven. This bread always has a fabulous crust and I like that you can make it in large batches, unlike the No-Knead recipe, which is also fabulous and always impressive too!
Wow! I just reserved the book at my library and can’t wait to read and use the book, but would love to win my own copy.
Now you’re making my mouth water!! I would love a copy of this book!!
I just read about this book yesterday and am going to check with the library later today. I made bread and rolls many years ago but haven’t had the time for several years now. To have bread dough in the fridge and to just take some out and make bread or pizza, etc. whenever you want sounds wonderful. My son is getting married in November and I am thinking about getting them this book as a wedding or shower gift. I would be thrilled to win this book.
Wow! Thank you!! These look amazing and I can’t wait to give them a try. We have been playing with making some pizza doughs for a few months now and I am excited to try a boule!
Oh they all look so tasty!
I have been looking for a simpler way to bake bread at home for some time now. This looks like the way to go!
Dave
Fantastic! Can’t wait to give this a try in my kitchen!
I can’t wait to try it! I hate kneading bread, but love fresh baked. This will be a life saver.
Great, I’ll think I’ll try it! Thanks
We are so thrilled to have read about your recipe in MEN and followed up on the website. This is amazingly easy and we have (this morning) just enjoyed our first loaf. I am never buying store-bought bread again!
I LOVE to make homemade bread… this looks like a book I need!! Please enter me to win. Thanks!!
Your instructions were fantastic, and very thorough. I got here from Cheapskate Monthly and Mary Hunt raved about this book, and how great it was. If I can win it, great! My previous attempts at baking bread were comedies of errors, so I gave up. But, your complete descriptions and instructions have given me confidence to try again!
thank you so much!
Yea!!! Finally a way to put my big cast-iron Dutch oven to work! Thanks for the idea. Now I want to try the pizza dough… I can already tell that I’ve got to have this book.
I would love to win a copy of this book. Thanks for the pictures of the different ways to shape the bread.
I borrowed the book from the library after being on the hold list for 2 months. I could only use it for 2 weeks because so many people put a hold on it, and i won’t be able to get it back until everyone has had it at least once. Using the Master Recipe for baguettes and the Chris Kimball inspired sandwich loaf, i’m supplying bread to my sons’ households as well as mine. Being able to bake immediately after work is a great blessing because no one is at home full-time.
Wonderful post! Thank you for sharing this information. I’ve been baking my own bread since January, and this sounds so much easier!
One Question: My daughter likes me to make Pita-style pocket bread. Can this be done with the bread mix? Would you have to do anything differently?
Thanks!
This looks great! I can’t wait to try it.
I would love to explore these recipes further – I’ve been trying to make the dough with different combinations of whole wheat and reg. flour – but it seems like the dough starts getting ‘funky’ after a week- I live by ‘If in doubt, throw it out’ – and have dumped a few half used batches in the past two weeks. Any suggestions? Besides use it up in a week? Anyway, I’d love to get that cookbook!
Thanks,
Jenny
Oh my gosh!!! This book makes me wish the nearest bookstore wasn’t two hours away (and that is just to get there!)!
Yummy posts!
Wendy
I have made more than 200 loaves (boules, couronne, etc.) now from the book, ARTISAN BREADS IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY. I bought myself the book for Christmas and made my first loaf on Feb 3, 2009. Last Sunday, March 8, 2009, I entered the Afternoon on the Green at the University of the Virgin Islands which has about 200 cooks entered and I displayed 16 different flavors and styles of your ARTISAN BREADS. I have photos. Many came back for seconds and thirds and brought their friends. Most asked if I had a shop or a bakery.
The local online newspaper gave some great coverage to my breads.
http://www.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d&i=&s=News:Local&p=1223616015
The editor tried them and wants to purchase them. She said, “I REALLY! want to purchase some. ” Another said, “I am opening up a bakery and I want those breads!” Another Artist type shop in an Artist Colony wants to sell my breads.
One owner of a Natural Food Store gave me some Steel Cut Oats and a large amount of Turbinado (also known as Evaporated Cane Juice and some call it rough raw sugar). I soaked the steel cut oats overnight. I used the basic recipe but added the oats, some turbinado, a little honey, substituted a cup whole wheat. It turned out great! Patrons at UVI loved it. I love the Couronne and made it with Thyme. It displays so well! One man wanted the whole thing and it was like losing a friend (the couronne).
I mailed loaves to my family and friends and now they and my husband are bread snobs and want more of course. I have also donated some for charitable events and military.
I experimented with different pans and one time I had some whole garlic dough left over from shaping some bread, so I put the rest in some ball pans (metal half shaped ball or the silcone “Poach Pod”) and they came out like balls, the size and look of tennis balls. I drew some lines on one and placed it beside a real tennis ball and it was hard to tell the difference. Another one kind of opened up (like cracked from the pressure), but it was on the side and a piece of whole garlic was sticking out the side. I looked at that piece sideways and it looked like a tongue sticking out of it. Like Pac Man! OMG! It is so cute! I added a couple of sliced black olives for the eyes and named it “PAC MAN LIVES!” I put PAC MAC on the UVI display and several wanted to buy it, especially the children. I don’t sell my bread. This UVI event was a fundraiser for the University and I just donate my bread. The patrons buy tickets for $2.00 each and are able to purchase samples of everything for a ticket. There are over 200 cooks involved. I didn’t sell the PAC MAN, but am now thinking of shaping/sculpting more bread for the fun of it.
Why did I start? I had tasted a great Ciabatta or other elongated shaped loaf of bread, with whole pieces of garlic in it, in the States a couple of years ago. I LOVED IT! My husband loved it. I couldn’t find it anywhere on this Caribbean island I live on. One store did bring in some frozen ones and on special request baked it for me. But I had to drive almost an hour and half in traffic (yes horrible traffic on this little island) across to the other end of the island. The loaf was $7.95! My husband and I could eat the whole loaf at one sitting with some tomatoes at $6.95 a pound and some cheese at $16.00 a pound and up. Then the store didn’t carry it any more. So, I started thinking of making it myself. I made bread every week as a child growing up in New England (Maine). I baked a lot. I was into baking and decorating beautiful cakes for celebrations, plus lots of fudges, brittles, candies, etc. I gave boxes away to friends and family at Christmas, also to Military overseas.
At Christmas time, I was looking for a specific cake pan for an upcoming wedding I was planning. I was browsing all the books for wedding cake ideas(thousands of photos). I was purchasing some books. At the same time, I was researching online for some recipes for this whole garlic bread. I started looking at bread machines, including the VERY expensive ones from Switzerland. I was comparing the reviews, the 1 lb. loaf, 1 1/2-2 lb loaves, etc. I just wanted some tasty bread but was a little unwilling to spend hundreds of dollars at this time.
Then I saw the ad for ARTISAN BREADS IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY. Yeah, right! On Amazon I was able to read many pages. I loved their stories. I dreamed and longed for some of New England and the smells and tastes of fresh bread. “IF”, and it was a big “IF”, one could TRULY make fresh bread in only five minutes a day AND without any bread machines or hardly any other equipment, I might give it a try. I was skeptical but hopeful. I ordered the book in San Diego, where I was with family for the holidays, on Dec 23 and had it shipped to the Virgin Islands where I live. I know things take a long time, but this book took over a month to arrive. Since it was a big “IF” anyway, I really didn’t mind too much. The anticipation was comforting. I didn’t want to pop my possible dream.
The book arrived at the end of January and I read it from cover to cover, at least the first five chapters as recommended. I was quite frustrated with the index, some editing problems, some small errors, and the layout of the book, but my taste buds and possibility of baking some fresh whole garlic bread kept me going. I didn’t even start with the basic Master recipe. I went right into the Garlic Potato bread on page 118-199. BTW, You won’t find it in the index under “G” for garlic, but under “R” for Roasted Garlic Potato Bread.
If this concept didn’t work, then I would just set the book aside and chalk it up to another ‘sales pitch’ for a product which did not work as advertised. Ho hum.
My Roasted Potato Bread came out FANTASTIC! I WAS IN SHOCK AND IN LOVE! In love with the bread and kinda the world. I almost couldn’t believe it! I almost cried, it was so good! And the smells in the kitchen and the home…..ahhh! My husband was so pleased!
That success started me baking every day, trying out everything. I decided that my goal was to make all of the photos, which I have accomplished except for the brioche because I cannot purchase any brioche pans on island and the suppliers I have contacted so far will not ship to the Virgin Islands. I have photos of all the breads I have made.
My other goal was to make all the different doughs in the book. Unfortunately, there is no list in the index, so I had to make up my own. So far I have come up with 26 different doughs and haven’t even really studied a couple of chapters so there may be more. I am about half way through the list. Some of the ingredients are not available on island, so will have to pick up some when in the states. The problem is that I keep doing repeats! I love them so much and my friends and family love them so much that I keep doing repeats. Each time though I experiment with different flavors, or shapes, or variations using the same dough. I would like to think I have a favorite, but each new one I make seems to outrank the previous ones!
I love the fact that I CAN make up the dough, even a double batch, in about five minutes, and that includes washing the spoon and measuring cup. I do all mine by hand, bake on a stone, and sometimes in mini, medium, 1 lb. 1 1/2 lb. or 2lb. loaf pans, oh, and the ball pans. I have used a cookie sheet without sides for a pizza peel, and another half sheet upside down for a ‘resting’ place for breads waiting for the stone.
I love the olive oil dough. It seems so smooth and it seems to ALWAYS come out perfect no matter what shape or recipe I am using. I make double batches of it and then make Olive Bread, Sun Dried Tomato and Parmesan, Roasted Red Pepper Fougasse, and more.
I am having problems finding refrigerator storage for all the doughs I want to make. I only have one refrigerator. The containers take up a lot of space. I use a a 5 qt lidded square from a Restaurant Supply or 5 qt round Tupperware canister, or a large mixing bowl for the master recipe. I use a 12 quart lidded round for the double batch, and a 4.2 qt square tall Lock and Lock for a half batch. I love the 4.2 L&L because it solves space problems, howver, I tried making a double batch of the Master recipe in the 12 qt. container. I waited until it had risen and fallen. I then tried separating it into a couple of the 4.2 qt L&L and a smaller one because I wanted to use the 12 qt to make another double batch to get ready for the UVI event. I did not lock the sides. The dough fit perfectly so I put the containers in the fridge standing all nice and tall and compact with the small one on top of another. Unfortunately, a few hours later, I looked into the fridge, and what a disaster! The dough had oozed out the tops of the tall ones and dripped down the sides and all over the fridge. The small one on the bottom popped up at a 45 degree angle, forcing the container on top to tip over with most of the contents slithering down on items in the fridge and lid of the top container with wet, but now kinda dried crusted dough on it, forced into the door of the fridge. I cleaned up that mess, took out dough from the containers and put it in another container, leaving several inches at the top of the containers, salvaging a majority of the dough. I went to bed, but got up and worked on the computer for a few hours until I was exhausted and had to go to bed. I went for a drink of cold water from the fridge, and lorn, behold, it did it again! All over the fridge…again. I just closed the door and went to bed.
At this point, I didn’t know what would happen with this dough. I don’t know much about analyzing yeast and rising capacities, scientific properties, using specific weights and measures etc. I just wanted to bake some bread. Since it was a double batch orignally, it was probably at least eight pounds of dough or would make 8 1 lb. loaves. So, I still probably had enough dough to make about 6 lbs (6 loaves), but how would it react? Would it/they rise/raise? Economically, I just couldn’t throw out that much dough. So, I just experimented. I put some of the dough in mini and medium loaf pans, some in the ball pans, and the rest in a 2-2 1/2 lb loaf aluminum foil pan. I put the pans right on top of the baking stone. I had to watch the cooking times as four different sizes were being baked. As soon as they became brown and had little black tips (as instructed in the book), I took them out. The 2-2 1/2lb in the aluminum foil pan took what seemed like forever. I checked it twice, turned off the oven, both times underbaked and had to turn the oven back on (it was only a few minutes) and left it to bake for 10 more minutes. The bottom and sides were not browned, so I kept it out of the aluminum pan and put it on the bottom rack of the oven to brown, and just turned off the over, again. I went on my computer and about 20 minutes later, I was smelling the bread, but kind of a burning smell. I thought maybe it was some flour on the stone, but went and checked anyway. I found that I had NOT turned off the oven and the bottom of the bread was brown alright, it was black! So now, I had salvaged the dough, but what would I do with this huge heavy 2-2 1/2 lb loaf which was burned on the bottom and a little on the top. I waited a day to make a decision. I decided to try and cut off the bottom and see what it looked like inside. I cut some off the bottom and some off the top. It was fine, great inside! But would it TASTE burned? My brave husband, who loves the breads, sliced it, tasted it and smiled. I did too. It was fine, not just okay, but great! No crust to speak of, but still great. I really couldn’t believe it!
I never would have tried that, had I not read all the tips in the book for ‘salvaging’ (to me that means money and time) bread, like storing it cut side down, water in the microwave to soften ‘stale’ bread, the croutons (seasoned?), the bread crumbs, even the Altus for the stale rye bread to use in Pumpernickel bread, and of course the bread pudding. We don’t have very much stale bread. I want to make a “Nutty Bread Pudding” recipe which I picked up at the UVI Afternoon on the Green. It had lots of raisins and was loaded with nuts throughout the pudding and on top. It tasted divine. It might be awhile before I can make it though.
I loved the book for its innovativeness and encouraging the readers to innovate. I have tried things I never would have tried if I had not been encouraged by the book. I usually am involved in strict structure and explicit details. The basic structure of breads is given, but the variables are almost endless! The book encourages us, the readers, to try our imaginations and not to fear the consequences. A majority of the time, everything will be okay. So what if the bread is little underdone, or overdone, or too high or too low, the dough too dry, the dough too wet, the crust soft, the crust hard, one uses a bowl, a square, a circle, tall or short, wide or thin, a pot, a baking stone, a dutch oven, a terra cotta dish, a loaf pan, a baking sheet, a silpat, a spoon, a mixer, or a machine, the fact is that whatever comes out is usually JUST GOOD BREAD!
I have been able to share those ‘salvage’ ideas with the particpants from UVI, plus friends and family. They love the idea of saving money from saving bread. I feel this whole baking of bread has become my spiritual mission for ‘breaking bread’. This island is sooooo poor and the people are so sweet. I am sharing this physical bread with them and at the same time teaching them HOW to make their own new bread and salvage old bread. When I tell them that they can do this with only a spoon and a bucket and a heating source with only four ingredients, they almost don’t believe me. But, they have the hope in their eyes, like I did, when I bought the book. BTW, Alton Brown, on the Food Network program Good Eats, bakes his bread on a plant terra cotta dish/tray (the one the pot sits on), upside down in his oven. I just saw on this post about cooking the bread in a dutch oven, and a big cast iron pot. I have one of those round convection ovens you see on tv ads. I will try bake some ibreads in that. I will let all know how it turns out.
I will try and finish all the rest of the recipes in the book. I will probably start little exhibitions here on island, teaching, gratuitously, groups of people how to make these wonderful breads.
Warm fresh bread brings comfort; comfort brings hope; hope is anticipation of goodness. Sharing bread brings humanity. Goodness and Humanity are so needed in this world, our community, and in our homes.
SO, I THANK YOU JEFF HERZTBERG AND ZOE FRANCOIS AND ALL THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO BRINGING THIS BOOK ABOUT. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING SUCH JOY AND COMFORT TO ME, MY HUSBAND, MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS, FUTURE FRIENDS. THANK YOU FOR TRANSFORMING MY HOUSE (APARTMENT) INTO A HOME.
Bless you, let’s keep “breaking bread.”
AngellsVI
I checked this book out of the library, and the first bread I tried was the Deli-Style Rye – it was yummy!! My second attempt has been the Italian Semolina Bread – it was good, but not great. Had trouble with it rising enough. But I will keep on trying. Second attempt was better. DH loved it, esp. with the sesame seeds! I renewed the book from the library, but will soon have to give it back. Would love to have my very own copy!
Marilyn
I just got back into bread making after many years and would love this book!
Great receipe, made our first loaf today. I hope to win a copy of the book
Hello
Thanks for sharing some recipes. I have already tried them! You can see the results at my blog: http://aprendizdepanadera.blogspot.com
I have mentioned your blog, too.
My other blog, where I tell the results of my garden, is Dialogo con la tierra (http://dialogoconlatierra.blogspot.com)
Regards from Spain.
Marga (my nickname is Aprendiz de panadera )
kal329@gmail.com
Want to enter and shout from the rooftops about how much this book has change my life!
I saw this recipe in Mother Earth magazine a few weeks ago, got obsessed with trying it. (I haven’t baked bread in years because of the time involved). I tried it, loved it and would love to get the book and try other things with it. I made the pizza twice and it was great also. Also gave the recipe to someone at work, who tried it without a stone, and she and her husband loved it also.
I saw an article about this book in my local paper, and one recipe was listed. I have my first batch of dough in my fridge as we speak. Having never baked bread from scratch before, I came on the web for more info before attempting baking it. Thanks so much for this article, it was really helpful! My husband and I really love good bread, but since I was laid off several months ago, we can’t afford it anymore. We also can’t afford to buy the book either, so thanks again for the advice!
I love this cookbook. The recipes are very easy and the bread is delicious!
I’ve renewed this book so many times at the library they are beginning to look at me funny!
Wow, thanks for the beautiful tutorial! I’d love to have this book!
I love LOVE the no-knead, and recently have been hearing great things about this book (which, of course, I’d love to win). I also love your pan!
Made a batch over the weekend, and my familly loved it. Fresh bread and butter for my Sunday meal was a rare treat (no longer!). Had enough dough left over to make pizza last night. Worked great, crust had enough strength to hold all the toppings we like. Still have some dough leftover that I’m planning on making my own hoagie rolls. Got the recipie from the newspaper, but would love to read the book.
I LOVE this book! I’ve been wanting it ever since it first came out. I’ve checked it out from my local library so many times but can never renew it because it’s so popular that there’s a long waiting list to get it. So, I keep checking it out, trying as many recipes as I can before I have to take it back and wait until my name comes up again so I can check it out again! I would love to have my very own copy!!!
I have 7 children and 13 grands. Believe me, I do a lot of cooking… My aunt just turned me on to your book, and she is having so much fun baking bread and sharing her successes with me. I am going to start my dough tonight! Thanks!!
Not sure if I’ve discovered this in time, I guess it depends on the time zones, hope I’ve still got a chance!
Thanks everyone! A winner has been named. See the post on March 19.
I bake bread a lot. this sounds a lot easier than the 20 minutes of kneading that I usually do. I think I’ll give it a try. Glad to hear about your book! Annette
What is the size of the dutch oven you used? If you want to make a smaller loaf, should you just go down a size on the dutch oven?
okay, oops, I see you answered that question already, mine is a whopping 6.5 quarts so I can see that I will need a smaller one.
@Emily – Try the one you have first and see how it works. It can’t hurt. My bread doesn’t always spread out to fill up the base of the Dutch oven. As long as you can lift it out of the oven …
I finally got around to trying your method of combining two no-knead bread baking techniques – I love it! Thank you!
I’ve had trouble with the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day technique, my dough must be too wet, or I don’t cloak it correctly and my bread flattens out. But using their recipe in my new dutch oven perfection! Even my flattened hopeless looking dough rose and baked beautifully. I was so thrilled when i lifted the lid.
I am going to try the bread recipe right now. Just have to reduce it a little, or do I
have too. Anyway I’m going to do it. Where can I go to buy a cookbook ,I know the
time has gone to participate in the give away.
I love baking bread and sourdough is my favorite. This looks like fun!
I am a newbie to bread making, but I really hope I get the hang of it soon!
Oooooh! I have been trying to get up the motivation to make my own bread. This sounds great!
Hmm, depends what you mean by “funky.” If it smells sour, it’s turning into sourdough (i.e., developing its own internal culture/yeasts), and it’s probably fine. If it’s turning pink or something … ew. Maybe your refrigerator is too warm? The book expects the dough to last a couple of weeks. Mine has made it at least 10 days with no problem, although it is getting sourer. And my fridge is 43 degrees.
The book provides detailed instructions for pitas, but yes, they say you can use this dough. They suggest using a 1-lb. (grapefruit-sized) piece of dough for one family-size or 4 individual pitas. Heat the oven and baking stone to 500 degrees. Roll the dough out thin (1/8″) so it will puff, and slide it onto the stone with a peel.
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