I am still working through all of the recipes in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Just now baking off Oatmeal Pumpkin Bread, page 100. I used canned pumpkin, apple cider instead of the water, and , in addition to the honey, two tablespoons of light brown sugar. This is a delicious autumn bread for breakfast with marmelade or with sliced baked turkey with cranbverry chutney. A wonderful deep brown coulour tot the crust also.

As a follow-up to the first batch of Olive Oil Dough I made…I froze the dough in leftover portions in individual pizza servings so we could use it at a later time. Thawed a piece about the size of a large orange in a freezer bag. Thawed the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Last night just as I heated the oven, I pulled it out of the fridge, dusted it with bread flour lightly and with a rolling pin, formed it into a very thin oval. Without toppings, it was baked at 475 degrees for about 4-5 minutes. If necessary, while it is in the oven the first time, poke the baking dough with a fork to deflate any large air pockets that form. This ensures a flat surface on which to place the toppings. After a few minutes, remove the partially baked crust from the oven. Immediately place toppings on pizza crust and complete the baking in about ten minutes time in oven. This was the prettiest, most tender crust I have ever made!!. Any the flavour is pleasant, not dry, floury or doughy. My sheet pan was sprinkled with polenta (cornmeal) before placing crust on it to bake.

This morning I just mixed a half batch of page 82, Broa, corn bread. Again, I substituted apple cider for the water.
Seems to be raising quite well. Will let you know how it bakes off and tastes a few days from now.

For now, bonne pain.

This is the followup to the “Five Minute” herb bread recipe.
A half batch of the boule master recipe was prepared. Added to it was 1/4 teaspoon each of dried rosemary, dried thyme and a shake of dried Italian seasoning. Also to the flour mixture before mixing with wet ingredients, two teaspoonfuls of vital wheat gluten was added. Hodgson Mill brand was used. It was purchased as part of a whole wheat bread recipe. But, when I read the box, it suggested using it for all bread recipes. It is mostly Vitamin C which acts like a natural preservative.

In my distraction yesterday, I made an error and,rather than mixing the dry ingredients into the wet, I did the reverse! The dough rose for its three hours and was refrigerated for four hours.

Then I baked a small sample loaf, 16 minutes at only 430 degrees. It was truly an outstanding bread. I was shocked. The crumb was much more open and soft and irregularly holed than many others. Crust was a bit more crispy. I happen to prefer soft crust breads, but this was still chewable.

This herb bread to incorporate almost any herbs or spices you would want to coordinate with any particular type of meal or regional cuisine. We ate the entire loaf with cannellini bean and vegatable soup and a wedge of Greek goat and cow cheese along with a green salad.

Bonne Pain

This is Amy with a followup to the posting of 30th September. Apologize for some typigraphical misspellings. I was in a hurry.

The deli-style rye bread in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes was a great success! Dried cranberries add to dough is delightful. Flavour of this bread was excellent. I mixed dough on Monday AM, refredged until Wednesday PM. Mixed only a half batch of dough to test the flavors. I almost always test a new recipe by making half batch. Waste fewer ingredients that way. By the way, the word dough may be misleading beginner bakers. For these recipes it is more accurate to say that the correct dough consistency looks more like thick biscuit batter. Rather than dry like pastry crust or cookie dough. This is critical.

Bread flour is all I ever use for these recipes. Very early in their book they mention this in passing. Just reduce the flour volume by about 1/4 cup per 6 cups or regular all-purpose flour.

It is imperative that you allow the dough to fully rise and then begin to deflate on its own. In my kitchen, it almost always takes more like three hours. You must train yourself not to bother the process prematurely! We have limestone floors and granite countertops with not sun exposure. Our kitchen is perfect for pastry baking. I frequently raise dough in the warmth of my oven with its light turned on.

Be very careful about your measuring. I say this because there is not a 1/2 tablespoon measuring spoon that I can find. One tablespoon equals 3 teaspoons. For a half order of the recipe then you use 2-1/4 teaspoons of yeast and salt. One and a half tablespoons equals 4-1/2 teaspoons. It is too easy to make a mistake in this area. Physically write down in the book, the conversions. Never hurry, guess or estimate.

They do not mention this directly, but one of the great advantages to their baking method is that the bread contain no preservatives and not synthetic chamicals, especially if you are using “organic” ingredients.

Read the labels of your ingredients. All buttermilks are not the same. Buy the one with the fewest and most pure ingredients. I only bake with fine sea salt.

Today I prepared the dough for herb bread. Next time I will let you know how it truned out.

Bonne Pain to All

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is a wonderful way to begin baking bread on a weekly (or, as it ends up…daily. I have baked at least six to eight of the books recipes. Soft White Bread-excellent. Vermont cheese bread-deliciious,Basic Boule-better than any store bought bread because it is so fresh. Whole Wheat recipe was made into soft breadsticks to serve at an impromptu picnic last week. My husband loved them. Buttermilk recipe was made into eight petit loaves and dropped off for the local library. I wrote a book review of this bookfor their website and wanted them to try a bite of it. Wrapped each loaf in a white paper doily tied with lime green raffia. The pizza dough recipe was very soft and flavorful, but do not bruch the exposed edge of the dough with olive oil. It became tough. I froze the remaining pizza dough and will let you know how that goes at a later date. Right now I have cranberry rye bread in the fridge. You heard me correctly. I tinker around with the recipes. It smelled delicious just fermenting on the counter yesterday.

I started bread baking last April with The Bread Bible (Rose Levy Berenbaum. Excellent, excellent recipes….major time and intellectual investment for the beginner. But in hind sight this was a super start. You start with the most challenging method, keep attempting to produce the best results and then find a simple book like this and you realize just how much knowledge and experience you have gained. How much value was in learning the traditonal, no-short cut way. It is imperative to make less than good batches of bread. When you produce a winner, you recognize it immediately! Bonne Pain to All.

Yes, weighing the ingredients makes the result much more predictable. It’s brilliant, isn’t it? I haven’t bought bread for months!

Thanks for your help! I’ve been getting better results by using the hydration method; my current batch is 78% hydration and is pretty good. I may reduce the proportion of bread flour in the next batch to see if I get bigger bubbles that way.