| | |  | Friedr Dick Knives | Home » » » Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking | | | | | | | Description: | | There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread to fill a kitchen with warmth, eager appetites, and endless praise for the baker who took on such a time-consuming task. Now, you can fill your kitchen with the irresistible aromas of a French bakery every day with just five minutes of active preparation time, and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will show you how. Coauthors Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François prove that bread baking can be easier than a trip to the bakery. Their method is quick and simple, bringing forth scrumptious perfection in each loaf. Delectable creations will emerge straight from your own oven as warm, indulgent masterpieces that you can finally make for yourself. In exchange for a mere five minutes of your time, your breads will rival those of the finest bakers in the world. With nearly 100 recipes to put this ingenious technique to use, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will open the eyes of any potential baker who has sworn off homemade bread as simply too much work. Crusty baguettes, mouth-watering pizzas, hearty sandwich loaves, and even buttery pastries can easily become part of your own personal menu, and this innovative book will teach you everything you need to know.
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Jeff Hertzberg | | Hardcover:
| 242 pages | | Publisher:
| Thomas Dunne Books | | Publication Date:
| November 13, 2007 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0312362919 | | Product Length:
| 9.34 inches | | Product Width:
| 7.72 inches | | Product Height:
| 1.02 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.54 pounds | | Package Length:
| 9.2 inches | | Package Width:
| 7.6 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.6 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 937 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 937 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
832 of 843 found the following review helpful:
 Best Bread I've Ever Made, As Good as Almost All I've Ever EatenDec 02, 2007
By Louise DeSalvo
I'm a foodie; the kind of person who will drive miles to a bakery, who will visit Italy when the ricotta is sweetest. I'm also a skeptic. So, when I bought this book, I didn't expect much. But, was I ever wrong. What I love is that the authors turn everything you know about bread baking upside down, and the result is the best bread you'll ever make at home. Easily. Simply. Whenever you want. You must, however, read the introduction to the method to succeed as well as you might -- this is not a book to begin baking from the minute you buy it. But the few minutes you invest in all the suggestions pay off mightily -- how to tell when this particular kind of bread is really ready (I used to swear by an instant read thermometer -- forget that); how to dock it; how to store it, etc. The instructions are utterly clear. I've already baked ten loaves, each magnificent, and I've only had the book for a week. All kinds of breads are represented -- French loaves, ciabbata, pita, peasant -- I could go on and on. Enough for a lifetime of pleasure. Hertzberg and Francois are geniuses.
1001 of 1021 found the following review helpful:
Some notes for sourdough/dense loaf fansDec 15, 2007
By born every minute
This is a terrific book ... I've tried the basic approach and it is great. To make it more useful (for some) I'd like to add a few notes.
The book has an unfortunate, (for me) bias towards light, fluffy breads and breads that rely on "ingredients". So...
Sourdough breads: I've been refrigerating my dough for years to increase the sourdough flavor. This books opens the door to a very simple approach to sourdough.
As the book notes, the sourdough taste increases with time in the refrigerator. So simply keep two sets of dough running ... a "dormant" set and an active set. Start by making a batch of dough. Stick it in the refrigerator and don't touch it for at least a week. After a week or so, make a second batch of dough. (I would mix in a hunk of the previously mixed, week old dough to enhance the sourdough development.) Now put this second batch away and start using the first batch ... which will have started to taste like a sourdough. When this first batch is used up, make up a brand new "dormant" batch and put it aside while you start using the batch that's been sitting in the refrigerator for the past week or so.
In this way you can keep a sourdough going forever, without any additional work. (Since you only a new batch when an old batch runs out.)
Rye and whole wheat: The technique is IDEAL for rye ... which is a gummy, no-knead but extremely delicate dough. I would certainly use much more rye than any of these recipes call for and would use the sourdough technique I mentioned above to develop flavor.
It its also ideal for whole wheat. The big problem with whole wheat is not the crust, (I'll mention a technique to bring out a crust), but that whole wheat contains bran, which, when kneaded, cuts the strands of gluten/protein. That's why 100% whole wheat is so dense. But, since you do not knead this dough, the bran does not cut the protein strands and the dough is free to rise almost as much as a white flour.
Personally, I use 50% rye and 50% whole wheat and, using the books oven technique get a great rise.
Another technique that develops a very thick crust, no matter the flour, is to bake the bread in a preheated, covered oven pot or casserole pot at 450 degrees.
By the way ... to get actual pumpernickel, forget the powders, (coffee and chocolate ... yeesh!) and just use pumpernickel flour in place of rye flour. (Pumpernickel flour is nothing more than whole grain rye flour.)
418 of 424 found the following review helpful:
Excellent!Nov 28, 2007
By TropicalMinnesota
I have many bread baking books and was skeptical that this one would be any better or different. I expected either a catch in the "5 minutes", poor quality bread, or both. I made my first batch last week and was very impressed with both the ease and taste. You can really make the dough in just a few minutes and keep it in your fridge for use over the next 2 weeks. It was wonderful to be able to pull a chunk of the dough out of the container and have delicious bread (the last was more like a big roll) in just over an hour. I could make a loaf when I got home from work and serve it for dinner. There are many recipes included, but it also gave me a much more relaxed attitude toward the bread and I found myself making up my own additions by the time I was forming my second batch. I showed the book to a friend and rather than copy a few of the recipes, she decided to order the book herself because she said that everything looked good and it looked like stuff she would really make. Not many cookbooks earn that comment.
The book frequently calls for a pizza peel and baking stone. A set of the peel (or a suitable cutting board), stone (or an unglazed ceramic tile from Home Depot) and this book would make a great gift. In fact, I thought that I could cross several people off of my shopping list by buying the set or just the books for all. Unfortunately, it is already out of stock. Looks like I am not the only one who is impressed by it. I can't even give my book away and wait for a new copy because I spilled olive oil on it while making the sun dried tomato and Parmesan bread. By the way, it was delicious!
This is a great book for all cooking experience levels. The recipes are easy and the results impressive.
683 of 712 found the following review helpful:
 Good premise but better with some modificationsJan 27, 2008
By R. Currier
After baking bread from this book for over a month I have a few suggestions for folks that vastly improve (in my opinion) the bread from this book. Even without these changes the bread is still better than store-bought, but it's *not* artisanal quality.
1) WEIGH YOUR INGREDIENTS! This is a cardinal rule of baking and one not to be flaunted. Buy a good scale -- it's as important as your baking stone.
2) Cut the salt and yeast called for by half: I use 10gm salt and 8gm yeast.
3) Preheat your oven for at least an hour at 500 degrees. A 20 minute preheat does NOTHING for your stone and bottom crust. Drop the temp to 450 when the bread goes in the oven.
4) I use Light Whole Wheat Bread on page 74 as my base recipe. The 140 grams of whole wheat flour kicks the flavor level up substantially.
5) Skip the cornmeal and go with parchment paper. SO much easier and no smoke in the kitchen.
6) Get a good instant-read thermometer. The bread is done when it reads 200 degrees. Another pricey tool but you'll soon find it indispensable.
Follow my recommendations and you'll get great bread with excellent top and bottom crust every time.
77 of 77 found the following review helpful:
Perfect Bread---With Ease!Jan 09, 2008
By H. Grove
"Errant Dreams Reviews"
The concept around which Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day revolves is that with the right method, you can make quick, easy bread that mimics the fancy, crusty loaves you find in restaurants and bakeries. There's no kneading involved. The fanciest piece of equipment you might need is a baking stone for optimal results, but even that you can do without. There's no proofing of yeast, no multiple long rise times on baking day. You use very few dishes, so there isn't much to clean.
The secret? A wet dough that ages over time in the refrigerator. One batch makes a handful of loaves, and will last happily for more than a week, so you can just lop some off and make bread whenever you want during that time. All you'll need is a little time for the bread to rest and bake, and you have lovely homemade bread whenever you want it. If that isn't enough, as the dough ages it takes on a sourdough characteristic, giving it additional flavor.
We found the recipes quick and easy. The dough was crusty as advertised. It had a lovely crumb. It had tons of flavor. And most importantly, it really did take only a few minutes of work.
My only disappointment is that the method isn't quite as easy and simple when it comes to making whole grain breads. You definitely have to adjust things a bit, and it'll take a little time to get the hang of making sure the dough is wet enough. Also, whole grains don't lend themselves to those perfect crackling crusts, so you'll have to live without that.
This is a delightful baking method that sets tradition on its ear and produces wonderful bread with little effort. Using Hertzberg and Francois's method, you'll be able to make fresh, homemade bread even around a busy working schedule.
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