I got a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for Christmas and decided to buy this book that I had been hearing so much about, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

As busy as I have been I had been reduced to buying (gasp) store bread a couple of times a week and …ewww. I hate that.  I hate giving the family stuff that I know there is no nutrition to, but you have to fill them up somehow, right?

I thought that the idea of making ANY kind of bread in five minutes a day was amazing and worth a try…

I got the book and skimmed through it.  I hardly ever actually read cookbooks, usually I just look at the ingredients and get started.

Well this book sat around for a month because I am just that overwhelmed.

I decided to try the basic bread first.  The instructions warn about compressing the flour and I will give a warning to the warning…I use a canister that holds 50lbs of flour, o.k.? The scoop and scrape method allowed the flour to be too compressed the first time.   I noticed that the dough seemed quite thick and almost dry.   This is how that loaf came out:

It was good flavor-wise but as you can see it was really too dense.  So, yesterday I spooned the flour into the measuring cup lightly, and then scraped the top level.  I added a touch extra water for good measure.  The dough looked like this:

It was a much wetter, looser dough.  I left it at room temperature for the two hours and then refrigerated it over night.  This morning I shaped it into a round as directed.  I don’t have a peel or a baking stone (I KNOW…I KNOW)  so I just made it on a perforated pizza pan.  I was concerned that the dough seemed to want to spread a bit more than I wanted it to but left it to rise for 40 minutes.

I put water in a pan on the bottom rack of the oven as directed but also tossed 2 cups of warm water on the oven floor when I put the bread in.

This is how it looked when it came out.

I had forgotten to slash the top so it sort of exploded in the oven, but looked good.  I let it cool a bit before cutting to see if it had the lovely texture I was looking for…

And here….take a closer look:

I will definitely be making this daily.

The flavor is slightly sour, with a nice chewy texture and crisp crust.  The book has numerous variations including pumpernickel and brioche.  I keep the dough in a large covered stockpot in the fridge.  The books suggests not washing the dough container very often because the dough that sticks to the sides will sour and give a nice sourdough flavor.

Should you get this book?

Uh…YEAH!  Five minutes.  Anyone can do that.  The batch recipe makes 3 one lb loaves but there is no reason you could not make more and bake it fresh every night while you are fixing supper.  In fact if you had another container for the brioche dough you could make it fresh for breakfast every morning as well.  I am putting the book in the Baking Delights Store…it is the link in the sidebar that says “Baking Supplies You Just Gotta Have.”  If you are going to buy this book, and it really is awesome, you can just click on the link to go to the page on amazon.  Then I get a little money to be able to afford to buy MORE cool books.

Image (top) : Amazon

Images (bread): Marye Audet (c)2009

Post from: Baking Delights

Some recipes just connect me with the past…relatives, generations, friends, even characters from books I have never actually met except through their story.  Every time I get my hands in sticky, fragrant whole wheat bread dough I am transported to a large farm kitchen, somewhere in the midwest, with checked curtains and cows grazing in the distance.  I could be Caroline Ingalls, or Caddie Woodlawn’s mom, or any of a million other women who have created something from almost nothing and kept their families well fed down through the ages.  I am not a feminist by any means, nor am I much more than a woman who is comfortable in her own skin, but it seems to me that there is a magic in that ability that working at a keyboard will never capture.  There is a confidence and satisfaction that you can’t get from a paycheck, a business meeting, or even being a size six.

Bread is made often in our kitchen, by myself or one of my daughters.  We will easily go through a loaf a meal and so it is not a weekly job but a daily one. Molasses as the only sweetener in this hearty loaf gives it a special sweetness and a fragrant scent that lingers in the kitchen for the day.  If you are going to take the time to make a really good bread, take the time to get a really good organic flour. There is a difference.

If you are new to bread making and kneading then use  unbleached white flour for  half of the whole wheat flour. It will help you to create a better load from the beginning.  Whole wheat is difficult to manage until you are used to the stickiness of it.

 Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread 

4 c potato water, lukewarm

2 pkgs dry yeast

Dissolve the yeast in the water and let stand for 5 minutes

1/4 c Grandma’s unsulfured molasses

1 tbs fine sea salt

1/4 c melted butter

7-8 cups of whole wheat flour or a mix of whole wheat and unbleached white.

Add all ingredients to the yeast mixture.  Add 3 cups of flour and mix well.  Let stand 20 minutes.

Stir down and add enough of the rest of the flour to make a dough that leaves the sides of the bowl.  Knead by hand for 10 minutes or with your mixer and bread paddles for 3-5.  If mixing with mixer be sure to finish the kneading by hand..there really is no substitute.

After kneading dough should be elastic, smooth, slightly sticky and springy. Form into a ball, oil and put in a large oiled bowl covered with a tea towel to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours,or until  double.

Punch down.

Form into 3 loaves, place in greased bread pans and allow to rise for 1 hours,or until almost double.  Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.  Turn out and cool completely.

Makes 3 loaves

Post from: Baking Delights