Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

While the phrase artisan bread typically evokes images of labor-intensive sessions and top-notch ingredients, for authors Hertzberg and François it means five minutes. An intriguing concept—high-quality, fresh bread in less time than it takes to boil water. The authors’ promises of no kneading, no starter, no proofing yeast and no need for a bread machine is based on the concept of mixed and risen high-moisture dough stored in the fridge for up to two weeks (dough is cut into pieces and popped in the oven for fresh loaves as desired). Note: for those tracking minutes, the five-minutes doesn’t include the 20-minute resting time for dough or 30 minutes for baking. After concise, introductory chapters on ingredients, equipment, and tips and techniques, readers are presented with the master recipe, a free-form loaf of French boule that is the model for all breads in the book. Three main chapters—Peasant Loaves, Flatbreads and Pizzas and Enriched Breads and Pastries—are filled with tempting selections and focus on ethnic breads and pastries including Couronne from France; Limpa from Scandinavia; Ksara from Morocco; Broa from Portugal; and Chocolate-Raisin Babka from the Ukraine, but the basics (Oatmeal Bread, Bagels, White Bread) are all here, too. A smattering of companion recipes such as Tuscan White Bean Dip and Portuguese Fish Stew are peppered throughout. While experienced bakers and true gourmands will skip this one, those looking for an innovative approach to making bread just might find it in these recipes. (Nov.)
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User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars Overlong, overpriced, and overhyped
About a year too late to take advantage of the afterglow of the fandom of the Leahy/Bittman No-Knead Bread that spread like wildfire in late 2006 and early 2007, this breathlessly superficial book reads like exactly what it is — an attempt to capitalize on a fad without ever really acknowledging it. The significant original material in the book can be summed up in a five-dollar pamphelet and certainly doesn’t need a $27 book to cover it, especially a book such as this that repeats its main thesis several times but doesn’t delve much into the food science involved. (In all honesty, the contents of this book could be summed up in a much more concise fashion in a book like BakeWise or Baking Illustrated, and I wouldn’t put it past a better author or authors to do exactly that in the near future.)

Don’t buy this book at cover price. Don’t bother buying it new. In fact, I wouldn’t bother at all unless you can pick it up for less than $10 in a used bookstore or remainder rack, and even then you’re probably better off simply starting with the Leahy/Bittman recipe (from the New York Times website) or the Cook’s Illustrated adaptation (published in 2007 in the magazine and featured in the 2009 season of America’s Test Kitchen) and working your way along with authors such as Silverton or Reinhart; there is not a lot of substance in this book, and no reason you couldn’t go the bread machine route with any of it.

5 Stars wow, wow, and wow!
[[ASIN:0312362919 Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking] I very seldom made bread. Now I do it often. Plus I have taught eleven people to make it from this book. Easy, delicious and inexpensive, and very little time.

5 Stars Finally, a crusty crust
For many years I have attempted making bread trying to duplicate the old world artisan types. After many efforts and failures to produce crusty crust I discovered “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes” and it sure does work. Just follow the simple text and directions and voila – delicious bread. Without a doubt, one of the best book purchases I have ever made!

5 Stars WOW!
This book was a gift and at first glance I wasn’t sure what to make of it. What the authors claimed vs what I knew “needed” to happen in order to make a great loaf of bread parted ways. It only took making the first recipe and tasting the first loaf for me to realize that this method really does work! I can work a full 40+ hours a week and still make fresh homemade bread. I can also not just make it once a week, but everyday. I love this book and recommend it to anyone who likes fresh bread!

5 Stars Best bread book ever!!!
This is the best bread book ever. This book actually lives up to the title. The recipes are easy to follow. I’m a non-baker and an average cook and friends think the bread is from an artisan bakery when they see and taste the bread, they are AMAZED that this bread came out of my oven and with such little effort. A must for anyone who loves good crusty bread. I have purchased over 25 of these books for presents. All recipients have raved about the ease of making bread from this book. You will throw rocks at all other breads……and never think about buying bread again after trying this book!!!

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