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Better, Faster Bread: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

Published on October 19, 2016 By Emily. Updated on October 20, 2016

It seems like forever ago that one of my friends first mentioned Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day : The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.  The conversation happened in the context of a chat about the bread baking process I’d been using.  I wrote a long post about it in 2013, but the short version is that any time I had a free Saturday, I was spending it at home baking my own bread.  I loved the recipe I was using and the resulting product, but sometimes getting bread to happen on my schedule was less than easy.

My brother-in-law and his wife bought me Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day  for Christmas 2014, but it took me until the following May to get up the nerve to try it.  Even though the book’s whole premise is that bread baking can be easy, the introductory explanation made me nervous.  There were instructions about how to scoop the flour, solutions to baking problems, and a 6 page explanation of the Master Recipe.  But I was hooked with the first loaves I attempted (seen below):

Here’s the key idea of the book: “pre-mixed, pre-risen, high-moisture dough keeps well in the refrigerator”.  The “5 minutes a day” concept works like this: you mix up the dough for the recipe you want to make (most recipes make 4 loaves per batch), let the dough rise for a couple hours and refrigerate the dough until you’re ready to bake.  Sometimes my dough sits in the fridge for a day, sometimes it sits there for a couple weeks before I get around to baking it. Yes, some recipes can last 14 days between making the dough and baking.  Talk about flexible! When you’re ready, remove the amount of dough needed for the loaf you want to make, allow it to rise (around 40 minutes), and bake it.  Most of the loaves I’ve made have required between 30 and 45 minutes to bake (the “5 minutes a day” is active time, not total time).

IMG_4867

Despite my initial concerns, I’ve actually found the recipes in Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day to be flexible and forgiving.  I’ve made adjustments to my favorite recipe, European Peasant Bread, to include more whole wheat flour.  I’ve gotten really fast at mixing up batches up dough by hand, forgoing my stand mixer.  Sometimes I bake one loaf and put the rest of the dough back in the fridge, sometimes I bake 2 loaves at once and then the other two right after.  The resulting loaves are generally smaller than what a standard loaf pan would make (though some recipes do use a loaf pan!), but since it’s so easy to make and turns out so well, I don’t mind.

rye bread

Brian and I love the bread that this method makes – the inside is soft, the outside has a great crust.  And it seems like everyone else we’ve shared it with has loved it as well – and has been shocked that I made it. For a while, I was tasked with bringing loaves to adult Sunday School every week to feed the other members of my class.  That’s all we’d have – bread and cheese.  Our families also adore this bread and I always bake up several loaves in advance of any of our parents coming because I know they’re going to eat a lot of it.  And that brings us back to the brilliance of this method – if I have a batch of dough waiting in the fridge, I can bake more loaves for breakfast while people are waking up and then set up another batch to do again the next day.  It’s so simple. When I’m feeling especially organized, I make a whole batch of bread and put a couple of sliced loaves in the freezer, which means I’ve got all kinds of bread options available when I need them.

olive bread

I’ve tried a bunch of recipes since I started working with this book, including bagels, rye bread, pretzels, foccacia, zatar flatbread, and olive bread.  Everything I’ve attempted has turned out delicious, though some of my loaves have definitely looked better than others.  There are still more recipes I want to test: ciabatta, raisin walnut, pizza dough, spinach feta bread and chocolate bread, to name a few.

artisan bread in 5 minutes a day

I have found that having a few of the recommended tools are helpful.  I already had a baking stone when I started making bread from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, but adding a pizza peel to my kitchen was a great move as well.  Also, you may recall my pilgrimage to King Arthur Flour last year to get a dough rising bucket.  The dough rising bucket has allowed me to make the full, 4 loaf batch of all the bread recipes, which makes Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day even more efficient.

So here we are – it’s 7 pm on a school night and I just started a batch of bread.  Because I can.  Want to try it for yourself? There are some great deals on Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day on Amazon or you can check out the second edition of the book (which I have no experience with) The New Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

Disclosure:  This post contains Amazon affiliate links, but is not a sponsored post.  I’m just sharing because I love this book! Thank you for your continued support of Relishments.

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Highlights: Recipes for Holiday Baking
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Filed Under: books Tagged With: baking, bread, review

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Emily
It was a cold and cloudy morning, but we made it t It was a cold and cloudy morning, but we made it to our second annual strawberry picking at @mountainviewfarm413, which included E's first tractor ride (she was very excited). We picked about 9 pounds of strawberries and I'm looking forward to eating them! 🍓
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Scenes from this morning in Adams, featuring @shir Scenes from this morning in Adams, featuring @shiredonuts, Poseidon Coffee, the Ashwillticook Rail Trail, St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Adams Free Library and beautiful flowers.
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I don't have clear words to express my feelings ab I don't have clear words to express my feelings about the state of the world lately. As a teacher and a mother, it has been extra difficult this week to be fully present in my roles without thinking about innocent lives that should have had longer on Earth. How what has happened in each of the many mass shootings this year can happen anywhere. If you are feeling sad and frustrated too, you are not alone.

I don't have answers, but I'm trying to take care of myself and my biological and school families. I'm saying "I love you" a lot to my children and my students. I'm closely following and sharing the work of @everytown while contacting my state and federal representatives and the president. I'm going for walks and getting fresh air and trying not to overload on news. I'm sharing good resources in my stories as I see them.
UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @aloh UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @alohr3!

 @thelazygenius' second book, The Lazy Genius Kitchen, is finally here and I'm so excited! I don't purchase many books, but I pre-ordered this last July because I knew it would be right up my alley and then I pre-ordered a second copy because I knew that I'd want to give one away.

Author Kendra Adachi has been one of my favorite voices in recent years. Her principles (shared through her first book, The Lazy Genius Podcast and her Instagram) have helped me focus my priorities and give myself more grace. 

This book is NOT a cookbook (it has just 2 recipes), it is a kitchen guide - to help you "have what you need, use what you have, and enjoy it like never before". It is beautiful (full color!) and thoughtful.

I'm very excited to send this book to one of you.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below with one of your greatest kitchen struggles. 
I'll draw a winner at 8 pm on Friday, May 6.
This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram or The Lazy Genius, Kendra Adachi.
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#LazyGenius #KendraAdachi #NameWhatMatters #TheLazyGeniusKitchen #TheLazyGeniusWay #BookGiveaway
This morning we took advantage of @massmoca's Berk This morning we took advantage of @massmoca's Berkshire Teacher and Social Worker Appreciation Day free admission. After enjoying the student Art Invitational exhibit, the 4 of us took in several of the other galleries. Mass MoCA always impresses and it was delightful to be able to be out in the world with my kids.
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Today I finally found my way into @plantconnector, Today I finally found my way into @plantconnector, in its new location on Main Street in North Adams. The shop is incredible - the displays are great and the plants are delightful. There's a refill station with bottles and jars for soaps, detergents and other products, a terrarium bar, and an abundance of sustainable and beautiful products. I'm now in the process of pondering who I can purchase Plant Connector gifts for in the coming months.
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This is your periodic reminder that @berkshiremuse This is your periodic reminder that @berkshiremuseum is a great visit for all ages. The current Voyage to the Deep exhibit, which involves an interactive Nautilus submarine that my 5 year old spent literally hours in.  We also thoroughly enjoyed the Aquarium and Berkshire Backyard. Highly recommended - we'll be back soon!
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My January and early February menu plans for my @m My January and early February menu plans for my @mightyfoodfarm vegetables are finally up on the blog. See how we're making use of these beautiful items, as well as the items from the other pick up we made in the past month. 
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One of my favorite things to do is bake from scrat One of my favorite things to do is bake from scratch.
But, in the interest of full transparency, this pie was made with Pillsbury pie crusts and a $5 bag of Walmart Granny Smiths. I used the recipe on the pie crust box.
I am very excited to eat it.
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