Monday, March 16, 2009

Update on "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day"

I have been experimenting with the "quick" bread making procedures from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Wouldn't it be nice to only spend five minutes each day for a warm loaf of soaked bread? (Why "soaked"? Read this.)

I made my master dough recipe last Thursday. It seemed way too wet, even though the book says it will be wetter than "normal" dough. I wanted to try my best to follow the instructions this first time around, so I didn't add more flour. Resisting the temptation took an abundance of restraint on my part :) I am using freshly milled whole wheat. I think that because it has not settled in a bag, it is measuring differently.

I have baked two loaves of bread and two batches of dinner rolls. The bread smells absolutely delicious when baking! It has a very pleasant sour smell... like real sourdough from a quaint village bakery. The bread holds together and slices much nicer than other "soaked" breads I've tried in the past.

I would say the only drawback so far is the bite. The book says that the master dough will keep in the fridge for two weeks. But by Sunday in our home, the children were making their opinion known: "This bread is biting me back!" The bread, even though it is sour, makes fantastic cheese toast!

I will be trying a new master recipe this week. I think this time I will add a cup or more of additional flour and I will bake all of the loaves within 24 hours of "soaking." I might even try freezing some of the additional dough. Stay tuned for the finale... I will keep working at it until I get a reliable 100% whole wheat, soaked bread recipe. It will be a quick and HEALTHY way to eat fresh bread! And, the book includes all kinds of exciting variations like herb dinner rolls, soft pretzels, pizza dough, bagels and more!

5 comments:

Sarah said...

Can hardly wait for the recipe!

Happy Hermit (happilyhiddenhermit@gmail.com) said...

My Husband is the primary bread maker around here , I just don't do yeast containing breads well.

Sharon said...

I love quick!

Jennifer said...

I have tried the recipe from the book from an article in Mother Earth News, and loved it, but wished that it was whole wheat...looking forward to your version of the recipe!

Cardamoms Pod said...

Hi! Love your site! I, too, am trying to come up with a healthy soaked bread recipe that is nice. We like the NT Yeasted Buttermilk recipe, but that uses a lot of buttermilk. I'm trying to adapt that with water and whey. In the meantime, I usually use the recipe from Urban Homemaker, or another recipe which I hope to post on my blog soon...