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Our book had great coverage in “The Week” magazine on April 18th (page 30 in the paper version). But their version of our recipe has you throwing in 4 cups of water, rather than the correct 3 cups (see the fine print on the right, above). Please use 3 cups, or you’ll have pancake batter! The correct version of our basic recipe in the book (page 26) is:
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (can decrease to 1 tablespoon if you prefer the flavor of slower-risen doughs)
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt (adjust to your taste)
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Cornmeal for the pizza peel
And then, you know the drill. Mix with a spoon in a food-safe bucket, let it rise at room temperature for 2 to 5 hours, then into the fridge for two weeks. Tear off chunks, shape, rest, and bake as needed. And you all know you can decrease the yeast (http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=85) and the salt if you like it. Details in the book.
But there it is, pretty much.
I work at a library. Your book came through our check-in desk and caught my attention (I love baking bread), so I took it home and tried several of your recipes. Wow! Bought the book! We’re giving it as a Christmas gift to several friends.
Thank you for putting my grandmother’s bread back on our table. She never wrote down a recipe. She wouldn’t allow any of us to help, either – SHE was the cook – so we couldn’t even be sneaky and write down approximate amounts and processes!
Again, thank you. We’re having the master loaves with Thanksgiving dinner today…yummm…
Glad it’s working for you Susan– thanks for you note about Grandma…
My husband & I have become complete bread-idiots – we have been making a loaf every day or two since we got your book. We bore everybody we meet talking about our BOULES – the basic dough & resultant bread is just delicious. It was my neighbor Grace who got me into this, and it’s been so much fun! Thank you for the terrific concept & all the work you did bringing it to so many people! (I can smell my peasant bread baking in there as I type!)
Hi Katie,
Thank you so much for the lovely note!
Cheers, enjoy your bread! Zoë
Love your recipe book and I still have a few questions.
1) Why is it so bad to use a stainless steel bowl in the process?
2) How would it change the product if I used regular granulated yeast
3) If I use regular yeast how much more would I have to use to get a similar product?
4)When you store dough in the refrigerator, does it matter if you punch it down or not over the next several hours or days?
5) After pulling dough out of fridge, how long must a one pound loaf sit at 75 degrees before I pop it into the oven on to pizza stone?
6) When you pull a piece out of the fridge, do you have to avoid punching it or forming it to avoid the dreaded wet doughy texture that I got one time using the recipe?
I hope you can help me with these questions as I did not notice them addressed in the book yet.
Thank you so much for your time.
Paul
Paul: You’ve got a lot of questions, and to some extent the answers depend on whether you’re using Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (http://bit.ly/cNtfJI), or Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (http://bit.ly/3wYSSN). Which book are you in, which recipes are you trying (page numbers?)?
Jeff
Before I got your book I had never made bread or pizza dough, now I make it all the time! I love your book and recommend it to everyone who tastes my bread. I especially appreciate how easy it is to put your own twist on the recipe. My husband and I love to add jalapeno and shredded cheddar to the olive oil dough. spread on some cream cheese and your in heaven, all my friends and family agree=) Thanks a bunch for your amazing book!
Thanks for the kind words Connie, come back anytime you have questions. Jeff
I just wanted to let you know that I am, as I write, baking a sort of focaccia with red peppers and onions and I’m using up the last bit of a 5 week old batch of master recipe for unbleached all-purpose flour. The one I made last night was scrumptious and turned into supper. Your technique really works and the dough apparently continues to be active and produce delicious bread for even longer than advertised. Thank you for all of your research, testing, and sharing.
Marina
Thank you Marina,
We really appreciate the note and that you are baking so much bread!
Zoë
Hi! Bread is fantistic!! I received the book for Christmas and we promptly gave up store bread! We’ve developed a nice routine for daily bread. Since I have kids in school, my main focus is sandwich bread. (Not a glamerous dish, but important to moms.) As a single mom with an intense full time job, I am so thrilled to finally find a recipe that works so well for us!
Here’s what we do: We use the main recipe proportion of 4 2 2 8. So simple, even the 2nd grader can handle it! We also use an artisan flour in 50lb bag, which has a wonderful flavor. Lastly, for a quick and easy loaf, I make 2 of the usual ‘grapefruit’ loaves and put them side by side in a loaf pan. This makes an ideal loaf for little sandwiches. (2 fit perfectly in the little sandwich boxes). Kids love the bread AND the crust! The end pieces are gone before the loaf even cools.
This is so doable on a busy schedule, can’t say enough about how much we LOVE this bread! (And we haven’t even made it past the 1st recipe, so we have lots to look forward to.)
Texture and everything is perfect everytime.
Just wanted to say THANK YOU and encourage other busy mom’s to give it a try!
Julie: So glad to hear this is fitting into the busy schedule you are juggling. Jeff
I have you book and on my second loaf. I used panko instead of corn meal under my bread and it came out great.
Hi Jil,
What a great idea!
Thanks, Zoë
In some of your recipes, you say to put in a bread pan. I really like the free form loaves. Is there a reason for not using the stone? Also when I bake the loaves in a bread pan ( pampered chef stoneware), is it okay to bake it on the stone? Can I use the convection oven when baking on the stone?
I purchased the fibrament stone, and it’s supposed to be kept in the oven.
When I make 2 pans of cookies and cook in the convection oven, should I take the stone out?
I should mention how much I love your book and bread recipes. My whole family says it’s the best bread ever. I’ve been making bread for at least 35 years, (grinding my wheat), and been making a no knead harvest bread for the last 2 years, but YOUR recipes top all the bread I’ve ever made. I love having the bucket in the fridge, ready to bake.
Thanks to both of you for a great book.
Hi Marge,
So glad you are enjoying all of the breads. You can bake any of the breads as free form or in loaf pans, just depends on your preference. You will want to adjust the time if baking free form.
Convection heat will also work with any of our recipes, but you will want to reduce the heat by about 20 degrees and keep an eye on it to make sure the crust isn’t getting too dark.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi there! I’ve been using your (2nd) book since February and haven’t eaten store-bought bread since!
I have a question and I think I saw it once on your blog, but can’t find it. I will be traveling in my camper for 2 weeks and I have a convection oven/microwave in there and I want to prep dough ahead of time. Can I freeze the dough? If so, when do you stick it in the freezer? After the 2 hour rest?
absolutely, can freeze any of our doughs after the initial two hr rest. Easiest to freeze in loaf-sized portions. Jeff
Hi
Probably a dumb question but does the dough have to sit in the fridge for two weeks before use or is the that the amount of time it will keep in the fridge?
Hi Steven,
You can use the dough after the initial two hour rise, and then refrigerate it for up to two weeks. The dough is easier to handle after it has been chilled, so you may want to refrigerate it overnight the first time you make a loaf.
Thanks, Zoë
I just heard about you both and your books this past weekend in Seven Springs. I am SO excited!! Came home and immediately made a batch of bread. Well, it’s Thursday and I just mixed up my second batch. Thank you so much!! Your session on baking bread in 5 minutes was definitely worth going to!!
I have tried the master recipe a few times and simply love the bread! However, I’m not thrilled about the excess cornmeal that gets all over my oven when I slide the loaf onto my stone. I must confess to using an upside down baking sheet instead of a legit peel. Would that help? Or is it just poor technique on my part?
There are other options– which book do you have and I’ll direct you to the pages with recommendations? Jeff
Now this is the reason i want to go to baking school! I love to make stuff like bread the staple of the world! Thanks Jeff and Zoe you make a Norwegian proud.
Wonderful Jan,
Enjoy all the bread!
Zoë
Thanks for this recipe!
Question:
When you say, “tear off a chunk, shape, rest and bake”….How long should I let it rest? (In a 67-70 degree kitchen)
Thank you so much!
Kym: All in the books, see Master Recipe chapter in any of our books.
We keep our home at about 60-61F this time of year. I am not getting a good rise leaving the loaf on top of the frIdge to rise. Suggestions? Thanks!
Susan: Which book are you making the dough from (which page number and recipe)? Makes a difference in rising time.
Master recipe in Artisan Bread in 5, pages 26-31. Early evening today I made a 2.25 lb loaf from a bubbly day 8 sponge (?), let it rise for 1 hr, used my son’s suggestion of pre-heating the oven to 475F and lowering it to 450F after the bread is on the stone and I’ve added hot water to the water pan. Voila! This loaf came out fantastic, pinged for a long time after I removed from the oven and sliced it open a few minutes ago for a taste. Best yet! Great texture, more holey than I’ve had on previous loaves. And a 9″x6″x4.25″ loaf I can use for sandwiches. My son has been baking from the ABin5 and Reinhart books for three years. So…if the latest improvements were the key, I’ll keep baking with those.
Susan: More on using natural sours (or sponges) at http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2009/11/30/sourdough-starter-in-our-recipes.
This book is the bomb!!!!!So glad I purchased it. Thanks for making bread baking much easier and healthier.
Thank you Julie,
So glad you are enjoying the bread!
Zoë
So I went by your master recipe that I got on youtube, and it said 4 cups of water. It is sitting in my fridge now. This is my first attemp to make homemade bread…is the dough ruined or can I save it by mixing in more flour? Right now it is just a gooey mess.
Hi Destynni,
I’m not sure which recipe you found on youtube, I can’t think of any that would use 4 cups? But, you can fix the dough by adding more flour and allowing it to rest again before shaping and baking. How much flour did you add to the 4 cups of water?
Thanks, Zoë
5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, and 2 cups of all purpose flour. I did add a little honey for sweetness, but not too much.
Destynni: Not sure which YouTube channel you saw that on, but the complete recipe also contains 1/4 cup of vital wheat gluten– it will be much too wet if you leave that out (4 cups of water is correct). Full recipe is in our second book at http://bit.ly/3wYSSN.