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Weighing The Ingredients: No-Knead Whole Grain Baguette Buns With Extra Sourdough Kick
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by Jeff, October 18, 2008
Filed Under Recipes, Special techniques | 103 Comments
In this post, we’ll go through the method for using a kitchen scale to measure in flour and other ingredients, which some readers, especially outside the U.S., have said they prefer. A complete weight-equivalent chart is found in our second book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day. In this recipe, I used these weight equivalents for scoop-and-swept cup measures:
1 cup white all-purpose flour: 5 ounces (140 grams)
1 cup whole wheat flour: 4.5 ounces (130 grams)
1 cup water: 8 ounces (225 grams)
Most home scales aren’t accurate enough to weigh small quantities of yeast and salt for single recipes.
And of course these baguette buns are no-knead– none of our doughs requires kneading. They’re made a little differently than the ones in our first book, being cut from a baguette-shaped cylinder, which gives the buns crusty little edges that will impress your guests. They’re incredibly easy to make from any of the lean stored doughs that you already have in your fridge, mixed up from our book…
I was in a great restaurant recently, and they served baguette buns, which were delicious but the slightest bit stale. Breads this small go stale fast, and really, the best way to enjoy them is at home, an hour or two after they come out of the oven. So here’s how to do it.
First, let’s use some old dough to kick up the sourdough flavor. In the book, we say “never wash the dough bucket,” because that old dough gives sourdough flavor a head start in the next stored batch. You can take that further, by using up to a pound of old dough in the next batch. The problem is getting that sticky dough to incorporate in the water before adding flour.
An immersion blender is the best tool I’ve found for that job. I have the Braun MR430HC, but the Cuisinart looks good too and Amazon reviewers loved it. Same for the Kitchen-Aid Immersion Blender. First measure in some dough. Since I’m going to show you how to use the new-fangled easy-zeroing digital scales to weigh out ingredients, we may as well measure out exactly one pound of dough (I use a Salter Scale, but the Escali is also good). Put your bucket on the scale, press the “zero” button, and add dough until it reads 1 pound:
Now, press the zero button again and add water by weighing it. Instead of spooning 3 cups of water (this will be our light whole wheat recipe on page 74), just weigh the equivalent amount– it’s 24 ounces U.S. (1 pound 8 ounces). Now that the water’s in there, you can use the immersion blender to create a uniform slurry of the old dough, but first, throw in 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of yeast and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of coarse salt. Be very careful with the blade end of the immersion blender. Unlike a food processor, there’s no safety interlock to prevent you from touching the blades while they’re running. Don’t let children use an immersion blender:
When the coast is clear, let it rip, keeping the head of the immersion blender submerged (or you will get splashed!):
Now put the bucket back on the scale, hit the “zero” button again, and weigh in 2 pounds (32 U.S. ounces) of flour (I used a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat in a ratio of about 5:1 all-purpose:whole wheat to give the result in the Light Whole Wheat recipe on page 74). White all-purpose flour weights about 5 ounces per cup, and whole wheat weigh about 4.5 ounces per cup, but at this ratio, it’s very close to say 2 pounds (32 ounces):
Mix it in with a spoon:
…and the dough is ready after about two hours at room temperature:
Store the bucket in the fridge for up to two weeks and tear off chunks as you need it (vent the bucket in the first few days by keeping it open a crack). For the baguette rolls, form a beautiful baguette using the letter-fold technique (click here to see Zoe’s earlier post on this). Then, using a dough scraper or a knife, make angled parallel cuts about 2 inches apart along the length of the baguette:
The buns will flatten from being cut, and they won’t appear to rise much before baking, but they get great oven “spring” (like all of our no-knead stored-dough recipes). Let the buns rest on parchment paper or a silicone pad for 40 minutes:
Preheat a baking stone to 450 degrees Farenheit (230 degrees Celsius) near the middle of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, with a broiler tray to catch water on any other shelf that won’t interfere with the buns. Place the parchment or the silicone pad with the buns onto the stone, throw a cup of water into the broiler tray, and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. You’ll get a gorgeous result, crusty and fragrant:
Wait at least an hour before breaking into them! Any sooner and the texture can be overly moist. Two hours is about perfect.
Comments
jeff said...
October 18, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Hi again Flo! Especially if the old and new stuff are different (eg., whole wheat and white), it will be nice to have a more uniform mixture. I don’t find it all that easy to get the two doughs anywhere close to uniform when I try to knead things together. Sometimes I really enjoy that “marbled” effect.
Mainly, I’m a bit lazy! The business end of the immersion blender goes right into the dishwasher… Jeff
Ashley said...
October 18, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Mmm.. Nice Buns, lol.. ;o)
I gotta get a kitchen scale.. These look really good.
andy abraham said...
October 19, 2008 at 4:07 am
Seems like such hard work to make these Baguettes.. But I am sure it is worth it… BTW.. your pictures are great…thank you for sharing the recipe for Baguettes..
jeff said...
October 19, 2008 at 7:35 am
Thanks Andy… I promise, the buns are easy, just stretch out a baguette and cut it into pieces and bake– maybe the step-by-step makes it seem harder than it is? Jeff
david said...
October 19, 2008 at 9:54 am
Zoe and Jeff,
thanks for a great book! quick question, can I use spelt flour as a substitute for whole wheat flour in your recipes?
thanks again,
david
jeff said...
October 19, 2008 at 10:20 am
David: We’re hard at work testing spelt flour for our next book (Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day is the tentative title). If you keep the spelt at the levels we use whole wheat, you should be OK (not for the 100% whole wheat recipe though). Light Whole Wheat (page 74) should be fine with spelt subbing for WW. For now just keep the spelt to 1 cup or less in the recipes. Jeff
Fishes And Loaves said...
October 19, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Thank you once again for another great recipe and for the wonderful S-B-S photos. I’ll be making these tomorrow… can’t wait to tear into one!
jeff said...
October 20, 2008 at 4:19 am
Thanks F&L… what are S-B-S photos? Jeff
Doreen said...
October 20, 2008 at 8:49 am
Those look wonderful – I’m going to have to make some!!
S-B-S is Step By Step!
Last weekend I was watching a 2 year old and we made gourmet pigs in a blanket using dough from the master recipe. They were really good!!
we rolled out the dough, cut it into rectangles, put some cheese on the dough, placed the piggie on the rectangle, added some ketchup and mustard and then joined the dough at the top of the piggie. Let the dough rise, sprinkled with poppy seeds and paprika (the 2 year old thought they needed some spices – he helped make them!) and baked them for about 20 minutes at 375. They were beautiful and tasty.
jeff said...
October 20, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Duh to me!
You know, we should probably put pigs in blanket in our next book! Got to figure out a health-oriented alternative to hot dogs (don’t get me wrong, I love them). Thanks Gloria!
Kathleen said...
October 21, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Thanks for the great instructions (again!) – they’re brilliant. I love that you’ve used weights here for measuring up.
And for David, it’s worth experimenting with spelt used as a direct substitute for wheat flour (especially if you’re allergic to wheat!). I’ve had great results with other bread recipes simply replacing regular wheat flour with spelt flour. Sometimes the results are a tad heavier, but they’re brilliant compared to other substitutes if you’ve had to go wheat-free.
Thanks again Jeff – this is a brilliant website.
jeff said...
October 21, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Thank you Kathleen– we are busily experimenting with spelt and its cousin Emmer. I think the results will all make it into “Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.”
Yeah, weights are probably the future. We’ll at least have equivalents in the next book. Jeff
Fishes And Loaves said...
October 22, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Sorry Jeff, I guess I figured it was a given that S-B-S would be understood…
I got used to using it elsewhere for, Step-By-Step.
Thanks again for the recipe, even though I didn’t get them made like I thought they are first on my list for baking bread when I get a chance.
Fishes And Loaves said...
October 22, 2008 at 11:51 pm
oops, guess I should’ve read the post after mine…
anyways, I’ll try to let you know how mine turned out.
Bill said...
October 23, 2008 at 12:01 pm
As someone who bakes breads, I just wanted you to know I was introduced to you and your book by a chef friend of mine. The technique intrigued me so I checked out your website and the original video. I was impressed. I’m slowly baking my way through your book. Friends and dinner guests have been so impressed with the simplicity that I have taught them the technique. Needless to say, this has resulted in the purchase of the book by them and are passing along to their friends. One guest will be giving the book to friends for Christmas. Way to go.
jeff said...
October 23, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Thank you Bill, what a great note to get. Please come back with questions of upi have any, anytime. We so appreciate your putting out the word on our book, that’s the way we’ve been able to reach people– through word of mouth. Jeff
Magali said...
October 24, 2008 at 11:30 pm
I’m going to try these out.
I’ve actually been incorporating a fairly large amount of old dough in all the recipes of the book. It’s always worked brilliantly.
I just put the water over the old dough and leave it to soften. Then I just carry on with the recipe.
I can’t wait for your new book!! I sthere any way to reserve it?
Magali said...
October 24, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Also meant to say that I heartily agree with Bill’s post above.
I’ve baked all our bread for the past 5 years or so and always enjoyed it. But with 2 babies to love and care for, anything that simplifies my life is a blessing. Your techniques simplify my life immensely but more importantly they result in the best bread ever – like I’ve said before, your breads are far better than most breads I’ve had back home in France!
Louise said...
October 25, 2008 at 7:14 am
Jeff and Zoe, I finally had my Artisan Bread in Five Party. There were 11 particiants. I asked them to bring only the Unbleached Un bromated a p flour and a bowl or two..I supplied the rye flour, the semolina flour, the yeast, the coarse salt, the zaatar spice, the extra ingredients for the pumpernickel,and the whole wheat flour. I made a “nook” for each baker each with one of the recipes from your book. Each “nook” had a different recipe to try. I began by shaping two loaves, which I had in the fridge, the Spinach Feta Bread, and the Olive oil SunDried tomato bread. While it was rising, I put together the basic boule in five minutes, of course.
I then had every one go to one of the stations, and make the recipe that was there. After they were made up, we weighed the dough right away and put them into plastic bags. Now each participant could share with each other as desired and take home more than one recipe of dough. The spinach and tomato loaves were baked and we all tasted them along with some other sweets I had prepared ahead of time. There were at least five books brought to the class, so it helped everyone to find the right techniques to properply prepare the dough that they were taking home. Most were amazed at the quickness of making bread. I’m sure more will be buying the book. One place even said they did not have anymore to sell!! I read that you are planning a new version of “healthier” breads, I’ll surely want that one, too. I hope to have another class soon, as it was just so much fun..thanks again for your wonderful method. We still eat only those breads!!! Why buy!! Louise Byron
jeff said...
October 25, 2008 at 7:31 am
Thank you for partying with us, Louise! Now I feel like I was there. This is better than any advertising our publisher could have gotten.
Hmm, you’re giving me good ideas for how to promote the book…
jeff said...
October 25, 2008 at 7:35 am
Magali: Thanks again for the France comparison, we swoon a bit when we read that.
As for reserving the book, the only way I know of is to pre-order it. That doesn’t even become possible until 4 to 8 weeks before publication date, which at the moment is December 2009. Thanks for your enthusiasm! Jeff
alexandra’s kitchen said...
October 25, 2008 at 7:36 am
Very cool. I don’t know why I never thought to make rolls from this dough. love the immersion blender idea.
jeff said...
October 25, 2008 at 7:44 am
Thanks Alexandra. I should have said somewhere in here that you can use a higher whole-grain dough with similar results. Someone pointed out to us that the Federal government says that you need 51% whole grain by weight to call something “whole-grain.” Jeff
Harmony said...
October 25, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I tried these today with 1/2 C ground flaw seed and took away 1/2 C of the flour. Yummy! Thank you.
jeff said...
October 26, 2008 at 6:29 am
Harmony: I was hoping people would play with these, your variation sounds great!
sherry said...
October 29, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Hi,
I don’t have your book, but intend to order it very soon. While reading the reviews I came across a youtube video and mixed up a batch of dough. I would like to bake the bread today if someone can answer my question in time. Could I put fresh garlic cloves…whole or coarsly chopped right in the unbaked dough instead of making garlic bread after it is baked? If so, how much would you recommend to have a nice garlic flavor. Also, what temperature do you bake the basic loaf on and for how long? Is it the same temperature for the whole time? How big is the loaf? Can you bake two loaves on the same pan at once?
Thanks!
zoe said...
October 29, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Hi Sherry,
You can add garlic and it is wonderful. We have a recipe that has you roast the garlic first, but you can also add it raw. I like lots of it so you be the judge as to how much you think it tasty. If you add it raw I would cut it up first so that you are sure it will bake completely.
You can follow the same instructions that Jeff has described in this post for baking.
Thanks, Zoë
sherry said...
October 29, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Thank you! I didn’t get your answer in time to add the garlic, but I will try that tomorrow. The crust on this bread is wonderful! Mine tastes just a little salty…I only had coarse kosher salt so maybe 1 1/2 tbsp. was too much? I will definitely order your book so I can try all your recipes.
Thanks again!
jeff said...
October 30, 2008 at 4:21 am
We use kosher salt as well (Morton brand), but check out the post on brands and how they may differ in measurement http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=139.
In general, Zoe and I are salt-lovers, and if you’re finding our recipes a little to salty, just adjust down. Try decreasing it by 25% or more and see what you think. Jeff
Louise said...
October 31, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Flour question: Semolina Flour states it is milled from durum wheat.. ingredients durum wheat, niacin, iron, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid.
Durum flour states it’s ingredients are; durum flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid.. Are they interchangeable?
Louise
jeff said...
October 31, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Semolina is the flour made from durum wheat, so they should be interchangeable. The only differences may be the fineness of the grind. The finer the better, though the rougher stuff will work also.
Thanks, Jeff
sherry said...
November 5, 2008 at 11:10 am
Hello, I now have your cookbook and can’t wait to get started! I had already made the basic bread and roasted garlic/potato from the recipes online and they were both wonderful.
I just checked on the book errors so I could make corrections and found that only about half of them were really errors…was there a more recent printing where part of them were already corrected? I just want to make sure I got them all.
Thanks!
zoe said...
November 6, 2008 at 7:22 am
Hi Sherry,
I just had a bit of an admin problem and accidentally erased Jeff’s response to your comment! Sorry to both!
The answer is yes, there were a few errors that were cleaned up in later printings of the book. If you have a more recent copy then some of the things on our error page will have been corrected,
Thanks and enjoy all the bread!
Zoë
Judy Aarness said...
November 9, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I am baking bread today. First loaf was wonderful – baking all the dough today. Any suggestions for freezing the baked bread? I used the master recipe and shaped into boules. Thanks.
jeff said...
November 9, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Welcome to the site Judy! You can freeze unused bread in an airtight bag or container. If you like, once it defrosts, you can freshen it up by foil-wrapping it and giving it 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
So glad your first loaf turned out well! Jeff
Judy Aarness said...
November 10, 2008 at 10:14 am
I am so pleased with the results. I can’t wait to show off my homemade breads to my husband when he returns from deer hunting!
thanks for the freezer tip.
Judy
jeff said...
November 10, 2008 at 10:25 am
Did someone say “venison sausage rolls?” In a class that Zoe and I just did, one of the participants brought in some sausage rolls made from both enriched and non-enriched doughs from our book. They were great, and this was with supermarket sausage… Jeff
sherry said...
December 5, 2008 at 11:09 am
Good morning…I have a question about the whole wheat bread on page 76. I mixed the dough last night and after 3 hrs. it wasn’t doubled, but almost so I put it in the fridge. Was that okay or should I have left it longer? This morning I weighed a 1 1/2 lb. lump and rounded it into a ball and when I put it into the pan it came to the top so I shaped it more into an oblong to fit better. My pans are either 8 x 4 or 9 x 5. Is there a loaf pan that is 9 x 4 or is that an error? Since my kitchen was so cold I put it in the oven on the proof cycle and let it rise for about 2 hrs….it still wasn’t over the top of the pan, but was definitely doubled. Is the proof cycle a good idea or should I have let it rise at the cooler temp. and left it as long as it took to double? I now have it in the oven and am hoping it turns out as well as the other breads I’ve tried! I also have Boule dough in the fridge and plan to try the Sun-Dried Tomato and Parmesan Bread. I roasted and froze my own tomatoes this year. Do you think it would be okay to substitute those? They might have more moisture than the store-bought ones.
Thank you for your help!
Valentine said...
December 7, 2008 at 10:49 am
Good Morning Jeff and Zoe,
I just found your recipe in the Dec 08/Jan 09 Mother Earth News and have requested your book from my daughter for Christmas as she works at Barnes and Noble. I have my first batch going as we speak and am excited to try this. We lived in Germany and England for 11 years and I have missed the breads especially from Germany ever since we got back in 2000. I will be making the bread today since I am impatient and to see the difference in it waiting in the fridge. I am really hoping that this dough might turn out some “Brotchen” that compare to our old German Bakery also. Thank you so much for coming up with this method. I will be able to make the dough on the weekend and have fresh hot bread all week even when I work a long day. Looking forward to experimenting. Have you thought about having some forums on your site where devotees can share with each other?
jeff said...
December 7, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Funny you should ask, Valentine. We’d thought that this setup would serve to create forums such as you suggest. But because readers can’t start a conversation thread and label it however they like, no one seems to use it that way. As soon as our 2nd book manuscript is safely at the publisher’s on January 2nd, we will think through how to solve that problem technically. The choice we made about what technology to use might prevent us from doing that easily, but keep in touch and we’ll see how it goes in 2009. Meanwhile feel free to try to start something in one of these posts and see if other readers might comment? Jeff
Amy said...
January 1, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Hey, I just got the book and have yet to make many of the recipes but I was wondering if rather than yeast the bread could be made with sourdough starter, and if so how to substitute one for another. If you have any suggestions that would be great as I have a sourdough starter and would love to use it with this method.
jeff said...
January 2, 2009 at 8:44 am
Amy: I’ve used sourdough starter and it definitely works in this method. I’ve used about a cup-and-a-half of active starter instead of yeast, and if you keep the final dough nice and wet (per our videos at http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?page_id=63 ), this works. It’s temperamental though, so we decided not to put it in the book.
Less temperamental would be to use some sourdough in addition to some yeast, though I can’t say that I’ve tested that. Jeff
Sue said...
January 3, 2009 at 8:20 am
On my home from the gym today I’m stopping at the bookstore to pick up your book. For the life of me I don’t know why I’ve waited so long.
The answer to this question may be in the book, but how crucial is the baking stone to making these? I only have a pizza stone and I want to make more at once than the size of that will allow.
jeff said...
January 3, 2009 at 8:43 am
Sue: Thanks for trying our book!
We didn’t mean to draw such a distinction between a “baking” stone and a “pizza” stone. A pizza stone is just a round baking stone– it will work beautifully.
I think the stone is pretty important for the un-enriched free-form breads; you get a much nicer crust and the stone also evens out heat in ovens that don’t deliver heat perfectly. That said, you can make a decent loaf on a greased cookie sheet, parchment paper, or a silicone mat. Just take them off those 2/3s of the way through and finish on a shelf. Jeff
Pat said...
January 5, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Lacking a pizza stone, Jeff and Sue, I have a PChef pizza stone designed for a toaster oven and since I make 1/2 lb loaves, I use it and it does great! This way I have enough bread for 1 person and it doesn’t get stale.
Are there any Yahoo groups? I’m going to have a look to see, but we could have a group there very easily.
jeff said...
January 5, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Pat: Thanks for checking in about this, I’d heard about these tiny stones and meant to test them… sounds like that setup works. Here’s the yahoo group, it’s been super-active lately:
Pat said...
January 6, 2009 at 1:32 am
Thanks, Jeff. I went to Yahoo groups and found it, read the archives and have posted there. The Master Recipe I posted about that I added water to a couple of days ago made a couple of baguettes and then a loaf of raisin cinnamon and another of cheddar and bacon bread and is doing okay. It seemed to absorb the added water fine. This is amazing dough!
Thanks again,
Pat
jeff said...
January 6, 2009 at 4:30 am
Thanks Pat!
Nina said...
January 11, 2009 at 12:07 pm
After seeing your recipe for the boule in the Oregonian recently I tried it, loved it and have repeated it several times. Marvelous bread! I have now purchased your book and I am excited to try some of the healthier recipes. Somehow, the large commercial bakeries manage to come up with a very light springy 100% wheat bread (although not too tasty). My experience with 100% whole wheat results in a hearty but bitter and heavy loaf. I noticed your recipe calls for more rest time than the boule and that the dough cannot be stored for as long. Do you have any other hints for making this as light as possible?
jeff said...
January 11, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Nina: Yes, try some vital wheat gluten… see our post on this at http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=142. You can also try the 60% whole grain loaf (more or less) on page 78, but I’m guessing you are looking for more 100% WW approaches. Our next book (out in 12/09 will be all about boosting the whole grains and including other healthy ingredients, fruits, and vegetables).
Hey, can you point me to the article on the web in the Oregonian? I haven’t seen it. Jeff
Barbara said...
January 21, 2009 at 7:41 am
During Midwestern winters, I use my garage or porch as a walk-in fridge. Since that is often cooler than an actual refrigerator, do I need to let the dough rest longer to warm up more? Should I bake it longer or just follow the recipes?
Thanks! Love the book, by the way.
zoe said...
January 21, 2009 at 7:48 am
Hi Barbara,
You will probably need to let the dough rest quite a bit longer before baking. It should no longer feel as though it is chilled when it goes in the oven. Once it has warmed to this point it is not necessary to increase the baking time, unless you are making larger loaves than we specify!
Enjoy the bread! Zoë
Barbara said...
January 21, 2009 at 8:00 am
Thanks for the fast feedback. I have another question: when you say “Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the over to 450º . . .” do you mean to turn the oven on at that point or to let it heat for 20 minutes after it reaches 450º? Many bread recipes want you to let the oven get really hot before putting the bread in.
zoe said...
January 21, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Hi Barbara,
For most ovens only 20 minutes is required to heat up the stone to the point where you can put in your bread. Having said that, you may prefer the crust if you allow your stone to heat up just a little more. So 20 minutes is really the minimum amount of time and I usually let mine go closer to 30 minutes.
Hope that helps!
Zoë
Donna Tracy said...
January 22, 2009 at 7:30 am
I saw your article in Mother Earth News at the library and checked out the site as soon as possible. I can’t wait to try out your breads and get the book. I did have another breakfast option that might work; have you tried using breakfast sausage links for an even better “pigs in blankets?”
jeff said...
January 22, 2009 at 8:00 am
Hi Donna, welcome to the site. We haven’t tried “pigs in blankets” but readers have told me it works beautifully. Book’s most easily available (sale price right now) from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312362919?ie=UTF8&tag=arbrinfimiada-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312362919
Sabrina said...
January 29, 2009 at 11:50 am
Hi!
I stumbled across this recipe while searching for “Baguettes”. Really love the photos and want to bake them! I just wonder: What do you mean by saying “old dough”? Does this have something to do with your book and I will not have a chance to make them until I buy it? I am German, living in Portugal… that already makes the conversion of measurements quite interesting 
Hope you can give me a hint on how to prepare these delicious buns without “old dough”. Thanks a lot.
jeff said...
January 30, 2009 at 9:37 am
You don’t have to use “old dough,” which we talk about in the book (to purchase from Amazon US, http://tinyurl.com/4as4qd). Taking a piece of dough from the last batch and incorporating it deepens the flavor, but isn’t absolutely neccesary. Jeff
evelyn said...
February 5, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Do you have a recipe for an organic multi-grain loaf which would include flaxseed?
jeff said...
February 5, 2009 at 7:30 pm
The recipes don’t change for organice ingredients; they measure the same. We do have multi-grain loaves that use flax, but we’re saving them for our follow-up book, Healthy Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, due out in December. Jeff
evelyn said...
February 8, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Wonderful! I’ll look forward to the new book.
Barbara said...
February 11, 2009 at 10:57 am
We have friends coming this w/e and I plan to cook a beef brisket & shred it for sandwiches for lunch. Which bread recipe would make good rolls/buns for the beef?
Thanks!
zoe said...
February 11, 2009 at 11:24 am
Hi Barbara,
Do you want something soft or crusty?
If you want a softer roll I would make them out of the Challah or Brioche dough.
If you want them crusty then you can use the master, peasant or even the rye.
Have fun and enjoy the Brisket sandwiches!
Zoë
Barbara said...
February 13, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Zoe–Thanks for the advice. I decided to go w/ the Challah. My next questions: How many buns from a pound, 4 or 6? And how long do I let them bake? I assume I use the same temp etc.
Thanks!
zoe said...
February 13, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Hi Barbara,
I would say 4-6 buns from a pound of dough would make them a great size for sandwiches.
Enjoy! Zoë
Matt said...
June 30, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Quick question- I know you say to leave the dough out for about two hours, then refrigerate it after that. Is it possible to leave the dough out in room temperature for a while longer to better foster a sour taste, or does the wet dough not appreciate this? If it is possible, how long can I afford to keep it at room temperature before I place it back in the fridge? Thanks, your recipes have been amazing so far!
zoe said...
July 1, 2009 at 6:29 am
Hi Matt,
I prefer to get this flavor by allowing the dough to ferment slowly over the course of a couple of days in the refrigerator. I also usually save a bit of dough from one “old” batch to add to a fresh batch. it jump starts the flavor.
Having said all of this you can leave your dough out overnight without harm to the dough. I’ve done it several times, not always on purpose! You don’t want to do that with any of the doughs containing eggs or dairy.
Enjoy! Zoë
jenna said...
January 31, 2010 at 11:54 pm
re: hot dogs
Try Tofu Pups. A lot of folks are repulsed by the Pups’ appearance — dingy gray with dark flecks — but that’s because they contain nothing unnecessary like food coloring. They are DELISH!
If you can’t get past their looks, there are a million flavors and brands of marinated tofu as another alternative. It’s easy to cut fingers and use them instead of dogs.
Bob Mounger said...
February 5, 2010 at 7:01 am
Greetings,
Is there a rule of thumb or a table that I have missed that lists weight of dough vs. baking time for say, 375F & 450F?
Thanks, Bob
zoe said...
February 5, 2010 at 9:58 am
Hi Bob,
All of the rise times and baking times/temperatures depend entirely on the ingredients that are in the various doughs. It would be hard to make a general chart. Is there a particular bread that you need to adjust?
Thanks! Zoë
Bob Mounger said...
February 5, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Hi Zoë,
Thanks for the quick reply. I was wondering about the master recipe from ABin5
Thanks a million for the books, I eat homemade bread at least 4 days a week now…
Bob
jeff said...
February 5, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Bob: It’s more complicated than that, because shape makes a big difference. In general, the Master from AB5 is baked at 450. If you keep the shape constant (a high boule), then it’s:
1 lb: 30 min
2 lb: 35 to 45 min
3 lb: 45 to 1 hour
But a lot will depend on characteristics of your oven and your stone. Some setups won’t have such a steep increase. You can also use an instant-read thermometer; the internal temp needs to get to 205 to prevent gumminess.
Also use an oven thermometer for the air temp in the oven. Jeff
Andrew said...
March 1, 2010 at 7:49 pm
I just got a kitchen scale, and I was excited to use it for the master recipe from HB5. It worked really well.
However, I also wanted to be able to mix up some other recipes, and I was disappointed that the conversion chart on page 36 leaves off a lot of ingredients. For example, to make the maple oat bread from page 145, I don’t have measurements for oats, wheat germ, cinnamon, buttermilk, or maple syrup. The cinnamon is no big deal, but the others are important omissions.
Are there any plans to put a more complete chart on the web site and/or in future books? It would be great if all of the recipes had volumetric and weight measurements side-by-side as in the master recipe.
Thanks.
zoe said...
March 1, 2010 at 9:37 pm
Hi Andrew,
We tried to give the weights for the most common ingredients in the book, but there are clearly more we could have done. It is encouraging how many people are baking by weight, which we agree is the way to go. We will try to create a more comprehensive list at some time.
Thank you! Zoë
Andrew said...
March 2, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Zoe, thanks for your response. I guess there is a something of a chicken-and-egg problem. Hopefully, as more people weigh ingredients, it will become more common for recipes in general to include weights. Thanks for encouraging me (through your book) to try it out.
Christine said...
March 3, 2010 at 1:37 am
Hi Zoe
I have written to you twice but no reply !
I have both your books and I’m used to weighing my ingredient as I’m not too good at scooping and measuring by cup.
Here’s the problem that I have encountered –
The measuring cup for wet & dry are different and from US or Australia – again different. When I use the measuring cup for flour for the water, the dough is very very dry. If I use the “wet” measuring cup, the dough is very very wet.
I used the measurement for weighing given in “Healthy bread” for the master recipe in “Artisan bread”
The weight for flour is 910gm and that equate out to be more than 6 1/2 cups. Same for the water. If measured by cups it’s lesser than the weighing machine.
Please help ! What should be the correct measurement ?!
Look forward to hearing from you.
Chris
jeff said...
March 3, 2010 at 8:37 am
Christine: I’m a bit confused. Are you hoping to weigh all ingredients for the basic white-dough recipe? Sounds like you have a good scale, and that is the most accurate way. Use 900 grams of unbleached all-purpose flour, and 675 grams of water and the ratio will be exactly what we intended. It’s not a requirement that you use cup-measures, which introduce uncertainty when people in different countries try our recipe.
The result should look like what you see in our videos on this website. Jeff
Denise said...
March 21, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Zoe & Jeff,
It’s good to hear you have another book coming out. It’s fun to get excited over a new technique, especially with such great results!
I had a suggestion for you, borne out of necessity. Since I don’t have a stand mixer or high capacity food processor capable of mixing the dough (and I guess I didn’t want to take the time to do this by hand) I split the recipe in half (actually in quarters as I had doubled the recipe) and put those batches through my smaller food processor. There was still minimal mess, a liquid measuring cup that held all the liquid and my food processor. I would put the flour in first, add the liquid for that amount of flour, then after it was mixed together I put it in the large plastic bucket. I did not clean the food processor after each batch, and the dough would be added one on top of the other in the bucket. I didn’t mix the batches together and I’ve been very pleased with the resulting breads. I did the same process with the brioche dough (only I didn’t double the recipe) and again, the results have been wonderful.
Can you foresee any problems with this method?
Denise
jeff said...
March 21, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Denise: No problem with this, should work beautifully. I do something similar when I don’t feel like mixing or am in someone’s place and they don’t have a big spoon (but do have a food processor). Jeff
Lejing said...
April 21, 2010 at 9:17 am
I would like to get same loaf pan 9 Inch x 4 Inch like you have.
Could you please let me know where you got it?
Thanks.
jeff said...
April 21, 2010 at 9:31 am
Lejing: They’re widely available, including on Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Metallic-Professional-Nonstick-1-Pound/dp/B00004R91A?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=arbrinfimiada-20&creative=380725
Lejing said...
April 21, 2010 at 9:51 am
Thank Jeff.
Gina said...
May 25, 2010 at 4:28 am
I love my Polder scale with its “easy zeroing” feature and huge number display. I don’t know how I ever cooked without it. No more guessing!
jeff said...
May 25, 2010 at 8:32 am
Gina: Weighing became much more practical once the zeroing feature became standard with digital scales. Mechanical scales required tedious arithmetic and that scared people off I think.
Holly said...
May 31, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Today I baked some of the whole wheat bread from the latest book and it never did the oven spring rise so I had flat misshapen loaves. I used KAF white whole wheat instead of standard whole wheat flour. I’ve had great sucess using KAF white ap flour, so I don’t understand why my boules didn’t come out of the oven nice and round. It sort of looks like there isn’t enough flour so the loaves spread out. I’m a long time bread baker and I love this method of bread making.
jeff said...
June 1, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Holly: Definitely sounds like your dough was too wet, and I’m not at all sure why this would be. I’ve found that WWW swaps one for one with traditional WW. In any case… Just add more flour and you should be fine, you’ll have to work it in. If it persists with this flour, you’ll need to use about 1/4 cup more in the first place (that’s just a guess). Jeff
Bob Inhoff said...
June 4, 2010 at 11:42 am
I try to weigh my ingredients. I used KA White Whole Wheat flour. The bag says 120 grams per cup. I see that you refer to 130 grams. My dough was too sticky – the bread did not rise. Should I use 130 instead –even though the bag says 120?ingredients
zoe said...
June 4, 2010 at 9:13 pm
Hi Bob,
Our weights are based on the scoop and sweep method, so a cup of flour in our recipes weighs more than some others that you will find. You need to use the 130g or the recipes will come out too wet.
Thanks! Zoë
Jessica Harris said...
July 10, 2010 at 8:44 am
I’m so confused on what to believe. Every where I look on the internet the weight of one cup of flour varies from source to source. I watch America’s Test Kitchen and they suggest King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour. They use the Dip and sweep yielding 5 ounce [142 gram] cups of flour, but King Arthur says “Lightly” spoon and sweep yielding 4.25 ounce [120 gram] cups of flour. Most commonly used by King Arthur in their web recipes and books, they also list weights parenthetically to help get the correct quantity of flour.
Why are there two different methods? For accuracy how do you know which one is correct and will .75 ounces of flour make a difference in my baking. Also if I’m not using a recipe that says the amount of flour in ounces or grams which one do I use 4.25 ounces or 5 ounces?
Im also confused on the amount of protein, I know you want high protein flour like King Arthur in bread, but should I use a less protein flour for cakes and such if I want them to be tender? Whats the rule when it comes to protein content in recipes?
jeff said...
July 10, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Jessica: It’s all in our books, in the “Ingredients” chapter… We use the scoop and sweep, which gives you about a 5 ounce cup of unbleached AP, maybe a hair less. Spoon and sweep is much lighter, and we don’t use it. See my video for how we measured for our book: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1801
Corinne said...
July 14, 2010 at 7:26 am
I just made the Light Whole Wheat bread recipe, which says I should get three 1.5 lb loaves. However, I ended up with only about 3.25 lbs of dough total. Did I do something wrong? The difference in yield wouldn’t be an issue, except that I’m trying to calculate nutritional info. Also, I noticed that when I went to bake that second loaf after leaving the dough in the fridge for a couple of days, the top of the dough was a bit dry, and as I shaped it into a ball it seemed a bit lumpy, like there were drier spots throughout. I measured the ingredients exactly, and I left it in a covered plastic container in the fridge with the lid slightly off. Thanks!
jeff said...
July 14, 2010 at 8:07 am
Corinne: You experienced some drying of the surface, which generally doesn’t harm anything unless it gets really hard. You can snap down the plastic lid after 48 hours and this usually prevents the problem.
Our first book tends to yield less than 4 full one-pound loaves, you’re getting 0.8-pounders (I usually get 0.9 pounders from that recipe…
So it isn’t you! Jeff
Corinne said...
July 14, 2010 at 9:35 am
Correction: The recipe says it makes four 1 lb. loaves. I still didn’t get enough dough though.
zoe said...
July 14, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Hi Corinne,
Thank you, the recipe makes about 3# 12-ounces of dough which results in 4 loaves that are just shy of 1-pound. If you want larger loaves or more of them you can always double the recipe.
Thanks, Zoë
Corinne said...
July 21, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Thanks so much for the response. 
I’ve got to say that your first book is hands down the best cookbook I’ve ever purchased (and I’ve got a HUGE shelf full of them). I say this because it’s had the most impact on how I live and eat. I haven’t bought bread in the past 2 weeks, because making fresh bread using your recipes is so simple and it tastes so good. My husband and I go through a loaf every couple of days, and when the bread’s been in the oven for about 20 minutes, he starts sniffing around the oven and pacing the kitchen. I have to keep a close eye on him while it cools so he doesn’t steal any! Thanks for making bread making accessible for busy people like us!
jeff said...
July 21, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Thanks for the kind words Corinne, come back anytime w/questions. Jeff
Amina said...
July 25, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Hi,
I’m actually new at baking bread, but when I saw your recipe I couldn’t wait to try it. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as expected… When I tried to shape a loaf, I found the dough to be incredibly sticky and moist and I could just -not- form a decent loaf with it. I ended up hurling the first attempt away in complete frustration, after wrestling with it quite a while. Then I added a decent amount of extra flour to it, trying not to knead it, and this worked out fairly well and eventually I got a decent bread, yet the loaves were still a pain to shape. I realized I must’ve made a mistake converting the quantities, so I snooped around in the FAQ section and found this thread and decided to try it again. My third attempt however (let’s not talk about me overheating the water in my second attempt), is proving to be not that less moist then my first try, but I did manage to shape a decent loaf without losing my temper. Clearly, I must be doing something wrong. Could you please help me out? Because I really, really want to master this recipe, as I am in desperate need of firm, crunchy bread now that I am currently residing in Turkey for a while and really miss Belgian bread!
Thanks! Amina
zoe said...
July 25, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Hi Amina,
I wonder if the flour you are getting in Turkey is different than the ones we use here and this could be the source of some of your issues? What kind of flour are you using? Any idea what the protein content is?
It may also just be that you are not using enough flour when shaping the loaf? Here is a video of how to shape a loaf with very wet dough. http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1715
I just returned from Istanbul and long to be back there! Enjoy, Zoë
Sarah said...
July 26, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Is the Whole Wheat Brioche dough generally hard to work with? Mine raised so much it overflowed the bowl before refrigerating, was so wet I had a hard time shaping it (even after chilling for 4 hours), and again nearly overflowed the loaf pan before going in the oven. (I used it in the Apple Strudel Bread on p. 278–HBin5). Is this typical for this recipe? I haven’t had any trouble with the other doughs I’ve tried.
zoe said...
July 26, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Hi Sarah,
If your dough was very warm when it went into the refrigerator it may have needed more than 4 hours to fully chill. If so, the resting times on the bread may have needed to be shorter. Did the bread rise at all in the oven?
If the dough isn’t any easier to handle after resting in the refrigerator overnight then maybe there isn’t enough flour in the dough. When I have missed a cup of flour I get a similar result. You can always add a bit more flour, let it rest to absorb the excess water and try it again.
Hope this helps, Zoë
Marie said...
July 27, 2010 at 4:49 pm
I am trying the gluten-free recipes in the book. However, could you post the weight measurements for the gluten-free flours? Especially starches has a tendency to get very compact and I think it is easier and better to weigh the ingredients. Thanks.
jeff said...
July 27, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Marie: At the moment, we do not have weight equivalents for the gluten-free flours, but will post them when available. Unfortunately we have book deadline coming up, and I can’t say when this is going to happen. Jeff
Flo Makanai said...
October 18, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Those buns look pretty nice, and they’re probably excellent too, thanks Jeff and Zoe!
Would’nt it be possible to mix the whole batch of dough without the “old” dough and then knead in the “old” dough, like one usually does with firm sourdough? I know you want to have a no-knead dough but really, is that more complicated than using and then washing an immersion blender? It’s really easy to knead a piece of old dough in a batch of fresh dough.
Thanks again for your great recipes and ideas!