Trust me....you will make 4 loaves in 10 days!!
And if you don't want to eat it make friends by giving a loaf away.
I don't think the raw dough freezes well.
Linda C

Linda's advice is a good idea. Or you could just cut down the recipe. There's also a no-knead recipe, google New York Times no-knead Sullivan Street Bakery bread. There should be a video of this and it only makes one loaf. It will give you a pretty good idea about tweaking the 5 minute artisan bread. Have fun!

I bought the book after making the bread several times and loving it. It's been a crazy winter for me so there are still a number of recipes I want to try from the book. I still like the basic boule a lot. The loaves are somewhat small, so I think you'll make the four loaves. These kinds of breads really are meant to eat fresh so having a smaller loaf means you can throw one in the oven before a meal easily. They're not tiny, don't get me wrong, but a little smaller than some loaves you might make. In fact if I'm going to have more than the two of us around I'll make two loaves, or sometimes I divide the dough into about three loaves instead of four. I also believe I have left the dough as long as two weeks with no problems but usually I make the four loaves within the ten days with no problem. Besides, even if you didn't get around to the fourth loaf you'd only be out a few cents. Enjoy.

I made some adjustments to the basic recipe and this is our everyday bread my DH bakes. He also made the portion a little smaller, so that he makes one larger loaf worth of dough and that lasts us couple of days. Every time he bakes a new bread, he makes new dough for next one. Works out great for us.

I usually only mix up a 1/2 recipe. I've made many of the recipes out of the book and they have all turned out well. The last one I made was after LindaC asked about adding milk to the recipe and I posted the recipe on page 207 for Buttermilk Bread. It's one recipe from the book that's panned, instead of being used free-form. The Buttermilk Bread recipe is also used to make Cinnamon-Raisin Bread (page 209).

-Grainlady

Yes, I love the book and the breads. Except for the current stash in the frig, which is deflating, and none of the other stored stashes did, they have turned out well. Makes me happy. Yes, make 3 instead of 4, but they do stale quickly. They are smallish. Freezing the dough is not recommended but I can't recall if the authors are silent on the subject or negative. Freezing the baked bread is ok, altho I had to do some searching to find out how.

I followed Ann T.'s way of freezing bread-she wraps it in paper towels and then a plastic bag. Haven't tasted it yet but I have frozen some.

Congrats and have fun.

Beth thank you for the heads up. How fun! I am going to order their other book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Really appreciate the information.

Take care.

Kate

After reading this post, I dug up the master recipe and whipped up a batch. I didn't let it rise before going in the fridge though. I baked up a tiny baguette today because the curiosity was killing me. It didn't rise much on the counter, but it did puff up in the oven. I love that about aged dough. I thought the first attempt was encouraging enough that I bought the kindle book. I am looking forward to trying more! Puna, may I ask what adjustments you've made? Has anyone tried anything besides the basic bread? The brioche looked awesome.

I guess I've been living under a rock, because I hadn't heard about this book. Sounds amazing!

Sue

To your question, I have made the basic recipe 5 times; each time making 4 loaves. I've never had a failure. The size of the loaves are just right for us to have fresh bread for almost 2 weeks.

Here is the link goldgirl

Here is a link that might be useful: Artisan Bread in 5 Muntes a Day

Basic recipe link

Here is a link that might be useful: Five Minute Bread

All,

Here's a report back on my first attempt using the cook book. 1) I am NOT a bread baker...the very thought of kneading dough, making bread has been too intimdating. 2) I read the entire book (the 1st one, about artisan bread) before I purchased ingredients and made the basic recipe. I highly recommend doing this...especially if you're a novice like I am 3) After familiarizing myself with the basic boule recipe, I checked out the website Trudy provided and read a lot of additional tips & FAQs provided by the authors. Very, very helpful. There were also several videos of the authors making the dough, forming the boule, etc. I highly recommend checking these out, and spending time on the website.

I mixed the dough together Friday night and let it rise for 2 hours on the countertop....It increased an amazing amount! I then refrigerated, following directions exactly, until tonight when I pinched off a "grapefruit" to make my first loaf of bread. Following the directions precisely, I shaped the boule quickly, it rose and got "wiggly" in about 1 hour (authors recommend 40-90 minutes depending upon your house's temp, moisture in dough, etc.), and then I popped the dough into the oven.

The dough continued to rise in the oven, and emerged after 30 minutes in a very nice shape. The bread cuts like a dream....and the taste. WOW! Hard, crunchy crust and soft insides.

I'm delighted with the recipe and the process. I'll tweak it a bit to improve my technique before I continue to the other recipes the authors provide.

For the first time in my life, I was able to bake a wonderful, professional-looking and tasting loaf of bread!

Color me a Happy Cook! :)

And here it is by weight:

725 g water
925 g (2 pounds) flour
25 g salt
14 g yeast

The author gave it in the comments on one of the posts. I agree-- the videos are great! They made me want to give them my 15 bucks.

I have provided this link before, but I hope no one minds that I will do it again, as it is easier to answer jessicavanderhoff question this way.
Now a days we make about 2/3 of the recipe, I believe, and make one large loaf that lasts us about 2 - 3 days. My DH is the break making now in our family. This is the only bread we eat, we do not buy any from the store anymore :)

Here is a link that might be useful: My artisan 5 min bread.

Interesting. Looks like you use a bigger proportion of rye and whole wheat and less total flour than the European peasant loaf.

I just read a comment from the author that if you're going to wait at least 12 hours before baking, you don't have to do the rise before it goes into the fridge. So my laziness is sanctioned! :-P

My loaf last night turned out raw in the middle :-/ guess it needs to rise longer.

I love their challah bread. It is amazing.

Jessica, go to the website and read all the info provided udner their FAQs. My first guess is that your oven temp is not accurate. My first loaf was not fully cooked in the middle, and the FAQs indicated that it was likely caused by inaccurate temperature. Zoe also recommends baking at 475. So, I purchaesd a thermometer and my oven was off by 50 degrees. I baked my next loaf at 475 (adjusted to really get 475 on the oven thermometer), and the loaf turned out super.

I can't say enough nice things about all the helpful info on the Artisan Bread website.

I used it a lot about a year ago. My BIL was staying with us for a few months, he ate bread like crazy, and loved the novelty of baking it at home. He took pictures of me making dough to send back home, said no one would believe Americans like to bake their own bread.

I made mostly versions of the boule. One problem I had consistently, though, was mine would never dome well in the oven. (I don't know what the correct term for this is) They all tended to flatten out too much. I tried testing the oven, different recipes. Different yeast. I tried then baking it in a bread pan, it still didn't dome. I ended up shaping everything like foccaccia, and we just tore it up at the table.

I would try it again, but the business of it not achieving a good shape is a deterrent. The kids didn't like having it all in foccaccia form. I don't have the knowledge to ferret out what the problem is.

Lin....The 2 loaves I've baked look just like the bread in the book....a very nice dome on each loaf.

I do think ensuring you are baking at accurate temp is important, and the authors really stress this. So, you might want to get an oven thermometer and see what your "real" temperature is.

I also recommend you visit the FAQs on their website. The authors answer all the questions, and I learned a lot by reading all the Qs & As.

These 2 suggestions might help solve your doming problem.

Thanks Beth. I did, and I remember they suggested the oven temperature was off, or the dough was too wet, or it didn't rise enough before going in. I like their website too-- they seem like nice people. The oven being too hot would explain the outside getting done before the inside, although I've baked bread at a variety of temperatures and it's always seemed like the inside was done whenever the outside looked like the right color. Seems like wet dough is more prone to being raw in the middle, because it's not as aerated when it goes into the oven.

Linnea, how old was the dough? I've noticed that new dough gives almost no oven spring, but after a few days in the fridge, you get a much taller loaf.

Beth, I'm so glad you did it and it worked so well. Really a satisfying feeling, eh?

Linnea, this bread is like any other bread in that how much flour it takes can vary. It sounds to me like you're just not using quite enough flour. Take a look at the video or the link that Punamytsike posted. That gives a good picture of the dough when you first mix it. Btw, I find that using my hands to mix the dough might be messy, but it makes incorporating the flour easier and faster. One day I'll get one of those great dough stirrer things but for now the old hands work well.

This cookbook has changed my family's life. My teenage sons never liked homemade bread before, so I stopped making it years ago - why go to all that trouble for bread they wouldn't eat? I got the cookbook as a gift and decided to give breadmaking another try. It's been amazing! I almost always make just a half recipe because I don't have a large container or very much room in my fridge. I just cook one large loaf from the half recipe. I have the basic boule recipe memorized, so I can toss everything together in 2 minutes in the morning and have warm bread that night.

Favorite recipes are the cheese bread (I use asiago cheese rather than cheddar), focaccia, the whole wheat loaf (nice because it doesn't require pre-heating the pizza stone), brioche, and the caramel pecan rolls. I also make pizzas fairly regularly, but these have been a bit tricky as you need to make sure the crust is cooked through while the toppings don't get too brown/burnt. I cook pizzas at 500 or 550 degrees.

Tonight, for the first time in my life I made pizza "from scratch". I took the last of the 4 "grapefruit" sized pieces of dough and followed the directions for making pizza. I spread out the dough, sprinkled fresh organo on the dough, spread some tomato sauce on the dough (not too thick), then covered with fresh spinach, fresh mushrooms, turkey pepperoni, and chunks of fresh mozerella. I baked in the oven at 550 degrees for 12 minutes....and the results are amazing! Pizza that looks beautiful, and the crust is fabulous! Crunchy, crunchy bottom and everything else just blends together perfectly.

I am just ecstatic to have added this book to my collection!

CAVEATS- The book has a few errors which the authors mention on their website.

There is a page on their website, "Q&A"+white flour, where they say that the book was written for ordinary, think Goldmedal, etc., flours but if you are using King Arthur, add 1/3 or 1/4 c extra water, if using bread flours, add ///extra water, etc. So do a search of their website for this page. After baking for 2 months, I have learned to use more water.

Another thing to search for on the website is, errors and/or errati. There are numerous corrections to be made in earlier printing of the books. I have a recent printing and still had to make corrections. It made me angry for a bit, but nothing was monumental.

Still, I love it and feel exactly as Beth. Wow. I made this. I am proud.

A dutch oven solved all my problems. I stuck a temperature probe in the bread to be safe (I had something to prove after three raw-in-the-middle loaves!!) but it reached 200 inside before I even took the lid off. It even had a nice crust. Hooray!!

Linnea, as mentioned by Coconut, different flour brands have different water requirements. It's not in the book but it is on 'artisanbreadinfive.com' website. Use the search on their website and type in "Q&A white flour" and hopefully that page will pop up. I don't know how to bring that page here. Mostly, the breads don't have a zooming high dome, but using a covered cast iron pot does help. I didn't buy the pot right away, but eventually did.

Also, the book does not talk about baking this bread in the pot, but the website does. They love the pot. Hundred degree water helps me, too.

Monday will be the start of my kitchen demo and I baked 4 loaves yesterday as my last hurrah, for now! sob my 50 year old ovens work perfectly sob sob

I did all the usual things when they didn't dome right. I suspected the oven, so tested it, and it WAS off. I recalibrated and retested it...and got the same results?! Fresh dough or older dough, all the same. The flour is the only thing left to check.

When you don't get good success, though, the motivation tends to drop. I have not gone back to it this winter.

Yes, I certainly understand your motivation. If it didn't work for me, I would not be writing, as I am. I am a very inexperienced baker.

Are you using SAF yeast? I ask because, I don't know yeast from a television, but, an experienced, respected, inspirational baker on the kitchens forum has recently discovered that red star yeast does not always work and SAF always does. So to give me every chance of success, I got SAF yeast. I love the smell, too. I keep th e yeast in the freezer. I am so inexperienced that I researched where to keep the yeast. This baker also only uses bottled spring water. I still use tap water.

The authors say kosher salt. So I use kosher salt.

And I bought King Arthur flour, because bakers whom I respect use KA flour. Just trying to increase my odds of success in this goofy adventure.

Linnea, these are only my thoughts. I have been lucky with abin5. Happy and excited. If you think your flour may be the culprit in not achieving what you want, then think of solutions---change brands, further research the flour brand/water ratio. Good luck.

I want to start using this book this weekend. I actually just began reading through it tonight. So I must use a pizza stone yes? I need to go out and buy one which is no problem but does it matter if I buy one for $20 or $50? I have never used a pizza stone before. Thank you.

Kate

Kate, if you have a cast iron covered pot, you don't need a stone. Cooking in a pot is talked about on their website, but not in the book. They rave about the pot on 'artisanbreadinfive.com'. I bought a Martha Stewart 2.75 qt. cast iron pot for about $30 on sale at Macy's.

I haven't but would try a loaf pan, nonstick I think, if you don't want to buy the pot or stone now. The authors say it doesnt get the same crust on the bottom---but the taste and top crust will be so good anyway. Worth a try. Happy baking.

oh, also see the website if you are using KA flour or bread flour as the water amount s/b increased using this brand or type.

Thank you for that information. I do have a cast iron covered pot that has barely been used. Time for some experimentation.

Kate