If your room is cold it could take longer to rise. You could try a test on your yeast. Mix a tsp of yeast is some warm water with a dash of sugar. IF it foams and and bubbles then your yeast if fine.

Shelley

Shaun I have terrible luck with this bread, never gets a good rise. Can't understand all the hoopla.....

Well I give up. Look what happened

{{gwi:1522407}}

I've had that baking stone for many years.

I hate bread baking.

oh my...that is bad..and those bites...go have a drink darlin' and to hell with it all. Sending you hugs...

I wish I could but I'm on antibiotics and my foot is still really painful and swollen.

Well we ate the frisbee bread anyway. I sliced it and it looked like Biscotti.

It tasted really good. Warm w/butter, real good.

I'm going to go buy another stone and a peel and give it another go tomorrow. If it had risen, I didnt have a peel so I would have probably deflated it by picking it up anyway.

This is such a challenge I can't give up. I was just miffed above when I said I hated bread baking. I dont really hate it, I get frustrated with it is all.

I haven't seen the recipe, but does it use water? My understanding is that if the water is too cool, the yeast will not activate. If it is too hot, it will kill the yeast. What temperature was the water that you used in the recipe? Mine is usually between 80 and 90 degrees.

I had problems when I used the jarred bread machine yeast. Now, I use the individual packets and I haven't had a problem since... though that is for traditional white or honey wheat bread. I'm going to wait until you have success before trying the 5 minute artisan bread. I was looking forward to reading about your experience.

Sorry that your stone broke! That's afwul. How ironic that you gave Cathy a baking stone at the FFFF!

HA! Well at least I know where to go buy a new stone!

I used packaged yeast. And the water was luke warm, like the recipe said.

I have question (again). In the Errors Section, it says to let the bread rise 40 mins - 1 1/2 hrs. Well if you dont know how long it's gonna take to rise, how can you plan your dinner to where the bread is ready when the meal is? I mean, if you want warm bread.. so?

I'm sorry about your stone. It looks like it was well-loved and those are always hard to lose.

I'm not clear if you refrigerated the dough for the first rise or not. Cold water, cold dough and/or cold room temperature will always increase rising time.

Personally, I don't know why recipes even bother to mention a particular rising time because unless you're a commercial baker who has to calibrate dough temperature, proofing temperature and every other factor to assure bread's ready for customers, it's going to vary.

So my suggestion is to IGNORE the rising time. IGNORE the rising time and just watch the dough.

Carol

Bummer about the stone but the bread looks great! As I said in your original post, the second rising time is 40 minutes - 1 1/2 hours. Apparently there were a lot of errors in the book so check the link in the other post for corrections.

I've made this recipe several times with great results, especially when the dough has been in the frig for several days - it also makes for a yummy pizza. Don't give up on the recipe! Have you seen the author's video for this bread? Click on the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: 5 minute artisan bread video

Oh no Shaun! Sorry about your bread and your stone, it looked well loved and perfect. I applaud your efforts to continue making bread, it takes a lot of time and energy. My attempts have met with limited success so far, so anyone who continues to work on it through setbacks has my respect. Good luck with your next loaves!

Bri

I like the flavor better when I make the dough a day or two ahead of time. Once you get that down, taking the dough out of the fridg, shaping and timing the rise becomes much easier.

Sorry about your stone. I lost one a few months ago when making pizza...no reason it broke, it just did!

Nancy

Hi Shaun -

I'm sorry you had problems with the bread. I am by no means an expert bread baker, which is why I love this method. I'm a "Lucy Ricardo Bread Baker"!

I mix the dough (my bucket is marked with lines), allow to double at room temp (sometimes up to 4 hours in my kitchen) and then place the lidded bucket (not airtight)after doubling in the fridge for about 2 days prior to use. The dough will be easier to work with and the taste improved - more "sourdough'ish".

On baking day, I let the dough rise on the peel at room temperature - sometimes up to 2 hours. Truthfully, I don't see much rise during this period. The oven spring occurs during the baking phase - the hot water in the pan underneath the stone works great!

Try it again, it truly is easy!

Boo, Sorry about your bread troubles. Maybe the ants got to it. I was going to say that you have done a dry run on buying a baking stone.

Cathy

(((hugs)))

hee hee ..... ants.

Carol, no I didnt refrigerate the dough after I mixed it up. I mixed it up using the luke warm water, put a lid on it and let it sit for 2 hours (timed). Then I cut a piece off, shaped it into a ball and it laid there, never rising.

Maybe it was tired.

LOL, maybe. Even barometric pressure can affect dough rising. Gravity takes its toll.

Carol

I responded to the other thread, too. I want to add that I use 100 degree water, measured by an instant read thermometer. (For us older folks, it's about the right temp for baby formula or just a wee bit warmer.) I don't bother with a lid. I use a large mixing bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel. I find the peel, the stone, pinching, etc. to be a PITA, and only contributes to looks, not taste. I use loaf pans, but otherwise, everything is the same. I make two recipes at a time in two different mixing bowls, so I get enough bread for my DH for a couple of weeks. Nice!

Ok folks. I bought a peel and a new stone. Then I made a special trip to the store to get corn meal.

I put the dough on the peel with corn meal on the bottom but I guess I didnt use enough because after 1 1/2 hours the FLAT bread stuck to the peel, I had to throw one out (I had two on there) and I finally got the other one onto the stone which was preheated in the oven.

After 30 mins, I used my peel to take the bread out (still flat by the way) and it was stuck to the stone. I man handled the s.o.b. and the whole bottom of the loaf is still stuck on the stone.

I have to leave now for my cake decorating class so I'll have to clean up my mess when I get back. By then, the stone will be cool enough to handle anyway.

I am throwing out all this blasted dough and making up a new batch tomorrow with the correct amount of yeast in it, I'm certain I didnt put enough in. Only used 1 and 1/2 pkts of it.

So there. Another bread flop.

Reducing the yeast might increase the rising time but otherwise it should have been fine and there should have been some oven spring. I think someone else (maybe on the other thread?) suggested testing the yeast to see if it's viable?

Carol

Where is the recipe to be found?

Shaun, I have found this recipe takes a lot longer to rise than the amount of time it calls for in the recipe. You just have to watch it to tell when it is time to put it in the oven. The bread also gets alot of the rise after it goes into the oven. After making it a few times you will be able to tell when it has risen enough......patience, my dear! Don't give up on it.

Bobby, it is the recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Is it posted on a web site anywhere?

Here ya go Bobby, copied from the NY Times article.

Recipe: Simple Crusty Bread

Adapted from "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day," by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)

Time: About 45 minutes plus about 3 hours resting and rising

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough

Cornmeal.

1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Yield: 4 loaves.

Variation: If not using stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, an extra hour if refrigerated. Heat oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack.

Shaun, sorry about your stone and all the trouble you are having. If it helps, I didn't have success with this recipe either. I think I will try it again this weekend.

Keep us posted and I sure hope it works out for you. I let mine rise for what seemed like forever and didn't get much of an oven pop either.

David

Don't give up - if "Lucy can do it, Shaun can" . I usually mix the dough, let it double at room temp and put in the fridge for two days minimum. The dough will be much easier to work with after this time. I find it too wet to work with the first day I make the dough. As Marigene stated above, it will often take much longer at room temp to rise (very minimal rise) than stated in the recipe.The major rise will occur in the oven baking with steam. (I have often left the round on the peel for up to 2 hours as my kitchen is very cool now with AC running full blast with our 90 plus temps)

You CAN do it!!! Keep trying!

The first thing I see wrong with the recipe is mixing the salt and yeast in the water at the same time. I add the salt only after I have added in 3/4 of the flour that I will be using.

I made bread on Saturday (or was it Sunday?), and I let the dough rise for two hours and then I shaped it into loaves without punching it down and let it rise two more hours before baking. I use a mixture of sourdough biga and yeast, and not very much yeast. I use about half as much yeast as I normally would for the same amount of flour and simply give it longer rising time. If I am baking bread for a meal, I try to plan for the bread to be done two hours before the meal. I also like to give it the longest rising time possible. I've just had better results that way.

OTOH, if you are making bread at high altitude (like I did at a friends house in Mexico City), your dough will rise all over the place in no time!

Lars

Oh, Shaun, you gave me a good laugh, I'm so sorry. I can relate to your experience of bread sticking to your brand new stone and being in a hurry. I'd throw out that recipe and try something that I've found to be less no fail, the no-knead bread. There's a sourdough version and a just yeast version. It is very forgiving. And, guess what, I've baked it covered, uncovered on a stone and in a bread pan. It does take a long time, about 20 hours or longer but so little work. Have you checked out this site?

Here is a link that might be useful: No-knead bread videos

Terrapots, I have looked at that before but this 5 minute Artisan Bread was calling my name. It looked SO simple. I have gone to so much trouble to make this Artisan Bread that I AM GONNA DO IT. I even went to the grocery store and bought a whole bucket of ice cream, came home and about sprained my wrist getting the ice cream out of that bucket JUST so I could use it to make this dough. I was ready to buy a bucket of cat litter and use that bucket but then I had presence of mind to think it might not be food safe. I was going nuts looking for a bucket; almost ordered one online but didnt want to wait that long to get it.

Now just how much cornmeal must one put on the peel in order for the freakin dough to slide off it onto the stone? AND do you also put cornmeal on the stone? Maybe I should just use parchment paper.

Forget the frustration of the corn meal mess. Just put your bread on parchment paper for the final rise, and pick up the entire thing and put it on you stone. Sometimes I don't even use a peel and sometimes I let it rise on the peel, but on paper.

If you are using instant yeast you may need to increase the temp of the water. Also one teaspoon of sugar might help the rise and shouldn't change the flavor.

Bread making is easy but another recipe might work better for you.

I follow Sooner's and others' suggestion about the parchment paper. I place the shaped bread on a paper covered peel and trim away all but an inch or two. The bread & paper slide easily onto a preheated stone. About 2/3 through the baking time, I quickly open the oven door & yank out the paper so the bread bottom crust finishes baking directly on the stone. It's so much easier than worrying about corn meal.

I'm glad to see this topic surface again. I was toying with the idea of re-trying this recipe. The bread rose fine for me, and my husband liked it. But I thought the taste was pretty blah, less tasty than other breads I'd made with a pre-ferment. Even after letting the dough "age" in the fridge for several days, I couldn't taste any improvement in flavor. But the convenience can't be beat. That's why I was thinking of giving it one more try.

Shaun, you're trying too hard. Improvise, why don't you? Good thing you didn't use the litter bucket. Walmart carries some good rising plastics you can see through, probably cheaper than cat litter. Need help eating that ice cream? Oops, forgot I have to watch cholesterol. Hope your bread works out. Sounds easy but too confusing. Strange it doesn't rise; that's always a downer. Don't own a peel, found parchment works fine instead. Place it over the bread (or under if you don't need to flip), cutting board on top to flip it onto, then slip the parchment with bread onto the hot baking stone. Well, good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

Ok folks, I think my problem was the yeast was old.

I bought fresh yeast.

Mixed up a new batch this morning and left the bucket on the counter top for 2 hours. It more than doubled in size.

Now it's in the fridge. I'll wait as long as I can, (I'm dying to try baking some already!!).

If you're not sick of hearing about this, I'll post my results when I bake some.

Thanks everyone for all the input, suggestions, tricks, etc., I appreciate all your help.

Andi, sorry if I bugged you to death with all my frantic emails!! (thanks!)

hee hee Shaun - you sound like me...

I have done it on parchment and it works well. I also have baked some the same day and it also works - it does get better but the first day worked for me...YEA for you! Can't wait to hear and see how it turns out. BTW - you inspired me to order the book - I had been thinking about it. And thanks so much to who? emmisme for posting the corrections - I printed them out.

stacy

I'm much more of a lurker, but I had to post. I came home all excited to use my Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day which I picked up from the library. Put off trying it till I buy a dough rising bucket. In the meantime, opened up the oven and there sat my beautifully black and well-seasoned stone in TWO pieces.

I did buy some non-King Arthur all purpose flour since the book says the King's regular flour's protein content is too high. And, I bought a new stone today from W-S which I am breaking in with stromboli right now. The dough rising bucket will have to wait; a plastic bowl with foil on the top will have to suffice. Now, Shaun, I'm wondering how your bread finally turned out.

Post pix, Shaun, and we want more cake decorating classs stories.

I so feel your pain. I'm not much of a bread baker and I even went to the bread making get together in NC with the mavens of bread making.

I would love to see your bread...post pics!

I'll be making some for tonight.....I'll post pictures.

What a coincidence. I was looking at the authors' website today, and read through the "Errors" they've included. One of them might be your problem if you're using the recipe from the book:

"Throughout the book we call for "1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast (1 1/2 packets)." It should read "1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast (2 packets).""

Just a teensy little error!

Here is a link that might be useful: 5 min artisan bread book errors

Shaun, I'll second Lars' comment on not mixing the yeast with the salt. That's a big no-no for bread baking. Mix the water w/the yeast, add to flour, mix a little, then add the salt.

Also, the parchment paper is a godsend, no more peeling sticky dough!