So, if you've liked what you've read so far, I want to recommend 2 books:
Artisan Bread in 5 Min a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois is the source for the second kneadless bread method I recommended. This book is totally awesome!!! Not only does it offer a bunch of other uses for the master recipe published in the NY Times (white loaf bread, pizza, chiabatta bread, and even pita bread), but it also provides many other base recipes. Hertzberg and Francois offer a few of what I would call "comfort breads" like Soft American-style white bread, cinnamon-raisin bread, and pecan Carmel rolls. However, the focus of this book, as promised, is artisan breads. Wheat...white...shaped...sweet...I can't wait to try them all!
Artisan Bread in 5 Min a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois is the source for the second kneadless bread method I recommended. This book is totally awesome!!! Not only does it offer a bunch of other uses for the master recipe published in the NY Times (white loaf bread, pizza, chiabatta bread, and even pita bread), but it also provides many other base recipes. Hertzberg and Francois offer a few of what I would call "comfort breads" like Soft American-style white bread, cinnamon-raisin bread, and pecan Carmel rolls. However, the focus of this book, as promised, is artisan breads. Wheat...white...shaped...sweet...I can't wait to try them all!
Kneadlessly simple by Nancy Baggett basically follows the first kneadless method I recommended. Baggett's method is a little different than the one published in the NY Times, but the idea is essentially the same. Her book has an extensive artisan section, but spends at least equal time on more homey breads like loaf pan loaves of oatmeal honey bread, English muffin loaves, "county fair" white bread, pull-apart butter-top rolls, cinnamon pinwheel raisin bread, and nutty or seedy wheat loaves. You should see this picture of her double chocolate-honey bread. She even has a few gluten-free loaves.
If I could only buy one of these books, which would it be? I'm not sure I can answer that question yet. I like both methods and both books. From where I sit now, I think that, for my lifestyle, the 5 min bread method might work out better for me because it's so incredibly flexible. I have some of the master recipe in my refrigerator now. I was supposed to bake bread Sunday and ended up eating fast food for lunch and dinner to fit a spontaneously busy schedule. Because the dough was safely in the refrigerator, I could easily postpone by bread-baking until Monday and then until Tuesday (because I had to work really late). The bread is ready when I am. That said, Baggett's recipes don't exactly require a lot of attention...just a little bit of reliable pre-planning. I might have to save my final word until after I try a few more recipes.
Maybe you could help me? Let me know if you buy the books. We can work together!
3 comments:
I forgot to ask you about something I noticed when I've made the "artisan bread in 5 minutes a day" (which is awesome) - did you find it to be kinda salty? I didn't notice at first, but both my husband and my Mom said it was strangely salty. Do you think it would affect the recipe too much to reduce the 1.5 tbs of salt?
My friend has the 5 min book, and while I haven't actually made the dough you're talking about, she made it and we then made some of the stuffed savory breads with it.
We made the spinach & feta with olive oil and pine nuts and it was delicious! We sprinkled poppy seeds on top and it looked beautiful. It was like a giant calzone to feed small family.
Secondly, we made the almond paste & raspberry bread. It was good, but nothing special.
After we tasted the aforementioned, we experimented with a variation of the recipe by using fresh raspberries on top of cream cheese. We sprinkled a generous amount of granulated sugar on top and oh my, it was really good!
Glad to see all of the info you've put here. I am going to try it myself soon.
Andrea-- If I'm remembering correctly, the 5 min bread bread book recommends course kosher salt in the front of the book. If you use fine salt of any kind, you'd have to use less salt because it packs in the spoon tigher. Maybe that would help.
--Katie
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