Product Description

People who have tasted fine artisan breads find that too many of the little shops that sold them have disappeared. And, they've no time to make them at home. In answer to that Jeffrey Hertzberg has devised a way of making artisan bread that is hardly more trouble than baking a potato. He came up with the basics: put together a large quantity of dough with his simplified method, store it in the refrigerator for as long as two or more weeks, take out a chunk when you want it, spend about five minutes shaping it, and put it in the oven. Restaurant chef Zoe Francois enriches the book by adding recipes for sumptuous baked desserts, all using the same simple time-saving method. This cookbook is truly a breakthrough in bread-making!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17538 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 242 pages

Customer Reviews

Real bread made at home
I met Jeff Hertzberg about 20 years ago in Palenque, Mexico. I was an investment banker on "gardening leave" and Jeff was a doctor. Two decades later I met up with Jeff and his wife Laura to discover that he had just written a book on bread and I had, in the meantime, set up a wine business - Wine for Spice.

When Hertzberg, a physician and amateur bread enthusiast, teamed up with François, a renowned pastry chef and baker, the right ingredients came together for bakers craving fast, simple homemade bread. The results from the oven are easy enough for an amateur to master after one attempt, but delicious enough to meet the standards of a professional chef. The pair developed an innovative recipe for refrigerator-stored dough that can be kept for up to two weeks and that will yield a variety of artisan breads that look and taste like they came straight from a boulangerie.

Because the dough is pre-mixed in bulk, active preparation time for each basic loaf is only five minutes a day, and can be spontaneously used at the last minute. The authors share nearly 100 recipes using variations on the basic technique--such as baguettes, pizzas, and pain d'epi--plus other breads and accompanying dishes that all make fantastic quick hors d'oeuvres for wine-tastings. A sampling of the recipes confirms that anyone can achieve a professional-quality result, including home bakers with no prior experience with yeast breads.

I normally cook and eat Basmati rice with my spicy food. That's easy enough in 15 minutes using my microwave. But bread will henceforth be also on the menu. I plan to lean heavily on the Hertzberg and François recipe for naan, which radically simplifies the traditional recipe for this buttery Indian flatbread.

The basic recipe can be used to make a delicious naan:

Mix four ingredients with a spoon -flour, water, salt, and yeast, forming a very wet dough. Don't knead it or otherwise spend time with it. Allow it to rise at room temperature for two hours.

To make a naan, cut off a 100 gram piece (peach-size). Shape it into a ball, then roll out with a rolling pin, to a thickness of 1/2 cm and a diameter of 20 cm. Heat a heavy skillet over high heat on the stovetop, add a tablespoon of ghee (or oil), and drop the dough round into the skillet, decrease the heat to medium, and cover. Check for doneness at 3 minutes, or sooner if you're smelling overly quick browning. Adjust heat as needed. Flip naan when underside is richly browned. Continue cooking another 2 to 6 minutes, until second side is browned.

Its now time once again to make your own bread!

Fantastic book!
ARTISAN BREAD IN 5 MINUTES A DAY: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
I found this book very useful and I am so grateful to the authors for sharing their ideas. I love baking fresh bread and until I bought this book I found the process of baking too time consuming, and with our busy life style nowadays this method of baking beautiful, delicious crusty loaves in no time is an absolute delight! Once again, thank you Jeff and Zoe!

Great Time Saving Book !
I've tried to make bread the traditional way before but always fought with the kneading process and the time it all took before putting it in the oven. Tried a bread maker - but this took a surprisingly long time to deliver a small spongy loaf, plus everything had to be timed so you'd be there to open the lid when it finished, otherwise it would go even more spongy!

When I saw this book I hoped it was as good as its title, have tried the master recipe and it works - the loaf was tasty, fragrant and crusty. The bagels are yummy, I'm looking forward to trying more recipes. The time saved is great - and the longer you leave your dough the more 'sourdough' type flavour develops which makes it more tasty. The only negatives I found were the loaves can be a bit on the small size, and the amount of water in the recipes has to be just so, as it will affect your loaf.

Overall a brilliant book - time saving, and well worth the investment !