I am a bit of a bread baking snob, and I still love this book!! I actually giggled when I took the loaves out of the oven this morning, and heard that wonderful crackle sound that a perfectly crusted artisan loaf makes as it cools. I have some observations that I will share below, but if you only take away one thing from this review, let it be that this book will get you baking, even if you've never made a single loaf of bread before. It's easy, it's quick, it's fun, and it works every time (so far.)

This is not the only way to make bread, and it's certainly not the traditional method that involves kneading and a long, slow cool rise. Folks that have made bread the traditional way may be afraid that this is too good to be true. I know it sounds crazy that you don't have to knead it, and that it will wait for you for 2 weeks, but I have turned out beautiful loaves of bread, and followed the recipe to a T.

The flavor of the bread changed for me over the 2 week period. It became much more like sourdough after the first week of storage. I loved the more complex flavor, but if you don't like sourdough flavor, keep that in mind.

I am in the habit of measuring my ingredients for baking with a scale. The authors didn't include the weights of the flour and water in the recipe, but I felt that it was important to get just the right level of hydration, so I searched on the web, and found the info for the weights of the ingredients. This is an important step in getting just the right wetness to the dough.

I am sorry, I haven't tried any of the recipes in the back part of the book, so I can't testify to their goodness. They look and sound great!

Final thought? If you are a seasoned baker and have a busy life, and would love to whip out a loaf of delicious artisan bread for your family, this book is for you. Make the master dough, get home from work and 70 minutes later, you are feasting! If, on the other hand, you are a brand new baker, and have never made bread before, this book is for you just as well! I would encourage you to try the recipes, and discover the joys of baking your own bread. Then you can always branch out after getting hooked!

Happy baking!
Jane

I purchased this book for my daughter as a birthday present. She loves it, had seen it and was planning on buying it herself. She has baked the bread and she said it is as easy as the recipe says and it looks and tastes just like the specialty breads in the bakery that are quite expensive. They have freah bread for dinner several times a week now.

Use the book at least once a week. I actually gained about 10 lbs since I bought it because I eat some sort of bread so often. I really get a lot of use out of the Olive Oil Dough recipe in creating various pizzas. Also use the Broiche recipes often as it is super delicious for so many different things...especially donuts! One of the best cookbooks I have ever purchased.

I was so excited by the prospects of this book. We go RV'ing a lot and to have a bread in the fridge just about ready to bake was an answer to a problem. However, I have tried several of these recipes and have not liked the results. The crumb on the 100% whole wheat loaf was far too wet after cooking, almost gummy. The rise was poor, and the flavor was a bit odd for bread, too. The crust? Well, certainly not at attractive as what was pictured, but ok. This book will be donated to the local library.

I caught the "master recipe" on NPR's segment of The Splendid Table some time ago and made sure I wrote down where to find this book. I then visited the Splendid Table website and downloaded the recipe. I have since made this recipe with variation at least 20 or more times. Each time it gets better. So when I finally bought the book I was floored with how informative and helpful it was to me as a novice breadmaker. I highly recommend it.

I got this book for my b-day and tried it out yesterday with the basic recipe as instructed. Wow, it was great. I made a baguette out of 1/4 of the dough and it tasted like the ones from France. It was super easy to make and the directions were clear. I even used bread machine yeast (since that was all I had). I can't wait to keep baking fresh bread!

I live in San Francisco, land of great breads. Yes, you can buy better breads here than I can make from this book but they cost $7/loaf. And I love the basic bread recipe. My kids came for a visit and in 4 days they ate 3 loaves of it. And bought the book afterwards.

This book delivers. I make the basic bread dough recipe every week, and it takes me less than five minutes. You have to allow for the resting time, which takes me about 60 mminutes, but who cares when you no longer have to knead dough? I love this stuff, and my family is impressed that I can bake bread that looks and tastes so professional.
I've blogged my results and people who see the photos are very impressed.

Wow! I'm amazed that this quick and easy technique can produce such delicious and beautiful bread. Using their basic recipe, I've made peasant-style loaves and incredible baguettes. The baguettes were particularly noteworthy because they required almost no effort. In the past, I've struggled with trying to create a worthy baguette. Now I have a new method that is not fussy at all and makes fabulous bread. We've been eating homemade bread much more often, and my kids love it. Kudos to the authors for their amazing recipes. I am a convert.

very pleased with the book and the service. I bought two - one for me and one for a bread baking friend - sparking much experimentation in the kitchen!!! thanks

If you are looking to bake bread, frequently, with the least possible work, this is the way to go. You just mix the dough, let is rise, then store it in the fridge until you want to bake (within 7-14 days).

I first read about this book on a blog so I checked it out from my local library. I was so impressed by how wonderfully the bread turned out EVERY time that I decided to buy the book which says a lot for me! Now I always have a container of bread dough in the fridge and can throw a loaf in the oven at a moment's notice. I look forward to trying all of the recipes Zoe and Jeff created for their stored dough method. Yum!!!

I originally saw an article in our local paper about this book, tried the basic bread recipe and it turned out amazingly well. Then I bought the book and made four other types which were just as wonderful. Since I have so little time to bake bread (or anything else) this has been like an oasis for me and, in fact, I bought one for my daughter and sister-in-law which they both have praised. Because I can process as much dough as I want or need and can refrigerate the rest, bread is not wasted as in the past.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

I knew I would love this book the moment I saw the title! (This is not misleading: the five minutes' time refers to actual loaf prep after the dough has been mixed and refrigerated.) A first reading has not proved me wrong. In fact, this is a book to pore over again and again.

Chock full of kitchen-tested bread and pastry recipes ranging from peasant loaves to pizza, from flatbread to brioche and on to delectibles such as the Braided Raspberry Almond Cream pastry, these recipes deliver.

Authors Hertzberg and Francois share a master recipe with variations and a technique that is their secret to perfect artisan bread that doesn't take all day - mix enough dough for several loaves and store it in the refrigerator. The authors explain the goal of the book as a way to help people re-create the great ethnic breads of years past in their own homes without investing serious time in the process.

A foreword, a preface and an introduction provide the history and details of their process with tips on each page ("wetter is better" - the dough consistency; what steps you, the bread baker, can eliminate when you follow their revolutionary method.)

Chapters 2 and 3 discuss ingredients (where you'll get a primer on all the types of bread flours) and equipment. More tips in Chapter 4, and then on to the Master Recipe in Chapter 5, which Hertzberg and Francois suggest you try first.

Some of the loaves featured include Boule (artisan free-form loaf), Baguette, Batard and Ciabatta.

This is a wonderful book listing an assortment of tasty recipes. Try it and you'll soon be turning out prize-winning, old-world style breads to make you the envy of your neighborhood.

Highly recommended.

NB: Just made the Boule using the Master Recipe and the loaf is superb! Best I have eaten.

I'm not sure what to make of this book. I don't dislike it; I'm just not sure what it is. If you know how to bake, have a bit of food science under your belt and are looking for recipes to experiment with this is not the book for you. The book is more of a sit-down-and-read-cover-to-cover book dotted with recipes than it is a cook book. The narrative style makes it seem like a great novice book at first blush; however, the recipes aren't all that great of a place to start learning about baking. The result to complexity ratio is not novice friendly.

I have been baking bread of all types for more than 20 years, including the slow rise artisan type breads with a baking stone. I was skeptical at first, so I checked the book out of the library to try it. I was very pleased and surprised when everything worked as written in the book. I have so far baked the basic bread, light wheat, peasant, and challah recipes and all were good. I have used dough that had been in the fridge for up to 10 days and it baked as well as the fresh dough.

Some people have mentioned that their crusts never browned. I found that I was using larger loaves than what the authors do, and they take longer to bake. I use an instant read thermometer, and put it into the loaf at the specified finish time, then continue baking till it reads 205-210 degrees. None of the loaves have failed to brown, and the texture is just right. I also preheat my baking stone for at least 45 minutes while the dough is resting. I have a pretty thick stone and have found that to work better for all applications.

All in all, I am very happy to have found this book, and have recommended it to many family members and friends.

Great way to enjoy homemade breads, simple, fast and tasty. I learned a lot & have enjoyed several styles so far; will [probably try all of the recipes.

This book is so fascinating to read and interesting! The recipe's are so easy to follow and work out just like they tell you in the book.... I use it all the time! Take care folks and happy baking................

The Artisian Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that revolutionizes Home Baking. The mix is simoke and makes a large container of dough that can be kept and used a little at a time over 2 weeks, Baken in a Le Cresett Bread 3.75 quart oval dutch oven. Terrific!

As a bread baker I was so impressed with these new ideas in this book and I recommended it to my daughters.

I too was skeptical at first. What, no kneading? What, I can mix this up on Saturday, stick it in the frig, and bake it on Tuesday? That's exactly what I did, and the two loaves I made turned out GREAT! The flavor and texture were very yummy. A few things I did differently from the directions: I have a well-used baking stone (Pampered Chef) that I did NOT preheat or coat with cornmeal or flour, I just formed the dough into rounds and set it on the stone. Preheated as directed, put the stone in the oven. Instead of putting water in a boiler tray I just dropped a handful of ice cubes in the bottom of the oven.

I bought 5 copies of this book for family & friends..all stated this was fun & made a delicious bread..So many varities, we all may never buy bread
again

The ideas shared in this book are amazing! Not only can I make bread FAST but it also tastes GOOD! I never thought I could make bread like this! Must have!

Sounds like nothing more than variations of the wonderful "No-Knead Bread" that was featured in the New York Times back in Nov 2006 (from the Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC) and was all over the internet in a flash. No harm to capitalize on an "internet sensation" and write a book I suppose, just know that this is not revolutionary on the author's part, rather it is derivative. Furthermore, if you do some Google searches you can eaily find recipes that tweak the basic "no-knead bread" recipe (i.e., ones that experiment with different flours, different "add-ons" like olives, nuts, etc). In sum, the variety is endless, but what you are paying here is a packaged version of recipes and techniques that one can get for free on the internet, in probably the same amount of clicks (or less)that it takes to order this book on Amazon. Just a tip, nothing more, nothing less.

The bread created by these recipes and this technique is not standard bread. It has a very chewy crust and mimics (but is not genuine) sourdough. It's a specialty bread that, because it's so easy, can be made every day. The book is easy to understand and the recipes are arranged around master recipes that work with the overall technique. This is not by any means the only bread book I'll ever use, but it's one I'll be keeping handy.

Despite all the wonderful reviews, I was a bit skeptical on this technique. I've had a class in bread making/baking and knew how much work was required to get a quality result. So...I checked the book out of the library to give it a run. I went with the Challah (egg) bread as there were a number of recipes I wanted to try. The results were amazing. This came out exactly as advertised, soft and beautiful...and I have more dough to work with over the next 4 days (due to the eggs it is only a 5 day fridge keeper). Not a problem, I will use it up and go on to the next. But it allows me to throw the main ingredients together on the weekend and use it over the next week. The main point is that I am now buying my own copy of this book as I have to return the one I have in a few weeks (there is a local library waiting list on this book).

I must admit I was a little spectical after many years of baking bread. I read the book completely and created one of the Semolina doughs. I pulled the loaf out of the oven a few hours ago and it looks and tastes great. This is a no brainer! What fun!

I suppose there is a use for my bread machine; I'll have to work on that one. The book is easy to understand and what could be better than....it works!

There are quite a few errors in the text of the book. The corrections can be found at the authors' website under the Errors tab. http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/

This method is by far the best way I have ever made bread and with the results I have been dreaming about. If you have a bread machine on your counter taking up space, this method makes the bread machine obsolete. I bought this book thinking ok we will see if this really works and on my very first try Success!! The crispy crust and tender bread like I have always wished I could make. If you have been dreaming of making the perfect loaf, this book is for you. There are many different varieties of breads and wonderful simple instructions. I know a lot of people that will be getting a copy for the holidays.

I have been baking bread for years, and I tried the method in this book and turned out the best bread I have ever made or eaten, anywhere! It is very easy, and the instructions are clear (check the authors' website for some text corrections).

Instead of the pizza peel and stone the authors recommend, I used my perforated, non-stick pizza pan, and the results were quite good. I'm sure that the authors' method is slightly better, but for home baking, my shortcut was easier and saved some money, and I was very satisfied with the results.

I would recommend buying several copies of this book, one for yourself, and one for each of your friends who loves good bread, or loves to bake!

I have a lot of bread books and we make a lot of bread, kneaded and using a pre-ferment for optimum flavor. We even sell our bread to friends and friends of friends. So I was skeptical of a no-knead quick method.

However, our first loaf was delicious and it just got better each day we pulled a loaf out to bake. I did find it a bit easier to mix the bread using the paddle in my mixer and I prefer bread flour to all-purpose in the basic recipe.

So far I've only tried two types, the basic recipe and the challah. The basic recipe is especially wonderful with sundried tomatoes and Parmesan/Romano cheese rolled into it. The challah recipe made delicious cinnamon rolls.

Hmm, think I'll go downstairs and mix up another 5-minute batch.

I was a bit skeptical when I was buying this book, but the book really delivers, as promised. I have been baking bread for many years the "traditional" way,spending long hours kneading and producing a loaf, but this method gives me the convenience to have good quality fresh bread any time I want. With about an hour notice, I can treat my friends with freshly baked artisan quality bread. Now I am looking forward to try the sweet pastry prepared with the same method. A good book to buy for a baker who is looking for good quality, simplicity and time saving.

Considering the review prior to this, I was skeptical, but I bought the book anyway. I am so glad I did. I've only used the first recipe for basic artisan, and found it very simple to create. I used a 5 qt ice cream tub for the mix (vs. investing in more plastic - especially if I didn't like how it turned out). The next day, I pulled out a portion of the dough and followed the procedure. My daughter and her family stopped by just as it came out of the oven. 15 minutes later, the loaf was gone. I had just enough time to pull another section of dough and do it all over again before hubby walked in and dinner was ready. If you like warm from the oven, crusty bread, and have a desire to make it at home, you'll love this book!

This is a great book for those who want fresh bread without spending hours fussing around with traditional bread making methods.

I tried my first batch of the light whole wheat dough last week. It was excellent. I made two loaves so far and have enough dough left for a third.

The instructions are easy to follow and the first few chapters giving the background information are easy reading. I highly recommend this book.

Since purchasing this book last week I have made the boule, onion and rosemary focaccia, and beignets, all twice. My husband and I agreed they were all delicious. The best bread I've ever made! The beignets rivaled Cafe du Monde's in New Orleans and the focaccia was addictive. I was skeptical about how the breads would turn out because you literally dump everything in a bowl and mix. I plan on making a lot more recipes from this book. It is nearly impossible to purchase good fresh bread in the town where I live but this book makes up for it!! Anyone who likes to eat and/or make dellicious authentic tasting bread should buy this book.

Please read the Henchuk(sp?) review carefully, and if you do, and you really do like to bake bread and/or your husband eats more bread than any god of dieting should allow, this is a great set of recipes. While they are not five minutes (thus the four stars), they are smart, quick, easy and make my bread driven life much simpler. I've been baking artisan breads and bread machine breads very often these past five years, and I would shy away from egg breads or sweet breads in the machine, trying to focus primarily on sour dough french - my husband Frank's favorite. What a surprise to discover he LIKES the results of this methodology even better. A better surprise to discover I can pull off a one lb. "chunk" from dough in the refrigerator, quickly pull it, plop it and finish it with about 10 minutes of working time. Of course, rising time has not changed, so don't think you are going to have a fresh loaf for dinner at 6:00 when you pull out your dough at 5:00. Also bear in mind that once you have prepared the dough, you cannot then decide to turn brioche into dilly bread. You are set with 4 lbs. of brioche dough, unless you like that formula for challah (which we do)! The handling of this wetter dough is a bit different, but not difficult. The results are NOT bakery quality, but close. I have no quality bakery within 60 miles, so I'm it and I'm not going to compare my bread with a professional anyway. Frank's fussy, yet he eats it, actually likes it AND it's pretty. All in all, far better than I was doing with my bread machine before, so I welcome this discovery which has revolutionized the baking process for me. Enjoy it, I do. I bought copies for both friends and a sister-in-law.

This book was recommended to me by someone on another forum. After having tried a few recipes I can say the authors deliver on their promises. We have been making our own bread for over a year - cheaper and better than store-bought bread. I have been making 3-4 loaves at a time, freezing all except the one being used. Most of our bread use is for sandwiches and toast. We have used a pastry recipe in this book for caramel rolls and fritters, and the pizza crust recipe for pizza and breadsticks. I am currently eating down my last batch of bread and will try their whole-wheat recipe for the next batch. I expect the results to be as outstanding as the last two recipes.

This is a great bread book to buy if you don't want to spend time making bread. It really is quick and easy and the recipes are simple, but there is not much variation. A lot of the recipes just require you to shape the dough into different formations. I do recommend this book for novice bread makers, as I have been impressed being able to eat fresh bread every night.

Easy to follow recipes. Simplified instructions. Excellent results. Well worth the money for bread lovers.

I looked at this title many times with a little curiosity before I finally opened it. I am an avid bread baker when I have time, and my copy of Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice is covered in dried dough bits. While I don't believe that shaping the "perfect" baguette is as complicated as some of the books in my collection imply, after reading Reinhart's work (as well as several other fabulous books, some of which are mentioned in the "Customers who bought this also bought this..." section), I am convinced that the key to truly flavorful, truly artisan bread comes from lengthy fermentation and the use of starters. Many, many bread baking books cater to the notion that the process of baking bread can begin in the afternoon, and the resulting warm bread can be ready in time for dinner.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day attempts to target both the baker who takes bread crafting seriously, and the one who expects to complete the entire process in a short window of time. I bought this book because of the emphasis on lengthy fermentation, and by the fact one of the authors was trained at a very prestigious culinary school. As a broke college student who is also a food snob (not a good combination) and lives in a town where the only "artisan" bakery is a joke, I was hoping to gain the ability to bake my own bread daily, despite my hectic schedule. I was disappointed with the results. Despite the long fermentation, the bread lacked flavor. The same ingredients are used in this book's recipes as are used in other artisan recipes, yet something wasn't right. My guess is that the importance of kneading was overly de-emphasized. In addition, this is the very first time I have ever baked a baguette that did not brown nicely. I don't know why--perhaps there was not enough salt(?) or perhaps this, too, had something to do with the kneading--it doesn't seem worth it to analyze it, as I do not intend to try "perfecting" the 5-minute recipes--I will go back to what is tried and true for me.

I do not want to be overly harsh, however. I don't believe most serious bakers will even pick up the book, given the title (they just downright KNOW that it takes more effort than five minutes, though not necessarily much more). People dabbling in artisan baking--those who are impressed with a local bakery's baguette compared to Safeway's version--but are intimidated with the perceived effort involve will probably love this book. And for the record, nearly any homemade bread beats store-bought bread.

I would suggest, however, picking up The Bread Baker's Apprentice and turning immediately to the recipe for "Pain a l'Ancienne", as this recipe is just as simple and yields FAR TASTIER results due to its entire fermentation being cold. Plus, there are recipes to "graduate" to once this "easy" recipe has been mastered.

Pros of the reviewed book:
*Instructions are simple
*The quality is better than chain grocery store "artisan bread"
*You really can bake fresh bread daily, even if you are crazy busy
*The texture of the crust is good

Cons:
*The flavor is relatively bland
*The color of a finished baguette leaves much to be desired
*Variables that can significantly affect the finished product are downplayed in the name of simplicity

This would be a good choice for someone dabbling in bread baking without a bread machine and who buys their baguettes at Safeway, but a poor choice for someone who truly loves quality artisan bread, knows who Poilane is, or finds nothing strange about driving 100 miles to try the "newly discovered" baguette that everyone's talking about.

Artisan Bread is a fine embellishment on the basic recipe of flower, yeast, salt and water. This books offers some valuable tips on how to "get it right" and not only explains the process in a very down to earth way, it offers many adventuresome recipes which can take your bread making beyond the basic peasant loaf...(if one even needs too!) A good book to make even better bread.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking has recipes that enables one to bake bread daily or whenever needed.
The dough is mixed, risen and can be stored for days in the refrigerator.
I've made pita bread, deli rye bread, crusty white bread and pizza dough. All are five-star recipes. Some of the recipes use a basic dough to form bagels, pretzels, etc. I would highly recommend this cookbook. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

I am so proud of myself that I don't care if the bread doesn't turn out perfect. I've made 2 beautiful loaves so far, and can't get over how easy and fast they were to make.

I cook like crazy, but have never attempted a loaf of bread. I will definitely be using this book for a while if not forever.

Baking bread couldn't be easier. Have passed the baking secrets on to many friends that are now raving about how quick and tasty this bread is.

No-knead bread is a remarkable concept, and this book is both attractive and informative. The photographs are clear and beautiful; the recipes are all interesting and explained well. Unfortunately, my first loaf didn't look anything like the crusty loaf on the book's cover. I'm not sure what went wrong, but the book's authors are so cheerful and inspiring that I'm willing to try again.

This book really met my expectations. I had been making bread w/ the NYT "no knead" bread recipe for a while, but i didn't like the long wait and i only got a single loaf at a time. This book's method gives me a fresh loaf every day for about 5 mins of work. I also like the variations that create different styles of bread.

Nitpicks: they could have done w/o all the repetition. The basic steps are the same for all the different styles of bread and the authors repeat it ad nauseum. I would rather have more explanations and pictures than the same page repeated endlessly. secondly, i just can't get the kind of crust that the authors claim is possible. don't get me wrong--it's much better than store-bought bread, and comparable to the artisan bread i get at Whole Foods-type stores, but my baguettes do not come out "frenchy" enough. The crust on my NYT "no kneads" was nearly perfect in texture and crunch, but a little too thick. Also, the dough is a little difficult to shape properly, but easier than the NYT method. My last nitpick is w/ the description for the soft pretzel recipe. Now I know that Zoe grew up on some kind of hippie commune, but she explains the classic pretzel shape with some BS story about it representing the sun and the moon???!! C'mon! Everyone knows that pretzels were created by monks who used them as treats for children who learned their prayers. The shape represents the folded arms of a praying child. Don't make yourself look stupid, Zoe.

So far I've only tried the basic recipe, but it's fantastic; I'm on my fifth batch. It is very convenient to have fresh baked bread, rolls, pizza dough ready to go in a matter of minutes, while the rest of the meal is being prepared.

Instead of mixing a whole batch of cheddar cheese dough, I've had success with adding shredded cheddar to the basic (boule) dough a loaf at a time whenever I want that variation.

My family's favorite is individual loaves made in this cast iron biscuit pan:Lodge Logic Pre-Seasoned Drop Biscuit Pan. I preheat it at 425 (sprayed with Pam) and form little individual loaves, slash, drop into the tin, and then do the steam trick (I pour the water directly on my oven floor if I've forgotten to preheat the broiler tray).
These have turned-out nice for me, even if I cut the rise time, after forming the rolls, to 5 or 10 minutes.

I highly recommend this book. I still can't believe I can get this quality of bread without all the kneading and the usual time constraints of baking bread.

This book makes making homemade bread so easy, it's making me look like "super mom"! Lots of variations too, so the family doesn't get bored. And the pizza dough got a thumbs up review as well!

When I read the review of this book in the newspaper, I was skeptical. I love to cook - even with three small children (under 6) I cook every day, wonderful meals with lots of flavor and creativity. So when I saw the title I had to check it out. I had to wait to get it from my library for almost 2 months and than when I got it, passover started and I had to wait to try out the recipes! It was worth the wait, let me tell you. I have made two batches of dough so far and the instructions couldn't be easier. I really love the troubleshooting and tips side bars. The result was delicious bread that my husband actually questioned if I made or bought! I just pulled the cinammon rolls out the oven and they are to die for. This is one cookbook you should have in your library, for the ease of method as well as for all of the wonderful variations on a theme. I also loved the non-bread recipes.
Great book!

I love this book and have already purchased another one for a friend. It is SO easy to make great tasting bread. I am no longer cowed by the idea of making a really cool baguette.