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Questions? Start with our Search Bar: We’ve been posting recipes and answering questions on this site since 2007, so if you have a question, there’s probably a post that addresses it somewhere on this website. So, the first thing to do is to use our Search Bar. On our Home Page, it’s right over our pictures. In narrower laptop or desktop displays, it sometimes appears right underneath our orange BreadIn5 logo, and on phones it’s right above where it says “How to make bread in five minutes a day?” Just type in the bread style, ingredient, or technique that you’re interested in, and the search-engine will show you all the similar posts we’ve ever done on it, with recipes and answers to many questions.
Another place to look: our FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) page (we also have a Gluten-Free FAQs page). If you don’t find your answer in the FAQs, you can post baking questions and comments, but please be brief, so we can get to all the questions.
If neither of those get you to the answer you need, click on any “Comments/Reply” field at the top of any of our posts (it doesn’t have to be here on “Ask a Question”) and scroll down to the bottom; then enter your question or comment. Tell us which book you’re working from, and which recipe and page number–we need that in order to answer your question, Which we will do, right here on the website either right under your question, or a few down if a lot of people had the same question. Don’t look for the response in your personal email… Come back here to the side on the page where you posted, to look for our answer.
We answer all questions ourselves here on the website within 24 hours, often with a reference to a page number in our books where possible. Please remember that our blog is moderated, so your post may not appear until we’ve read and approved it; this can take 24 hours.
I forgot to put my dough in the refrigerator, so it was out on the counter for about 15 hours. If I put in the fridge is it still good?
Yes, it should be fine, though it’s refrigerator life maybe a bit shortened before it gets too sour
The book is no longer on sale on Amazon as listed on your landing page.
I am trying some recipes first to see if I will use this enough to buy a copy. Very interesting idea, and looks delicious.
Definitely still on Amazon, at this link: https://amzn.to/17Rw23Y Can you provide more detail on which link isn’t working for you?
I’m new to baking (and baking breads in general) but I was wondering if any of the equipment can be swapped for a bread maker?
You can mix the dough, at least a half-recipe of our big batches–for sure. As to whether our wet dough bakes well in there, it may not–the closed environment may not allow the moisture to dissipate.
I have used my King Arthur clay baker for a few recipes from The Best of Artisan Bread. I use the cover of the baker for 20 minutes and uncover for 10 minutes – I’m getting some pretty fabulous bread. I would like to try Buttermilk Cinnamon-Raisin (pg. 143) in the same way, but the instructions don’t include baking with a pizza stone or using steam. How should I adjust that recipe to the clay baker? Thanks!
No need for any adjustments, but what you may find is that the cover (which concentrates steam) doesn’t make much difference for this recipe, where the buttermilk softens the crust and prevents that crackly effect. Worth a try though.
Hi there,
In the Peppery Pumpkin and Olive Oil Loaf recipe in the cookbook: The Best of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day the cup measurements and weights for the flours look off to me. Below is the chart that is in the recipe.
Whole wheat flour 33⁄4 cups 17 ounces 485 grams
All-purpose flour 31⁄2 cups 1 pound, 11⁄2 ounces 495 grams
Whole wheat has a larger cup amount but smaller weight amounts. Is this correct? Or should the weight amounts be swapped? Meaning: the whole wheat would switch to 1 pound, 11/2 oz. and 495 grams and All purpose switch to 17 oz. and 485 grams.
Hope this makes sense! Thanks for your help.
Madalyn: The recipe’s correct as written, because whole wheat flour is less dense than all-purpose white flour. For the volume, make sure you use the scoop-and-sweep method as in this video I made: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/scoopandsweep
I am throwing a party, and doing finger sandwiches, so I want to make 4 different loaves of bread from your books @ 2 loaves per. Total 8 loaves!! So… can I make them all 1or 2 days prior, put them in bags after cooling, without slicing them, and will they still be fresh when I cut into them on party day? AHHHHMAZING TECHNIQUE AND BOOKS BTW!!! Love everything I try, and even made up my own recipe with an extra sharp cheddar and pickled jalapeño bread! To die for!!!
Amy, thanks so much for the kind words! They’ll be “OK,” is all I can say. The crust won’t be great, but the flavor will be good.
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly! I thought I’d test it myself after I wrote this inquiry, so yesterday I baked up the deli rye, and it was still awesome today!! And my husband and I could not stand to not cut into it, so it was even sliced and was still wonderfully fresh and had the perfect amount of chew. I did bake it in a loaf pan though, as I need everything to be uniform in size, and I am cutting off the crusts anyhow. Just letting others know, in case they too want to throw a finger sandwich party with all of your awesome bread recipe’s! I’ll be making the pumpernickel, deli rye, buttermilk, soft wheat, and maple oat!! Just awesome and thank you for sharing your passion and discovery!!!
I have been baking BreadIn5 for several months and the bread is delicious. But I think I’m not getting enough of the oven spring. My electric oven is older and I plan to replace it. Is there a brand or type of baking oven that I should consider to improve the oven spring/steam? Thanks, Maureen
Hi Maureen,
Most electric ovens will bake well. The one thing that makes the biggest difference is to have an independent oven thermometer, so you know the oven is baking at the true temperature.
Cheers, Zoë
I want to freeze the finished gluten free products from the GF cookbook. What is the best way?
Hi Julie,
We suggest letting the bread cool completely and then freeze it in a plastic ziplock bag. You can also slice it first, so you can just take out a slice when you need it.
Thanks, Zoë
can the breadin5 recipe be cut in half successfully?
Hi Larry,
Yes, you can halve or double any of the recipes.
Thanks, Zoë
I love your books – thanks! I’m looking for a recipe to replace my go to sandwich bread roll from Costco (https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-artisan-rolls%2C-12-count.product.100465191.html) with a recipe that has whole wheat, still is roll form with good crust, and nice air bubbles in the crumb. Do you have any recommendation? I was wondering if your Baguette Bun from the New Health Bread in Five would be closest? Unfortunately my Baguettes haven’t had the same level of bubbles and chewy tear that I’m looking for. I also have the New Artisan Bread book as well if their is a better recipe in there.
Thanks so much!
What is the largest batch I can make? Is there a point where I don’t need to add the yeast. I would like to make batches with 26 or more cups of flour.
*add more yeast. Not ‘add the yeast’.
If you don’t proportionally increase the yeast, it will work but the rise will start to get very slow. There isn’t really an upper limit to how much you can make. No it does start to become impractical for a home kitchen setup.
I just purchase The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a day. I am asking about what baking stone would work.
I have seen a lava stone and pizza peel that Consiglio’s has on sale. Eppicotispai lava stone and pizza peel from Italy. Will this be okay to use to bake bread in oven ?
I don’t know that product, but it sounds like it should be fine. You can I see a post we did about stones at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/08/24/pizza-stones-which-creates-the-best-crust/
I forgot to leave the dough out on the counter top for the initial rise. I put it in the refrigerator right after mixing. Can it be salvaged?
Sure, just take it out, leaving on the counter, and wait until it’s doubled or so. This might take a while
Hi, I am starting off with the Master Recipe in The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a day, just made the best white bread I have ever had! Looking forward to the Peasant Loaves with lots of whole grains and seeds! Right now I have a heavy duty aluminum baking pan with parchment paper.
My question addresses baking the pizza, using the Master recipe (or any of the others). I can find no mention of using that same heavy duty aluminum baking pan with parchment paper for the Neapolitan Style Pizza on page 216. I am sure it will not be as good as a stone or steel, but do you have suggestions? Come to think of it, I think the parchment paper is only rated to 450 Degrees …. Thanks for your help!
Technically speaking, manufacturers (on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3tfVIJr) only rate these pans to 450F, so it might warp at 550. And the parchment paper will definitely scorch at 550, and I’m not sure what the consequence of that might be.
Pizza dough made with yogurt ?
How do I make this ?
I used yogurt in a white-flour recipe for the Indian flatbread: naan. A recipe’s on page 88 of Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, on Amazon and other sellers at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/pizza. The recipe’s not here on the website– my publisher will stop speaking to me if I put all the recipes out here!
I love love love your New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book!! I started with commercial dry yeast per your recipes. I’ve now branched out into using sourdough starter. I’m sure there isn’t as much of a market for this, but I am requesting you guys publish a book with recipes and instructions using sourdough starter!! 🙂 🙂
I did! It’s called The New Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, from sellers at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/healthy. See chapter 11!
I’m a huge fan of the bread in 5 book, but am disappointed that the healthy bread in 5 book does not have the recipe measurements by weight. I’ve been baking bread for some time now and always use grams/ml measure. This book, at least the recipe i followed is (whole grain bread recipe) is all in “cup” measure. I’d like a more precise recipe please. My first attempt at this recipe gave me a dense heavy bread with tiny holes. I looked at your troubleshooting area and see I likely need to add more water. I’d love more information than just “try a 1/4 cup more water”
All of our books since 2011 have included weights, in ounces and grams, for all dough formulas. Only our first two books (2007–Artisan Bread, and 2009–Healthy Bread) were cups-only. The revisions of those two books, including The New Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (2016) had weight equivalents in ounces and grams. My publisher will stop speaking to me (!!) if I put all the book contents here on the website, but I do have a version of the Master recipe from “New Healthy” here on the website: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2016/10/30/our-new-book-healthy-bread-in-five-minutes-a-day-is-released-tomorrow-get-yourself-some-vital-wheat-gluten-and-make-our-whole-grain-master-recipe/
I just made my first batch of dough and it’s rising nicely. My question is will i need to use steam if i am baking on a jelly roll parchment lined pan. If so can i pour the hot water into a roasting pan as i do not have a broiler pan.
Yes, the steam will help crisp things up.
So my local bakery is letting me test drive their oven. Garland master 200. My bread are coming out looking like stewie’ head on family guy. How do i correct this?? The crumb is wonderful but this shape just won’t do.
I put a tray with lave rocks at the bottom but I don’t think it’s producing enough steam.
I’m also now sure if there’s a way to close the venting to keep the steam in.
The owner of the bakery uses it to me cookies and pastries but not bread.
The crumb came out wonderful but the crust is not where It needs to be and looks more like a football
Any suggestions?
If you can’t get rid of the venting, which is typical in professional stoves, you have to bake the bread in a closed system. Details on that in the box, or here on the website. Just type into the search bar above, Dutch oven. Which of our recipes are you using, from which book, and page number?
Love your books. I have a question though regarding the gluten cloak. I’ve made other no knead recipes where you do a series of stretches before refrigerating the dough (baking the dough the next day). I am wondering if doing a series of folds/stretches before putting the master recipe in the fridge would eliminate the need for the gluten cloak. I don’t know if those folds/stretches in the container would provide gluten structure days later.
I’ve tried this, and I’m convinced that it does give a little extra structure. But unlike other no need dough recipes, mine is designed to be stored for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. My guess is that after several days, this isn’t going to make much difference. This long stored though gets structure from alignment of the strands of gluten that happens just through electrostatic charge
Hi!! Love all your breadin5 books! Do you have a method for adding sourdough starter into any of your sandwich breads? Thanks in advance!
Sure, just type the words sourdough starter into the search bar above
My son was recently diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. He loves bread. What is the best way to determine the carb count from your recipes? Your basic recipe doesn’t have any sweetener added, so we wanted to check the carb count. He wants to be able to know how much he can eat to know how much insulin to take. If we know how to calculate it for a full loaf, we can determine roughly per slice. If you had a way for all your recipes to know how to calculate carbs and sugars, we would appreciate it. The doctor said that the browner the bread, the better it is for him because it doesn’t cause his blood sugar to go up to fast.
Which of the books are you working from, what recipe and page number? You can probably calculate nutritional info at https://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-food-calorie-counter.
I am struggling big time trying to get starter going. It is consistency of syrup at best. Using rye flour and about 4th time I used whole wheat. In oven with light on. Amazed at how warm that really is. Use clean container every day. Get liquid on top but have seen no active bubbling since day 2. Smell is pretty good. I grew up on a farm. Been a good week this time and not planning on tossing. Is probably my 4th or 5th try. Thanks Marge
If it’s the consistency of syrup, it sounds like you need to use a little more flour in your feedings. More tips are on our post about natural sourdough starter, just type those words into the search bar above
I’ve been making Whole Grain Loaves with good results, but the loaf often bakes up flat, not round or domed. The last batch I made, the first two loaves turned out flat, but the third one was round. What do you think accounts for this?
The only thing I can think of since it was the same dough is that you did a better job gluten cloaking for the one that turned out round. Have you seen the video on gluten cloaking?
Can you please come up with Low Carb bread in 5 minutes a day????
Well… Breads made from wheat flours like the ones in my books and on this website are all fairly high carbohydrate foods, even the whole grain ones. For low carb breads I’d recommend Peter Reinhart’s book on that topic.. the name of the book escapes me at the moment but you shouldn’t have any trouble googling for it.
Using the both the Master and Peasant Bread recipes out of the 2007 book. Use a Lodge Dutch Oven with great results. As suggested, I have not cleaned the container, Rubbermaid 5 Qt, between batches – which leads to my question. How long, days/weeks, can the empty container sit in the refrigerator between batches of dough?
Thank you for the very easy, great bread!!!
Hmmm… I’m afraid I don’t have a good, scientifically based answer for you here. I generally don’t do that, I’ll either build a new batch right away or I’ll scrape it out and freeze that stuff for a later use if I’m taking a break from using dough for a while. One thing to watch out for is mold, if you see irregular patches on the surface whether they’re smooth or fuzzy, white, gray, or oddly colored, that could be mold, and it should be discarded with the container cleaned. A uniform gray appearance all over the surface of the remnants is not mold. Also discard it if it starts to smell bad.
Glad the original book is working for you, and thanks for the kind words.
I’ve baked from the Master Recipe (p.26) of “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” many times now. I’ve found that the subsequent loaves with stored dough tend to be very dense, and there is often water in the bottom of the storage container after it’s stored in the fridge. Is fixing this as simple as just adding more flour when I form new loaves, or is there something else going on?
That’s the first thing to try but it will help more with the wetness than the density. Also, don’t store for quite so long
What’s the best way to make garlic bread? I don’t mean bread with garlic topping. A nearby store makes a light white bread infused with garlic flavor that is quite intense. I have the book The Best of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and they only discuss garlic as a topping.
I’ve done it two ways, either with roasted garlic, or sauteing the garlic in olive oil. To roast, take unpeeled garlic, wrap in aluminum foil and bake in a 400F oven for 30 minutes. Cool and cut across the top of each clove, then squeeze out the roasted garlic. If sauteing, just mince the garlic and saute in olive oil until it just begins to color (don’t burn it or the result will be acrid in your bread). The question is the amount. I’ve used as much as a full head in a 4-pound batch, but that’s too much for some. Half a head? Quarter? The garlic goes in with the liquid ingredients in the recipe.
Hi, trying the Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread on p. 132 of New Healthy Bread in Five, I have Bob’s Red Mill WW, was trying to figure out the liquid adjustment from the chart on page 82. It says for different ratios of WWF, adjust water proportionally, so if the recipe calls for less WWF than the master recipe I should reduce the liquid by that ratio? It’s a little confusing.
Me again with the Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich bread ratio question: I came up with a ratio of 1.286 for water to Bob’s Red Mill WW flour from the conversion table on page 82, so should I apply that to the water amount only from the Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread recipe? Thanks!
First, I’m assuming that you ARE using vital wheat gluten in mix. Otherwise what I’m about to say doesn’t apply. On page 82, I specified an extra 1/4-cup of water when you use Bob’s instead of GM or Pillsbury, in a recipe that calls for 5 3/4 cup of WWF. So the maximum water increase in the Sandwich Bread would be 1/4-cup. BUT– That recipe only calls for 5 cups of WWF. So I’d increase the water by a scant 1/4-cup. Maybe 3 tablespoons? If you went with your ratio, it’d be a much larger water increase. If the dough looks very different from your expectations based on (easier) recipes you’ve done from that book, adjust flour or water accordingly.
Hi Jeff, thank you for the guidance, I had already mixed up the batch by the time I saw your answer. Although the dough seemed a little on the wet side, the loaf baked up nicely! I think I was stymied by the “total liquid” in the adjustment chart vs. water to wwf ratio. I’ll try a little less water next time. Cheers, Kris
Do you have a keto freindly recipe?
No, the breads are grain based, so it just doesn’t qualify.
I would like to make gluten free banana bread with the gf brioche dough. Can I just add the mashed banana to what I pull off, mix it in, and bake?
I’m guessing that it’s going to be too dense. You can give it a try, but I’d experiment with decreasing the liquids in the recipe at least a little. Consider making a flatter bread rather than a tall domed banana bread.
I am baking bread on a piece of parchment on a baking stone. The loaves are coming out with an undercooked section on the bottom part of the bread. They are also concave on the the bottom of the loaf. I have increased cooking time and this has not fixed it. I love the quality of the recipes and would appreciate any help to keep the same consistency throughout the loaves.
Thank you
Which of my recipes are you using, which book and page number?
I just bought King Arthur Classic Medium Organic Rye Flour. I am reading through your New Healthy Bread in 5 book. It instructs us not to use Medium Rye Flour in the recipes. Since I have it, can I use it in place of a whole grain rye flour? Will I need to adjust the recipe further because of it?
Since we tested with what’s generally available, we made that recommendation. That said, KAF Medium will work, but you may need to decrease the water a bit. Maybe a couple of tablespoons.
Thank you so much! I appreciate it!
Page 109, Gluten Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day
First thing to do is test your oven temp with something like http://ow.ly/8CVPU. If it’s accurate, the other possibility is that you need a longer preheat of the stone for your particular characteristics of oven and stone.
can you use fresh milled flour? will this method effect my milled flour, as fresh milled flour does go rancid?
can you use loaf pans with this method?
If your flour is rancid before you mix, then it’ll be terrible. If not, there’s nothing to worry about in terms of storing the dough. See my post on fresh-milled flour at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2009/11/11/using-fresh-ground-whole-wheat-flour-and-some-highlights-from-our-book-tour/ You can definitely use loaf pans, lots more on that in the books. Which of my recipes are you using (which book and page number)?
Hello,
I newly purchased the GFABin5 book and am thrilled with the results achieved with the master recipe.
Wanting to progress with further recipes, I’d like to make the pizza dough from chapter 8 pg 196. It calls for egg whites, which we cannot use due to intolerances. I searched the website but can’t find any substitutions mentioned.
Is it possible to make your pizza dough recipe omitting eggs/egg whites and substituting with other ingredients? (Vegan ideally)
Many thanks
Just use the basic dough, following all the same steps for preparing the pizza.
Hello – I have a quick question about using gluten in wheat free breads. I’m allergic to wheat, cows milk, and eggs but I don’t have a gluten intolerance. I’ve tried to search for wheat free breads (with gluten) without much success. Most recipes avoid gluten at all costs – however I want to be able to create a wheat free bread with gluten. I know rye and barley have gluten — but much less than the gluten in wheat.
Do you have any tips on incorporating gluten in a wheat free bread?
Thanks!
The only thing I’ve tried that’s similar to this is 100% whole grain rye flour, at a ratio of about 40 grams of vital wheat gluten to 1,000 g of rye flour. It wasn’t an astounding success… pretty dense. As you know, rye flour alone won’t make much of a raised loaf. This was a slight improvement. My guess is that some experimentation could improve on this, but best bet is that this kind of dough would make decent flatbread but not a sandwich loaf or boule. I haven’t tried it with barley flour
New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, 100% whole wheat sandwich bread, pgs. 134-136
I have tried twice, and I can’t get the dough to rise. I am using water/milk at about 72 deg, stainless steel pot, red star yeast (first batch w expire date 9/2022, second batch w expire date 12/2022). I halved the recipe the first time and then tried the full recipe the second time in case I did the math wrong the first time. I let it sit at room temp for 4 hours each time with no apparent rise. House temp kept at about 74F. Any thoughts about what I might be doing wrong? Not sure if I need to just leave it out longer? Love the idea of this and really want to figure it out! Thanks!
Has this yeast been successful in other recipes? Did you bake off the dough that you felt didn’t rise adequately?
using the ingredients specified on page 81 of your “new healthy bread in 5 minutes a day”
please advise the nutritional values.
Yes, I can do it myself but it would be very helpful if you provided.
Truth be told, I never calculated these for the recipes in the books…
Hi Jeff,
Could you please provide me with some recommendations for altitude? I find it hard to get my GF bread to rise lots. I have read lots of recommendations but haven’t found anything that has worked great thus far.
I am at roughly 4412ft high.
Thanks!!!
Which of my recipes are you using, from which book and page number?
Hello
On pages 8 ,Soft Dinner Rolls, 90 Baguette Buns, & 91 Cloverleaf Buns in your book “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”
The first step in these recipes says to Preheat a baking stone near the middle of the oven to 450 degrees F (20 to 30 minutes). Then in step 2 you form the buns and place them on a a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 20 minutes. In step 4 is where the confusion starts the book says to place the baking sheet in the oven. My question is do you set the baking sheet on the preheated stone or another rack in the oven? I guess I am at a loss as to what purpose the baking stone serves. This same procedure is called for in the three recipes above.
Can you please clarify this for me.
Thank You
Kindes regards
Lynn
For recipes that call for a baking sheet, the stone isn’t absolutely required, but it can help even out oven heat in ovens that have hot or cold spots. What do you use one or not, bake near the center of the oven. If you’re using the stone, you can place it near the bottom of the oven on the shelf, or on the shelf where you’re going to put the baking sheet (right on top of it).