Ask a Question
Questions? Start with the Search Bar: I’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 the Search Bar on the Home Page. In narrower laptop or desktop displays, it sometimes appears right underneath the 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 posts on the topic, with recipes and answers to many questions.
Another place to look: the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) page (there’s 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 I 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 post (it doesn’t have to be here on “Ask a Question”) and scroll down to the bottom; then enter your question or comment. Don’t look for the response in your personal email… Come back here to the site on the page where you posted, to look for the answer.
Questions are answered here on the website within 24 hours, often with a reference to a page number in our books where possible. Please remember that the blog is moderated, so your post may not appear until I’ve read and approved it; this can take 24 hours.
Zoe
I have been baking from your “new healthy bread in five” and i love it. I am enjoying pulling bread from the refrig and baking weekly. I’ve mainly been working with your master recipe – this week I venture out to another.
I have a question I need help with for all breads :
I just don’t seem to have the height your breads do – I’m not sure what I am doing or what i should do differently. I weigh my ingredients, try to handle gently, add steam to the oven etc…..
The bread I made today is Betsy’s seeded oat – oh my gosh, so good. But again, fairly FLAT – i’d like it to be more rounded and full. I mixed my dough Sunday, baked Tuesday. I only baked one loaf so will bake again Thursday
do you have any thoughts or suggestions?
kind regards
Julie-
Hi Julie,
What whole wheat flour do you use? It may be a flour that has lower protein, so it may not hold it’s structure as well.
It may also just be a matter of shaping the dough and making sure it is in a tight enough ball, so it doesn’t become too slack. Here is a video that might help: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2017/04/16/new-video-shaping-the-ball-from-a-very-wet-dough/
If you are not getting a good oven spring, you may need to preheat your baking stone a bit longer, which gives the bread the initial rise in the oven.
Thanks, Zoë
Thank you for your reply Zoe
I used KAF white whole wheat. – I usually do heat my stone for at least an hour before baking. I will take a look at the video and give it another go.
I also know I need to get a feel for what the dough should look like when water/liquids are added (before the 2 hour room temp rest – and then refrig) i.e. Should it be tight or loose per different formulas/recipes. Betsy’s was loose/batter like, and i assumed that was do to all the water that would eventually absorb into the oats/grains??.
thanks again
Julie
Hi Julie,
King Arthur is a high protein flour, so that will not produce a wet dough. How do you measure the flour? Weights or cup measure? If by cup do you scoop and sweep, as opposed to spoon and sweep?
It may just be the shaping, so take a look at the video I sent and see if that helps.
Thanks, Zoë
Just made my first batch of the Master Recipe for the NEW artisan bread in 5 book.
Now it’s in the fridge: I want to make some her flavors rolls for tonight, but didn’t want to flavor the entire batch. Can I add the herbs during the cloaking stage without ruining the rolls?
Sure can!
Julie, one thing I’ve found is that by baking the loaves in my big ole Dutch Oven [gr. grammas] seems to turn our fuller or higher loaves, than using the stone + cup of water underneath.
I have your Artisan Brread in Five Minutes A Day, 2007 edition. Can you tell me the difference in first edition to the lastest. Is there errors in the 2007 edition or more recipes, pictures, etc.
Thank you
Hi Susan,
Here is a post that can answer that: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2013/10/22/the-new-artisan-bread-in-five-minutes-a-day-is-launched-back-to-basics-updated/
Thanks and enjoy! Zoë
using Artisan flour mix #1. Used 1 C water in broiler pan for steam. Crust is too hard, Flavor of bread good but need to improve the crust.
Hi Sally,
Are you baking the Master recipe from the Gluten-Free book? If you want a softer crust, you can brush the crust with butter or olive oil as it comes out and cover it with a tea towel as it cools.
Thanks, Zoë
GF Bagels. I’m trying to make bagels from your GF book. The instructions say to preheat the baking stone. But then later after shaping the bagels the directions say to put on the prepared baking sheet & cover with plastic wrap. Am I supposed to preheat the baking stone and then take it out and let the bagels rest on a hot stone? Won’t the plastic wrap melt?
Hi Jessica,
When you bake with a sheet try you don’t have to have the baking stone, but if you have one, it will help with the rise and baking of the bagels. You’d just preheat the stone, let the bagels rest on the baking sheet, uncover them and slide the whole sheet onto the hot stone.
Thanks, Zoë
The first several loaves of my refrigerated dough makes excellent bread, but the last pound in the bottom of the container is overly wet, with some liquid visible in the bottom of the container. This happens whether it has been refrigerated for 3 days or 10 days. I am using “The New AB in 5 Minutes” master recipe with KAF bread flour, with water and flour weighed using a digital scale.
Hi Rich,
This is very typical for dough that has been unused for several days or one that is reaching the end of it’s 2 week storage. It doesn’t typically happen after just 3 days, but if you haven’t used the dough in those 3 days, it is possible. Here is a post on some ways to use up that last bit of dough: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2015/05/20/fresh-bread-made-with-older-dough/
Thanks, Zoë
Ok, hubby bought me Diastatic malt powder instead of Non-diastatic….a lovely gesture since he really wants me to make bagels… but HOW do I use in the bagel recipe? Do I decrease amounts? I can’t return since he got it online…hate to waste a 1.5lb bag…
Hi Jamie,
The good news is that you can certainly use the malt powder he got you in the recipe. But, you only use a tiny bit, so 1-2 teaspoon(s) per batch. That means you have a lifetime supply.
Cheers, Zoë
Try as I might, I can’t get the dough to slide of the pizza spit. I think I’m putting more that enough cornmeal on the spit but there always seems to be one little spot the holds it up! Help!
BTW, LOVE the method and the finished product!
Hi Dennis,
If you have a bench scraper, you can use that to ease the pizza dough up and put more cornmeal under the stuck spot. You can also bake the pizza directly on parchment paper and just peel it off before serving. The parchment paper is insurance for getting the pizza off the peel. This post shows a gluten-free pizza, but you’ll see how the pizza just slides off the parchment: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2012/04/25/gluten-free-pizza-locally-foraged-toppings-the-gifts-of-spring/
Thanks, Zoë
Hi
I purchesed all of your books and was interested in GF baking recipes, kindly What do i replace Teff flour with in your GF flour mix recipe?
Hi. You can use millet or sorghum in it’s place.
Thank you, Zoë
I’m using Healthy Bread in Five. What recipe do you recommend for making ciabatta loaves or rolls? Any specific instructions?
Hi Dan,
Ciabatta dough is typically very wet, so you may want to take our master recipe and add a few extra tablespoons water, maybe even a 1/4 cup. After shaping, let the loaf rest for a long time to develop the open hole structure.
Thanks, Zoe
Can you guys look at the old New England “shredded wheat bread” recipe and come up with a 5 minute version? I always seem to have a bunch of stale shredded wheat around here and that whole rise and punch twice thing ain’t happening, now that I’m spoiled. By you!
Hi Jeannette,
I’ve never heard of this bread before, sounds great!
Zoë
I’m wanting a “bucket bread” recipe using mainly masa. I have your first and second books. Is there a recipe in one of those books I could modify using the masa flour? Thank you for your assistance. Pam McDonald
Hi Pam,
We haven’t really used much masa flour in our breads, but there are some in our gluten-free book.
Thanks, Zoë
Hello! I am a novice bread maker so I know that I have a huge learning curve. I attempted the Master Bread recipe in your new healthy bread book this week. I followed the recipe exactly (whole wheat, white all purpose, and I used the vital wheat gluten) and the bread came out super dense. I had to throw it away. I am wondering if instead of mixing in the yeast with the flour I should put it in warm water first? I did read the directions correct that I should mix the yeast in with the flour correct? I am also wondering if my dough was too dry but am not sure how to tell if it was too dry. I do live in Denver but most of friends say they don’t need to make high altitude adjustments for their bread so I thought I’d try it first without any adjustments. I would love some advice if you have any!!!
Hi Tami,
Tell me about the flour you are using? What brand is it and how do you measure?
Did the dough rise well before you refrigerated the dough? Did it rise while it rested?
Thanks, Zoë
Comment regarding Tami’s post:
I live outside Denver at 8,500 ft. I use Costco A/P flour, digital scale, etc. I have had no issues since I discovered this book early last year. I use the mixing bowl from my KitchenAid, add water, yeast, salt, and flour (in that order). Of course, taring the scale after each ingredient.
i am a beginner bread making wannabe. i downloaded “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” to my Kindle. Made the Master Recipe and placed in fridge (plastic bucket) with lid slightly open. Now 4 days later I’ve taken my bucket out to make my master piece and the dough has a “scab” all over the top. What now?
Hi Jackie,
The dough just dried out on the top a bit. You’ll want to peel that hard dough away and you can use what is under it. Next time you’ll want to make sure not quite so much air is able to get into the bucket, so it stays humid in there. If the skin on the dough is not hard, but just gray, then you can just mix it all together.
Thanks, Zoë
I am following a lectin free diet. The flour I usually use is cassava. Sometimes mixed with arrowroot powder.how would these work in your master recipe? And in what quantities?
Many thanks!
Unfortunately, there’s no way for me to guess, not having tried these. It’ll take experimentation… But my guess is that it will not work.
I can’t seem to find “malted” wheat flakes. Will Kamut flakes work?
No, that’s a different sort of flake!
The only place I’ve been able to find the malted wheat flakes seems to be by purchasing, on-line, a 2 lb. pkg. at about $16 + shipping. I just want to make that malted wheat bread recipe and I don’t want 2 lb. My local co-op doesn’t seem to have it.
Hi Emily,
It does seem that they have become harder to find since we originally created that recipe. We used to find them on the King Arthur website, but I do think you have to buy quite a bit.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi,
I became aware of your method a number of years ago and purchased the 2009 edition of Healthy Bread in ….. Normal life was disrupted by a number of things and my bread baking has been on the back burner for several years. I recently received a blog post from Cheapskate monthly and she was discussing your bread and I realized I has kind of forgotten about the 5 minute a day thing I used to do. So I am getting ready to dive back in, but I see the book has been updated. Just wondering if the New Healthy….. has much more added to it over the 2009 edition. I use lots of whole wheat but not so much in the way of other flours. Thank you.
Main new material:
1. A natural sourdough chapter
2. Adjustments for omitting vital wheat gluten
3. Adjustments for different brands of whole wheat flour.
Thank you for sharing your method for making amazing homemade bread that is simple, quick and literally anyone can make! From my first loaf, even though it didn’t look great, it tasted amazing as has everyone since, thanks to your recipe development.
My question is about using your master recipe (from The New Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day) when working with not-for-profit groups as a “bread in a bag” type program. Have you ever tried making it in a 2 gallon zip lock type bag (for example) or had others use this method with your master recipe? Also, if using your master recipe in a not-for-profit program like this, what would be the necessary permissions, requirement, etc to you? Thank you for any information you can provide!
Yes–it works great in a zip-lock bag, lots of folks have done this. About the use of our recipes, copyright rules on this are at this URL in our website: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/01/02/can-i-use-your-recipes-on-my-website-in-my-class-or-in-a-publication/
It’s un-altered material that’s the problem. Whatever you do, please reference our website (BreadIn5.com), and our books!
Hi! I’d like to make your Soft Dinner Rolls (on pg. 88 in “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”), but I’m confused. Step 1 says to “Preheat a baking stone…” But then step 4 says to “…place the baking sheet in the oven.” Am I supposed to place the baking sheet on top of the stone? Or place the rolls directly on the stone? Or not put the stone in at all?
P.S. When leaving a comment on your “Ask a Question” page, there’s nowhere for me to check off “notify me of follow-up comments by e-mail.” Can that helpful feature be added?
P.P.S. It would be really great if there were a way for readers to search all the comments on your “Ask a Question” page first before sending in our questions. Kinda like the search feature on Amazon’s “Customer questions & answers” section. Would this be possible?
Sorry for the confusion. When using a heavy-duty baking sheet, the stone’s not necessary and this shortens the preheat needed, so feel free to omit the stone.
I’ll look into fixing the missing “notify” option, but unfortunately WordPress doesn’t support the global search option that you suggest.
Thank you for responding so quickly, Jeff! So, should step 1 just say to preheat the oven to 450 degrees — leaving out any mention of the stone altogether? If so, should the temp still be at 450 degrees, or should it be lower (350 degrees) instead?
And also, thanks for trying to fix the missing “notify” option. While you’re at it, might I also suggest you try to see if you can list all the most recent comments up on top? That’s the easiest and most logical sequence. As it is now, the most recent comments are at the bottom with the option to see “Older Comments.” Yet there’s also an option up on top to see “Older Comments” above the older comments, too. A bit confusing…at least to me. Otherwise, you have got one remarkable site and a personalized feedback service unheard of in the industry! Kudos to you and Zoe!
ty!
Baking temp stays the same–450F.
Zoe, Excellent post about Baker’s Flour…..you suggest more gluten is needed…..I do not see a change in the Master Recipe in the post……What am I missing? I would like to try the flour and will buy direct
Ah yes, I see the confusion– the “change” is that the recipe calls for bread flour (higher protein, milled from harder wheat) rather the ordinary all-purpose flour. The proportions are exactly the same. You end up with a dough that’s a little drier and likelier to hold it’s shape.
Hi, I noticed on your site you have the Master recipe posted using Baker’s Field Fresh Flour. You said to bake at 500. In the New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes, you wrote to bake at 450. Why the difference? I have just ordered a EH Bread and Potato Pot to bake in and wondered if that is the difference. I use KA flour
Thanks
Gail
There’s some leeway here and we’ve played around with different temps in different ovens. First off, it has nothing to do with the fresh flour, it’s a matter of how your oven and your pot behave at temperature. If you go too high, it can get overbrowned on the bottom. 450 is our default, but if you preheat the pot to 500, put in the bread, and then turn it down to 450, you may find superior crispness. Or in many ovens and in many pots, you can leave it at 500– just experiment and see what works best.
I have been making your wonderful bread recipe and am working my way through the newest edition of your wonderful Baking Book. I do a program for homeless 7th and 8th graders in Phoenix , Arizona. All are food insecure and as part of the program , I bake a fresh bread, protein cake, cookies etc for every day’s class. The kids also have a baking business called Cookies for Change. My their uniques and delicious cookies and brownies, which they sell, they have money for food on the weekends and learn to operate a small business. We will have occasion to be in altitude this summer and I wonder what adjustments you recommend to your current bread recipe to ensure it is as delicious and uniform as in the original? Thanks for sharing any ideas which I, will then, teach to these special kids
Absolutely–and thanks for your work with these kids. Assuming you have The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, the altitude tips are on page 46, but I think we were too conservative there–we’ve since tested in Denver and we needed no adjustment to the basic recipe. The revised altitude discussion:
Check out our FAQ on altitude baking, at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2008/02/10/qa-high-altitude-baking/
More FAQs are at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/faqs/
I’ve got the proportions down and using 2 pounds by weight all purpose flour-
I use a Kitchen Aid mixer combining the yeast, salt & water
First batch kneaded it with the machine and got a nice satiny texture to the dough and after initial rise and next morning the dough seems to have lost any elasticity and does not stretch and just breaks off
Second batch need a basic mix and still get the same results-
Crumb is very dense and somewhat gummy –
I’m at 2,500 foot above sea level
What adjustments should I make?
Using WhiteLily flour /pre-sifted/soft winter wheat/enriched/bleatched
Which of the books are you using (which recipe and page number)?
Hey Guys,
I am a fan. I started baking bread using your system. It was great while it lasted. Then, I adopted a keto diet and was unable to make bread any more. Recently, though, I’ve learned that there are folks out there making keto style bread. I am really interested in learning how you do this, if you do. Could you please let me know with the following caveat below.
Now, what I like about your system is it’s simple. You use flour, water, and a few other ingredients. All the keto bread recipes call for eggs. I’m hoping that I can find a recipe that is keto and vegan, as that’s the diet combination that I’m currently in during Lent. Once I’m out of Lent, I can incorporate eggs. So, if you could provide your system for (1) keto and vegan and (2) keto only without the vegan restriction.
Finally, please note that when I say keto, this means that approximately 5% of the daily calories comes from carbs. Now, the carbs can be net of dietary fiber – that’s fine. So, whole wheat flour, for example, has 21 grams of carbs for each 1/4 cup of flour. So, a 2 cup loaf of bread will have 168 grams of carbs. Now, 3 of those carbs are dietary fiber, so if you subtract that then it’s 144 grams of net carbs (21-3=18 times 9 = 144).
I am aware of almond flour and flaxseed flour. Maybe there’s more but when I tried both of these without eggs, it was horrendous.
If you don’t want to put this up on your blog for whatever reason, could you please, kindly answer me nonetheless. Even if the answer is you don’t currently have a keto vegan/non-vegan recipe.
Thanks so much.
I’m afraid we don’t. And you have a tall order. No eggs and almost no carbs. You’re left with nut flours, and I think it’s going to need the eggs. Peter Reinhart’s book on very low carb bread may be a closer fit for you–but I bet there are eggs.
I want to bake several loaves from the master recipe at the same time. Do I need to adjust the cooking time or amount of water that I add to the broiler pan?
Thanks,
Jamey
Which “Master?” In other words, which book, what page number?
I’m not exactly sure which “master” recipe Jamey is referring to, but I have the same question about the master recipe in your New Artisan Bread book on page 53. Can you please answer about that one?
It all depends on the characteristics of the oven and stone you’re using. If the combination of the two has a lot of “heat mass,” that is, it’s a large thick stone (1/2-inch), and the oven retains heat well, the extra dough-mass in the oven won’t make much difference. But, in some setups, you’ll need to increase the baking time by 15% or so. Maybe 20%. Or nothing, as I say. In my oven, it doesn’t require any change (it’s a 1993 Jenn-Aire, and I use the stone below (it’s an Amazon link). And fully preheating the stone will help–40 minutes. Water for steam requirement shouldn’t change. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000E1FDA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000E1FDA&linkCode=as2&tag=arbrinfimiada2-20&linkId=27985764e69131cbeb2c361ed1e24ba5
Thank you, Jeff! You’ve been a really big help! I have the same stone as you and my oven is brand new, so I’m thinking I won’t have to change my baking time. Also very helpful to know that I won’t have to add more water for steam either.
I am going to jump into making my own bread because I want good quality whole wheat in my diet. I need your advice on a couple of things before I start.
1. Recently moved to CO (6500 elevation) from sea level – suggested adjustments for bread making
2. I want to order flour from your farm source (whole wheat) but not sure which type of four to order from their website for bread making
3. Also, do you recommend any all purpose flour that is freshly milled as the whole wheat?
I am such a newbie to all of this even though I have been cooking for 1,000 years it seems. Your book and website have inspired me. I have been Paleo for a year and recently was told my R.D. to add whole wheat into my diet (don’t need to be gluten free) and looking a yummy bread seems good to me! Thank you for any help or suggestions!
Some of our books have the high-altitude instructions–which book do you have and what page/recipe are you working from?
The one they label as “bread flour” is the one Zoe tested with, so start with that. As for freshly-milled white (all-purpose) flour, afraid I can’t name one.
I have been making many kinds of bread from your first book for years and have had great results. Lately, I have gotten into baking with a sourdough starter. The starter is healthy and I’ve baked a loaf at a time. Now I would like to branch out into stirring up several loaves at a time like your books do. In your ” The New Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day” on page 389 you give the recipe for whole wheat bread using a sourdough starter. I’d like to use white flour for my first time doing this. Could you please tell me how many cups of Gold Medal or King Arthur Flour White flour to use with the activated levain? Love your books. My friends never cease to be impressed by the bread I bake since using your books.
Just decrease the water by about 15% and all should be well, but you will have to adjust as you go
I recently purchased “The New Artisan Bread in …..”
I mixed up “Olive Oil Dough” on page 214 then realized the instructions end at #4. There are no instructions for resting time, baking temperature, baking time, etc.
Now I have 4 pounds of dough in the fridge and no certain way to bake it. I realize I could use it for pizza, etc., but really just wanted to try a plain loaf as I am becoming acquainted with the basics right now.
Thank you
It works great as the basic loaf in chapter 5!
What is the benefit of a cornstarch wash vs. using just water? I’m on the deli rye recipe from the most recent version of AB in 5.
Maybe a little shinier… Not a big deal
I love the 5 min bread! We’ve made it for several years.
Do you have recipes that use almond or coconut flour?
Thanks
yes, it’s in some of our books but not all. Which book(s) do you have?
Jeff,
I have the first books,
Healthy Bread in 5 min a day
Artisan Bread in 5 min a day
Thanks
Jeff,
I have the “Healthy Bread in five minutes a day” and “Artisan Bread in five minutes a day”. I looked in my daughter’s copy of the New Healthy Bread, and Artisan Pizza and Flat Bread, couldn’t see a recipe for almond flour and coconut flour in them.
Thank you
Judith
Ah… The nut flour recipes are in the gluten free book (on Amazon at https://amzn.to/1msOBmY), but these only use a little nut-flour. They’re mostly comprised of high carb flours,(tapioca, cornstarch, rice flour) etc. And I’m guessing that like most folks who want to use nut flours, you’re trying to avoid carbohydrates.
Hi,
I am having trouble with the GF sandwich bread! I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. All the other baked goods have come out great. I’ve tried the sandwich bread 4-5 times and I’m frustrated! I’m making it out of the GF AB in 5 (2014 ed). I’ve been making GF bread on my own for many years using my own recipe. I’ve been GF for over 17 years. I like the fact that I can make this dough ahead of time, so I keep trying to do it. I can’t get it to rise enough–gummy and too dense too. I’ve made the egg and egg-free versions, and I’m weighing the ingredients. My dough looks like your video, so I know the consistency is correct. Today I increased the rest and proof time and used the oven to proof (my house tends to be cold). I tried the peasant and baguette loaves with the same low-rise result, so it can’t be that there’s too much in the pan. Any other thoughts? Thanks!
Are you swapping brands? We tested with Bob’s Red Mill brand, and found that swapping a different brand required modifications in the hydration that were completely unpredictable and required lots of experimentation. Another consideration–are you mixing with a stand mixer, or by hand? The it’s possible to mix by hand, it’s much harder to get the mixture to emulsify when mixing by hand, and that definitely puts you at risk for inadequate rise.
Have you been through all the tips at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2014/10/17/dense-or-gummy-interior-or-inadequate-rising-what-am-i-doing-wrong/ ?
I have just read “The New Healthy Bread in Five Minutes” and and want to make 100% Whole Wheat bread, p. 91 but do not have any of the mentioned flours as I use hard(strong) organic flour. I do not know if the flours listed are all- purpose or hard flours.
Impossible to say how yours will absorb water, since it’s not just the protein content–it’s the bran content and the fine-ness of grind. You’ll have to just experiment. If I had to guess, it’ll be on the higher end of the water requirement, but I have no way to know for sure. Like the top three flours listed on page 92’s table.
Jeff,
Yes. You guessed it. Trying to avoid carbs. The recipes I’m seeing on line all use coconut and almond flour.
I was really hoping you would have a low carb 5 min Bread.
Now there is a challenge for you.
Thanks,
Judith
I’m fairly certain that the dough would not store–that it’d become impossibly dense with storage. Peter Reinhart’s book has much more nut flour and he wrote it to decrease his carb intake, on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2GmsJdk
But I’m guessing that the dough isn’t storable at all.
I love your books and bake bread using your method for several years. I thought there was a recipe using graham flour either in New Artisan Bread in 5 or in New Healthy bread in 5, but I can not find any. I bought the flour and now wonder if I can use it as regular whole wheat or any adjustments needed? What would you recommend?
Just use as whole what; depending on the brand, may have to increase water a bit.
Do you have a process for baking your bread, Master Recipe, on a heat source like a stove top or grill, in a Dutch Oven? I am wanting to make bread while camping.
Yes, you can do it, but it’s hit or miss and depends on the even-ness of the heat on your grill. My own experience was that I was most successful making flatbread in a covered cast-iron skillet when using a camping stove. See my post on that at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2008/09/02/picking-raffle-winners-and-the-worlds-freshest-watercress-for-savory-watercress-flatbread/
Another resource: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/09/06/got-camping-stove-got-flatbread-plus-bread-in-the-shape-of-minnesota/
Which of our books are you using, which page number/recipe?
Using King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat flour are the measurements the same as Whiole Wheat?
In which recipe (which of our books, what page number)?
Master recipe for whole wheat and also cinnamon raisin, honey whole wheat
That should work as an even swap, yes.
I would like to try your recipes in my new Wolf Steam oven. Are you familiar with working with modern steam ovens? There is an Auto Steam Bake setting for breads etc. Or, there is a gourmet mode for breads. There is also a probe that is used to monitor internal temps. If you have any advice on how to use your recipes in the steam oven, that would be great. Thank you!
Neither of us have access to one of these, but my guess is that they will work well–and exactly as described in their owner’s manual. We give internal temp guidelines in our books. And we generally bake with steam for our lean breads. Which of the books do you have, I can direct you.
There’s a recipe using “bread” flour that I’ve found. Can I substitute unbleached all-purpose flour for “bread” flour?
Check out our FAQs page, go through the list, and click on the one about flours…
Your book was recommended to me by a good friend that has been baking incredible bread for years. I ordered both the “New ArtIsan Bread in 5 minutes a day” and “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.” I received them yesterday and have only had a chance to briefly glance through both of them. I have a sour dough start that I love and makes Bread that I more easily digest. I do not mind the process of keeping it alive and would prefer using it instead of commercial “yeast”. Is there any way I can adjust the recipes to incorporate my sour dough start in place of the yeast? If so could you give me some general instructions on how I would make that adjustment.
Yes, but unfortunately, the details for that are in our book that you didn’t get: The New Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a day, which is on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2fQ0LIV. Meanwhile, we have some of that info here on the website, on our FAQs page (https://artisanbreadinfive.com/faqs/). Read through all of it for how to incorporate your starter (you don’t have to use our method).
A friend sent me this article about the pizzas in southern Italy. It makes for some good reading:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-03-15/the-wild-pizzas-of-southern-italy-have-to-be-seen-to-be-believed
….Which leads me to asking about individual stuffed pizzas, with and without tomato sauce that can be baked, frozen, and popped into lunchboxes to thaw during the morning for school or work lunches. To be eaten at room temperature but possibly microwaveable (wrapped in a paper towel or heated in a toaster oven; I know that the microwave can be tricky). And with a good variety of fillings that would range in ethnicity. Maybe in 2 sizes. Sounds like a book about stuffed breads to me, but if you have any advice before then, I’d love to hear your suggestions. [I have all your books except Gluten-Free.]
Rita
Hmm. Well, basically, you’re describing a small calzone or stromboli–oh no, I’m forgetting which book(s) those are in, but you must know what I mean?
Hi Zoe, hi Jeff
I have two questions concerning the lean dough (the master recipe: boule of your book “The new Artisan Bread in Five Minutes” / concerning the first rise:
I made the the original dough recipe using 10 grams granulated yeast and now it would make the dough using less yeast (decrease to 5 grams or even 2,5 grams granulated yeast). When decreasing the amount of yeast you mention in your instructions, that the first rise will be longer at room temperature until the dough begins to collapse. Now my questions are:
1. For the first rise it is NECESSARY to allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse and only then put the dough in the refrigerator? Or can I put the dough with less yeast for example after 2 hours in the refrigerator even when it not yet have reached the stage of collapsing? If yes my second question is:
2. Could I even put the dough directly after mixing in the refrigerator for the first rise, or would this not work?
Thank you in advance for your short answer.
Barbara
You can always refrigerate early–but the initial rise might take longer, especially if you started with cold water. In general, you don’t have to wait for the “collapse,” which doesn’t always noticeably happen anyway.
Hi Zoe and Jeff, I have another question for you! I am using “The New Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day” book and was wondering what changes you would recommend to the master recipe when incorporating spelt flour?
Thanks!
Brittany
That’s a whole.grain flour.. need more water
Hi,
I just bought your book “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” On Pages 19 and 20 it refers to equipment noting how steam is important for a crispier crust. I have a pizza oven (outside) it is masonry built, do I need to add steam to this cooking source as well or can I just bake the bread without putting water in something and placing it in the pizza oven? I am determined to get more use out of my pizza oven and I bought your book in hopes of making more than just wood fired pizza. I love bread and I’m hoping your recipes and techniques work for a pizza oven as well.
Gina: I’m pretty sure that outdoor pizza ovens are too well-ventilated to trap steam. You get a different kind of crust when you do loaf-breads in an outdoor pizza oven. Thicker, and hard, yes. But not thin and crispy. I suppose you could experiment with covering method–you know what I mean? When you use an overturned aluminum foil pan or something like that to trap steam for the first part of baking.
And of course, you can’t bake bread at the same super-high temp as you do your pizzas…
My dough isn’t elastic, it’s just sort of coming apart. What could I have done wrong?
Perry: We have many doughs, many Master Recipes. Which book are you working from (page number, recipe name)?
I’m using the master recipe from the new artisan bread in 5 minutes book.
Perry: Likeliest explanation is that your dough is too dry, so, some questions:
1. Are you swapping any ingredients? Like, are you swapping in any whole wheat flour?
2. Are you using a higher-protein flour (list is in the book)?
3. Any chance you’re measuring incorrectly? If doing it by volume, are you using scoop-and-sweep? Have you seen my video on that?
The fix will be to use a bit more water, or correct one of the above.
I have all your books, first and second editions, except gluten-free. Do you have a recipe for a yeasted tart (or quiche) dough that is on the savory side?
Rita
Rita: we’ve done tarts with our enriched doughs (brioche, challah), like the Tarte Tatin in “New Healthy.” Not savory though. You could experiment with leaving out the sweetener but that might change the water requirement so you’d have to experiment. Doesn’t have to be whole grain—the white enriched ones would work also.
Hi
First off, I am certainly enjoying your new book and the recipes I’ve used thus far.
I’m just curious why you use no sugar in your master recipe. A few batches ago I decided to thrown in a couple of teaspoons of sugar and got better results. The dough didn’t spread out as far during the final rise and the crumb was more light and airy. Maybe none of this was due to the sugar, but I’ve continued to use it with what I perceive as better results.
Your comments on this would be helpful.
Thanks
Terry: a small amount of sugar tenderizes bread, and some people prefer that. I bet that’s what you’re perceiving, so stick with it. I can’t explain why you’re seeing less spreading, except to say that sugar is “hydrophilic,” (aka “hygroscopic”), meaning it’s molecules are electrically attracted to water molecules. A long way of saying that it may be absorbing a little of the water, yielding a drier, firmer dough that doesn’t spread as much.
Or, could just decrease the water a couple of tablespoons…
I have purchased from King Flour the dough buckets for the rising feature but they have a snap lid and you specifically said no airtight lids. Does their bucket qualify for the no air tight lid? If not, where do I find one?
Thank you
Mary Beth: I have the same kind of buckets– just leave them cracked open for the first 48 hours of storage, after than you can close them. Or make a pinhole in the lid…
If I may butt in….I have taken Jeff’s suggestion of a pinhole in the lid of the Cambro-type containers and it works perfectly. Just small enough to allow trapped gasses to escape. You will not be compromising the seal of the containers if you want to use the same container for another use. Just seal the tiny hole with a square of masking tape or electrical tape. This has worked well for me for years.
Rita: Nice idea!
On page 62 of Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day, there is a table of flours for Mixture #2, Whole-Grain Gluten-Free Flour. There is an asterisk at teff that refers the reader to page 61 for a substitution suggestion. There is no substitution for teff on page 61–nor could I find anything using the index to review the other (few) teff mentions. And I looked on your website as well.
So if there is a substitution for teff, then I’d like to know what it is.
The alternative is that the asterisk was placed next to teff in error.
Thank you!
Eleanor: Well, you are right, it’s a typo–we didn’t find a swap for teff. We found the recipes were more temperamental that wheat ones. We’d make a small change or swap–and find the recipes were radically changed. So our available swaps are limited.
Where on your website is the chart for the ingredient weights? I’m scaling a recipe and especially need the weight of shelled eggs.
Thanks,
Rita
Rita: We don’t have all our books’ content here on the website. We have weights-charts in the updated editions of “Artisan Bread…” and “Healthy Bread…” which both have the words “The New…” in the titles. Also have it in “Pizza…” and “Gluten-Free.” Basically, our publisher will kill us if we put all our content up here on the website!
That said, we don’t usually weigh shelled eggs, but they usually weigh 1.75 to 2.00 ounces but that entirely depends on the eggs you use. Weigh a few and do the arithmetic and you’ll have an accurate measure.
Jeff, thank you for replying. I could swear that I saw a consolidated chart with all the various ingredients in one place, in at least one of your books. I looked in the indices of both “New” books under Weights & Measures” and also under “Conversions.” Conversions were for measuring equipment. Of course I realize that each recipe has its own chart but I thought I’d come across a multiple-page chart somewhere. I finally went to a challah recipe to find the weight of a large egg which served me well. The reason I needed it was because when I scaled the recipe up, I wound up with 2.6 large eggs even though a third egg probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference. I wanted to get it exact in case I needed to scale it up or down again so I’d avoid a rounding error. So….no fear of Death by Publisher.
Am I missing it? Looking for Einkorn recipe. I have The New Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
Hi Kristi,
It behaves just like spelt, so you can replace the spelt in any of our recipes with Einkorn.
Thanks, Zoë
Excellent. Thank you! Can’t wait to try it.