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.
I want to try some of the gluten-free recipes in a breadmaker. I have the GF book and it is wonderful, but it could be fun to try hacking the time in a different way via a bread maker too. Any advice?
The mixing function of a bread machine should work fine in emulsifying the ingredients the way a stand mixer does, so that might be worthwhile. But you’ll have to scale down my recipes in order for it to fit into the machine’s receptacle. Halve it? Quarter? Not sure. That’s the mixing phase. The question is whether the closed environment of the bread machine will allow this kind of high-moisture dough to dissipate its moisture. If it doesn’t, the result will be gummy. Could be worth a try though…
I am trying to make the brioche recipe in your book. It came out to thick the first time that I thought I had measured wrong. I tried again and it was the same. THEN I found the note on your website about room temp eggs. I put it in the fridge overnight and when I went to work with it the texture was cookie-dough like and hard to shape. I left it out for the hour and 20 minutes but it took much longer to bake than expected and, though the texture and taste were good it was very lumpy. How can I get the right texture for smooth pretty brioche?
Do you mean that the dough was lumpy, or the actual texture of the brioche’s crumb after it was baked? If the latter, do you mean that there were lumps of hard flour embedded in each slice? When the dough finished resting and had warmed up, had it softened? This butter-based dough, when pulled straight from the fridge, can seem hard– like butter straight from the fridge.
I have used both your books for my bread making & enjoy the ease of making breads with this method. I have always used a Dutch oven for baking but I was gifted a Challenger bread baker for Christmas. The refrigerated dough seems too loose for a batard. I’m curious what I can do to strengthen dough to hold its shape while using the Challenger baker. Any thoughts?
You mean because you think it’ll spread as a free-form loaf? I haven’t generally found that, assuming your mixing is accurate, with the same kinds of flours I specify, and especially if you’re using weights to measure flour and water rather than volume. And you’re creating a nice gluten-cloak, as described in the books and here on the website video at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2017/04/16/new-video-shaping-the-ball-from-a-very-wet-dough/. But however you’re mixing, and with whatever flours, if you’d like a stronger dough, you can just decrease the water a bit. Start with a couple of tablespoons, or at most a half-cup. Another option is to switch to bread flour (from all-purpose), assuming you’re making something that’s mostly white flour.
How can your wheat bread recipes be adapted to include more grains and seeds? We’re wishing to make whole grain bread that would include whole wheat flower, sunflower seeds, wheat berries and small amounts of oats, pearled barley, rye, buckwheat, millet flour, amaranth flour, flaxseed meal, brown rice meal, whole quinoa, sorghum flour and spelt flour.
Which of my books do you have; I can direct you to typical recipes with those kinds of ingredients.
We have your 2007 Artisan Bread in 5 Min a Day and I’m going to get your newer Healthy Bread in 5 Min a Day.
NHBin5 has a bunch of recipes with seeds. You can always get away with additions like that if you keep it modest, like maybe, a quarter cup or less in a four-pound batch–really no adjustment needed. But the place to start is in the book you already have–on page 217. That recipe calls for a whole cup of sunflower seeds. The eggs and bread flour really help with rising and “dough strength,” which keeps the seed content from weighing down the whole thing. That’s a white-flour recipe, with whole wheat you’ll probably need vital wheat gluten, which is featured in the NHBin5 book–again, helps keep it from weighing down.
Good evening,
In your “the new artisan bread in five minutes a day book”, in the colored pictures, there are multiple rolls that are “black/white” rolls. I was wondering how to make the “black” rolls. I couldn’t find the recipe in the book (on page 88).
Thank you,
Those are made from the dough used in the Pumpernickel Bread on page 123. You can use that dough in place of the white dough called for on page 88. Turn the heat down to 425F and bake a little longer to be sure they’re baked through (the pumpernickel can over-caramelize). In some ovens, you might need 400F, as called for in the recipe on p.123.
Is your 5 mn bread book published in French?
Thank you
It is not. Feel free to use Google translate on any of the recipes here on the website, for your personal use only, of course.
Have you ever attempted to use the master recipe as a base and then laminate butter into it to make crossiants?
Sure have, it’s on page 334 of Holiday and Celebration Bread in Five Minutes a Day, on page 334 (https://artisanbreadinfive.com/holiday). Using that dough for croissants starts on page 339.
I think I have a correction for the Pizza and Flatbread book. On page 91, the chart states 1.5 cups is equal to 13 oz or 365 grams of corn masa flour. (AS written, the recipe is an extremely dry mixture, which I added an extra cup of water to and it worked out.) On page 37,it states that 1 cup of masa is 4 oz or 115 grams.
I would prefer a higher amount of masa, so how much would I need to reduce the AP flour to get a good dough… Or is adding more water (like I did on my first try) the better solution?
Thank you! I have been using your bread books for many years and my friends and family always enjoy!
Yes, I’d caught this correction a long time ago, and put it up here on the website, under:
About/Corrections… then choose the pizza book and look for the correction on page 90/91.
I wouldn’t increase the masa; the bread won’t rise nicely. If you try this, you’ll need to increase the water by some amount– my guess would be to start with a quarter-cup extra.
Great, thank you!
Good evening! I am a fan and have been to a cooking class you gave in Key Largo several years ago,. Do you have a cauliflower pizza dough recipe you like and/or where could i locate it?
I recently realized that, as a consequence of my situation, I was doing something similar to your technique, but unnecessarily more involved. I live in Hawaii and in my son and daughter-in-law’s house. I build breads and give them away at Church. To avoid heating up her kitchen, I bake in the garage, in a former smoker. It will reach 400 and so is fine for the pan loaves I bake. Realizing that your method was so much easier and made better bread without having to maintain a starter, knead, or deflate, I have begun converting my favorite breads to your method. The results are amazing. Since I build six loaves a week for Church, I adapted your recipes using percentages. I borrowed (stole, actually) the method used by Andrew Whitley of setting the total weight at 100%. The amount of dough needed may be changed and (using Excell) ingredient amounts are automatically adjusted. If this is not interesting to you, please feel free to ignore it.
It’s all interesting to me! I use Baker’s percentages as well though I kept the books simpler than that given widespread math anxiety. Glad the method is working for you
Hi. I just got The New Artisan book and I see you have the grams listed. I always use King Arthur which is 120g per cup. Your recipe with 6 1/2 cups is listed as 920 grams. At 120 per cup I got 780. Curious why the difference. Thanks!
Take a look at page 10 of the book, about adjustments needed when using KAF all-purpose flour–for the full recipe on page 51, you need that much adjustment. You can skip it, but the dough will be stiffer and probably won’t store as well (see what you think). About the weight per cup question, KAF uses the spoon-and-sweep method, which gives you a lighter cup than using the scoop-and-sweep method I specify in the book. For details on scoop-and-sweep, see page 54, and view my video here: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/04/28/how-we-measure-our-flour-using-the-scoop-and-sweep-method
Hi there
I just purchased “The New Artisian Bread in Five Minutes a Day “ revised & updated with new recipes and excited to get busy making bread !
I made a batch of the Master recipe on page 53
I left it to rise for the 2 hours, with the cover open very slightly, I then refrigerated it over night and most of the next day.
Baking day, the dough is VERY sticky,my hands are covered in dough even after dusting the top of the dough with flour and my hands, do I need to add less water ? .it is impossible to form a loaf, it is very gooey.. I followed the recipe to a T ?.. please help ! 🙂
How did you measure the flour? If by volume, did you do it this way?
https://artisanbreadinfive.com/scoopandsweep
If you did “spoon-and-sweep,” that measures in too little flour. If you happen to have a scale, weighing is more accurate…
Also, what brand of flour are you using? For this batch, you’re going to have to work in more flour until it looks more like this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIb8fC9BdWs
If using a loaf pan. Does the rest time & /or oven temperature change?
Have you seen this post here on the site (link below). Which of my recipes are you using?
https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/10/04/loaf-pan-breads-work-beautifully-with-our-method-free-giveaway-of-terrific-bread-pans-and-other-baking-equipment-from-red-star-yeast/
Help. My daughter used Gold Medal bleached flour and her dough mixed well and rose beautifully. I used Gold Medal unbleached flour and my dough didn’t blend well, is lumpy, took longer to double.in the room. Both are now in the refrigerator. Hers looks lighter than mine. Mine seems more dense. Can you tell me why?
Did she use a stand mixer? More importantly, how are your breads coming out? One baked?
Hi there! Trying out your book as recommended by a friend.
I’ve tried to make 2 batches of the master recipe. The first one, I cut in half bc I live alone and just don’t need much. I thought I measured everything correctly, but it turned into a soupy mess. It was not possible to grab any and pick it up as you all show in your videos.
So I tried again. This time with the full recipe. I put it in the KitchenAid mixer with the paddle attachment. Let it rise for 2 hours. Even though it’s still looked really really soupy, I put it in the fridge with high hopes.
Nope. It still wasn’t possible to pick up, just spoon up, or anything else.. just soup.
I’ve been letting it rise right in the metal bowl of the kitchenaid and putting it in the fridge in the same metal bowl.
I noticed that you seem to always use plastic.
Two specific questions – – Is a metal bowl ok to use? Could this be causing my problem?
Thanks so much! I just don’t want to throw out another batch!
I use a metal but bowl all the time with my kitchen aid for mixing rising and sometimes even for storing, so that’s not the problem. It seems very clear to me that your problem is in measurement. Are you using the scoop and sweep method that I specify in the books? The spoon and sweep method will not work because it measures in two little flour. Also, what brand of flour are you using?
I allowed my dough to sit in the refrigerator for 5 days before making bread. The resulting bread tastes like beer. What happened?
A small fraction of my readers report this. For those that are sensitive to that taste, I’ve found that there’s a quick fix–use a low-yeast version of my recipes, which are in the books, or you can find it here: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2007/12/19/low-yeast-version-of-our-master-recipe/
Hi Zoe, two questions on your savory pie crust for handmade curry pies. What can I use for a substitute for the shortening? What should the temperature of the 3/4 cup of water be?
Thank you
Sorry, I’m not sure which recipe you’re referring to. Is it from one of the bread cookbooks? Do you mean this Indian stuffed flatbread? https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2011/11/29/stuffed-naan/
It streaming on MAX, the show “Zoe Bakes” season 2 episode 10- Hand pies.
It is not from her bread cookbook.
Ah, I’m just doing bread here, try to connect on zoebakes.com
The link you have in the pullman loaf pan equipment section takes me to a large which is 13 x 4. The book I have calls for a 9 x 4 pullman loaf pan for a 2.5 lb bread loaf (the New Artisan Bread…). Can you tell me which pan should I be using for 2.5 lb. And how much by weight should I be using for the other pan since I have both. Thanks.
Go with the book’s specification, but keep in mind that you really are going to gauge it by how high it is in the pan. These are just estimates
Are you saying I need the size loaf that makes the pan 3/4 full?
Right, three quarters full of raw dough
Can I use a metal container for storage of the dough? I’m using The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
Yes, if it’s stainless steel or other non-reactive material.
Hello Jeff, I was wondering if you could create (or have) a no knead version of the Brown Bread they serve at the cheesecake factory?
I haven’t had that, so maybe can you describe the flavor and texture? I don’t have a recipe for that currently.
Hello Jeff,
They are a soft whole wheat dinner roll with oats on top. The online copycat versions online use cocoa and espresso powder as ingredients but here is the list of ingredients on the retail package: Enriched Wheat Flour, Water, Whole Wheat Flour, Oats, Yeast, Brown Sugar, Sugar, Rye, Contains 2% Or Less Of Each Of: Dried Molasses, Wheat Bran, Vegetable Oil, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Caramel Color, Cultured Wheat, Malted Barley Extract, Malted Barley Flour, Guar Gum, Mono And Diglycerides, Dextrose.
The closest in my books would be either the rye pumpernickel or whole wheat dough. The whole wheat in various of the books is at the 25, 50 and 100% whole grain versions. Which of the books do you have? Plus a little sweetener, whether it was molasses, honey, or something else
The top of dough in the refrigerator has developed a hard crust. Should i discard, knead into crust or what should i do?
Yep, it happens with stored dough sometimes. Please type “Reviewing the Master Recipe” into the Search Bar above, I address this in that post.
I have “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a day ” book
and am trying to make the Soft American Style white bread. I am 100% sure I used the correct amount of the ingredients but the dough is runny! I can’t picture it rising and being able to handle it to even move to a loaf pan. I even added a little extra flour but it still seems unmanagable. Is that normal because it’s supposed to be soft? I am going to go ahead with it but I am worried it will be a disappointment. What should I have done or what do you think I did wrong?
Thank you for helping
Any chance you used a low protein flour like White Lily? Other than that, you can always add more flour until it’s manageable. But let it sit on the counter for another couple of hours after adding and flour. To re-ferment.
I’ve been using the master and oil based doughs for a couple of years now and my question has to do with a small amount of the oil based dough I have left. Can I use it as a sponge for a bigger loaf of bread?
I’m not sure what you mean by oil-based dough. Which of my recipes are you talking about?
Flatbread and pizza; olive oil dough.
Page 214 in The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day.
It worked really well; I just needed to get the base up to room temperature before I started the main dough.
Got it, thanks for elaborating. You can definitely use some of the leftover dough as a sponge for the next batch. The oil doesn’t hurt anything in this regard
Hi, Jeff–I’m a writer starting a ministry to help families. I love the five-minute bread and would like to share the recipe with the families I hope to serve. I’d credit you and Zoe, of course, and point them towards the book and website. Would that be ok?
Thanks so much for your enthusiasm for the books! Please refer to my “Frequently Asked Questions” page (https://artisanbreadinfive.com/faqs/), and scroll down to number 29:
Web or other uses: Can I use your recipes on my own website, in my class, or in a publication?
That talks through my publisher’s policy (and mine), regarding your question… Thanks, Jeff
I’m trying the Brioche recipe on page 195 of “The Best of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”, and have a question about when to knead. The sidebar on page 197 says “before the first rise, and not when you shape the loaves” – is that after mixing the dough and before refrigerating it, or after you take it out of the refrigerator and before you shape the oval and let it rest for 90 minutes?
It’s intended to be done after mixing the dough and before refrigerating it. It’s not crucial but it does give the brioche a little more texture. One thing a lot of people have asked about is slow rising. Be sure to use the eggs at room temperature to prevent the problem.
Thanks, that’s helpful! I wasn’t sure and went ahead took a guess and tried kneading it after taking it out of the refrigerator before forming and resting it, and it still turned out pretty amazing (family was raving about it!) – I’ll try it just after mixing in the next batch.
Quick follow up question though: I found the dough very sticky and wet just after mixing it. I know I should knead on a floured surface, but should I also flour the mixed dough a bit to keep it from sticking to my hands?
Thanks for your help!
Yes, a little flour, and don’t work it in… just on the surface.
Greetings! I found your updated NEW Artisan Break in Five Minutes a Day and was so excited because of the gluten free options. Thank you! My question is: have you done any research with ancient grains, specifically Einkorn flour. Because it hasn’t been manipulated by science, its properties are quite different than our modern day fluffy stuff. Ancient grains are much more easily digested and compatible with our bodies and so I was wondering if this is an area that you’ve maybe looked into or might want to in the future.
Looking forward to your response, and thank you so much for your great work so far!
Wild, wild coincidence. For the first time I’ve bought some einkorn flour, and I’m going to test with it in the next two weeks. Please check back… It will be a post on the homepage. Preliminary is that the dough looks beautiful, but the proof’s in the baking, which hasn’t happened yet. Are you signed up for the newsletter? If so, you’ll get an email when this post is up.
Thank you for that quick response! And no, I’m not signed up for your newsletter, so I’ll do that now.
I do use einkorn for quick breads but because of its completely different makeup, I’ve seen warnings about using it in yeast/sourdough breads because the moisture levels are so hard to get right. So, I’m really excited about what you come up with!!
Great. Just want to be clear on something: einkorn is not gluten free, it’s a wheat variety so there’s gluten in it. If anyone has celiac disease, they shouldn’t eat einkorn. As for people in whom wheat doesn’t agree with them, there’s no clear answer on whether einkorn will be better, or whether non-hybridization makes a difference. Probably very individual.
I just left a message on the Corrections page, but perhaps this will get me a faster answer.
I made the dough from The New Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, p. 132, Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread. I measured using the metric weights listed, as well as consulting and using the chart on p. 82 as instructed when not using Gold Medal or Pillsbury flours. I was using Bob’s Red Mill. Disaster!! Way too much liquid. The dough was unusable. I was super disappointed in not having bread to enjoy when looking forward to it – as well as the not happy event of throwing out the dough. Please advise. This is the first time I’ve had an issue with any of the recipes.
Thank you.
So sorry for the confusion. I’m hoping you haven’t really thrown out the dough, because you can salvage it just by adding in more flour now. But aside from that, the corrections charts apply to what is labeled in the chart as “THIS MASTER RECIPE.” That’s based on the higher amount of water that appears in the master recipe in the first place. The recipe you’re working with calls for much less water, so the correction is proportionally much less. That book became very complicated because of the variation in water absorptive qualities seen in the various whole wheat products. But the really confusing part is that if you look at page 81 and 82 you can see that the line you’re looking at is actually a decrease in the water, not an increase. So by increasing the water for the recipe on page 132, that went in the completely wrong direction. You could try this recipe again with a very slight decrease in the amount of water, about an eighth of a cup.
I sent a message a couple days ago – and I see no posting nor reply. Concerning the adding of extra water when using Bob’s Red Mill flour – resulting in a disaster – with way-too much liquid in the dough and throwing into the compost.
It’s there, in 2 places. Are you still not seeing? If not, here it is again…
sorry for the confusion. I’m hoping you haven’t really thrown out the dough, because you can salvage it just by adding in more flour now. But aside from that, the corrections charts apply to what is labeled in the chart as “THIS MASTER RECIPE.” That’s based on the higher amount of water that appears in the master recipe in the first place. The recipe you’re working with calls for much less water, so the correction is proportionally much less. That book became very complicated because of the variation in water absorptive qualities seen in the various whole wheat products. But the really confusing part is that if you look at page 81 and 82 you can see that the line you’re looking at is actually a decrease in the water, not an increase. So by increasing the water for the recipe on page 132, that went in the completely wrong direction. You could try this recipe again with a very slight decrease in the amount of water, about an eighth of a cup.
I apologize – I guess I looked too soon. I now see your reply and appreciate it! I did add it to compost so “the cycle of life” wasn’t too hard for me to accept. But, certainly would like to have success next time. Thanks so much for your explanation!!
I appreciate that you and Zoe are still connected to these great books – and the whole bread baking world. When working at Gustavus Adolphus College, we hosted you in one of our best and “most favorite” author events. Congrats to you both for continued success!
Ah yes, I remember it well–it was a great event. Thanks for all the kind words.
On page 69 of gluten free artisan bread in 5 minutes, step 5 of the Master Recipe states “if you’d like to avoid sliding the load off a pizza peel, you can also bake it on a heavy gauge baking sheet….”. Does that baking sheet go on top of the baking stone that we preheat in step 6 or does it replace the baking stone?
The baking stone is nice in conjunction with the baking sheet, to even out the heat (especially ovens with hot spots or uneven baking), but if you use a heavy gauge baking sheet (something like this on Amazon–http://amzn.to/1UF9YmI), you can skip the stone in most ovens. Thin baking sheets–you may not be so lucky, could get burning on the bottom.
I love your book but I want to buy a countertop convection/toaster oven. Can you recommend any brand/model that you know can bake bread your recipes adequately? Thank you
I’ve tried quite a number of these, and they all work decently well, but they have trouble browning the loaf. They make small stones that you can put in the toaster oven to even out the heat, which helps a lot. When I say I’ve tried a lot of these, I mean when I’m visiting friends out of town in their homes, and I never take note of the brands, so I can’t really help you directionally. My guess is the cheap ones have the least even heat. And the reason that they don’t brown so well is that you can’t really get steam in these. I’m guessing if it was a large enough one you could cover it with an overturned steel ball or something that will concentrate the steam. I have a post on that, if you can’t find it right back
Re: Five Minute soft American Sandwich bread. Does this make 3 or 2 loaves? And when using refrigerated dough, how much longer does it take to rest 90 mins. did not do it. One more question if possible. Why was the top of my dough dried, almost hard knobs of dough? Trying to see which sandwich bread is best for my bread stuffing. Thank you.
This recipe makes 4 lb of dough, so if you’re putting 2 lb of dough into each loaf pan then you make 2. But it all depends on your loaf pan size. Just fill it about 2/3 to 3/4 full. If you’re not liking the results at 90 minutes, try 2 hours or even two and a half hours. If your dough is drying out on top as you use up the batch, it’s probably the result of the expanding airspace above the dough. Try switching to smaller containers as you use it up.
Gluten -Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes. Pizza & Flatbread Dough. Pg. 172. Question- when making instructions are to use Mixture#1 then more of the same ingredients – such as potato starch, xanthum gum….this is confusing- are these ingredients to be added.
Thank you.
They are… I was going for a more tender pizza crust. The additions lighten it up. You can also make pizza from the basic dough in chapter 5. That’s clear if you take a look at page 174, in the Ingredients list (“6 ounces… or any dough other than those in chapter 9).
First, thank you for providing this service!
I’m making 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, pgs. 134-135 from “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”.
Step 3 says to add the remaining dry ingredients, but there was only one, the whole wheat flour.
I used my stand mixer for this step. It was very gloppy. I took it out of the bowl and decided to add more flour, and ended up with probably about 1-1/2 to 2 more cups which I lightly kneaded in.
It now seems to be rising and should be okay.
Was there possibly a line missing at the bottom of pg. 134?
Also, I halved the amounts but triple-checked my measurements and used a digital scale. The flour was 425 grams and total liquid (water and milk) was 12 ozs.
Thank you for this help.
Thanks for your question. Converting this to “Baker’s Percentage”, 12 oz. of liquid weighs about 340 g, and given that there are 425 g. flour, that gives a hydration ratio of 80%. That’s not unusual for my doughs, but higher than what many people are used to, and might give you the perception that it’s too wet. I’m guessing that you added enough flour so that it’s at the hydration of traditional dough, which isn’t what I’m going for to enable dough storage. Have you made my recipes before? I’m guessing that there was some sort of a measurement error, or that this just isn’t your expectation of how dough should look.
I completely missed your answer, I’m sorry! I was looking in FAQ. Your answer is detailed and gives me lots to work with. I am new to this method. It will be great now to try the recipe again and allow more time for the dough to develop. It was my expectation that I will correct. Many thanks, Ruth
Great, check in if you have more questions…
Would the Tangzhong Method be compatible with the BreadIn5 method?
Yes, I don’t see why you can’t use this in a high moisture setting. That said, I haven’t tried it
the new Artisian Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
Hi, I love the idea that the recipes are so easy to make but I have found the crust is
( Temp is correct inside)
has been tough not crispy?
1. I like using the cast iron pot with cover, I spray the dough with water a couple of times at the beginning .
2. I do have a pizza stone with a tin of water underneath would that help make a crispy dough?
I am thinking maybe I work the dough a little too much after I take out of the refrig.? I’m used to using the old fashioned dough.
How are you measuring the flour and water (weighing is best). If not, be sure you’re using scoop and sweep (see video at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/scoopandsweep). Both of the methods you describe should give you a crisp crust, but why don’t you try the stone and water approach if the Dutch oven’s not giving you the result you’d like (see that video: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/12/27/three-ways-to-get-steam-into-your-oven-for-a-great-crust-new-video). I don’t think it’s because of working the dough too much, unless you’re finding the crumb to be dense, in which case… that’s the problem. Minimal shaping is what I call for. One other thing– if using the Dutch oven method, you don’t need to spray w/water because the steaming happens from the inside of the loaf. That could be causing your problem.
Gluten Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day, pgs. 60 & 61- Teff flour substitute not listed. Have searched for answer but have not found anything.
Please advise.
Thank you,
Martha
You’re right, it’s not there. The reason is that I didn’t discover a swap for teff that worked in the recipes; the ones listed are the only ones that work. GF recipes turn out to be much more temperamental to switches than wheat-based ones. Sorry!
Thank you. Appreciate your response.
Do you having any suggestions for rolls that can be shaped and baked in 40 minutes? I planned to bring the pre-mixed dough for a homeschool teen cooking class, but I forgot about the resting time! The class is only an hour long. I have scheduled one class session for lean dough and another for enriched dough.
I have the Best of, the New, and the Holidays books.
The timing for the rolls in New is 45 minutes. You can shave a little time by making the rolls a little smaller, and they’ll bake quicker. Also making them on the flat side will help in that direction too. You can also just try a shorter resting time.
I have the Holiday and Celebration bread book (kindle version). The recipe directions for stollen mentions cardamom and dried fruit, but the ingredient includes neither. Woukd you send me a complete recipe?
Thanks,
Carolyn
Sorry about that, it’s 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom, and 1 1/2 cups (9 ounces or 255 grams) of mixed dried or candied fruit. The mixture could include raisins (golden or not), dried pineapple, dried apricots, dried cherries, and candied citrus peel. In whatever proportions you’d like.
Can there be too much dough strength? To compensate for omitting vital wheat gluten, I beat the dough for five minutes or so with a hand mixer’s dough beaters (using 1/4 of Master Recipe in The New Healthy Bread). Turned out fine; just wondering. Would more be better?
People in traditional baking talk about being able to break down gluten that’s been developed if you overdo the kneading. But 5 to 10 minutes is fine; with my method do that before the initial rise, not after storage or you’ll knock all the gas out of the dough. Sounds like the 5 min knead you did wasn’t detrimental. Personally, I don’t think there’s much value in it to justify the time (maybe I’m just lazy!).
Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving…
I am using my favorite book the gltuen free five in a day!
QUestion on the oatbran enriched bread.
Page 134 from your book
It calls for the gluten free #1 mixutre – I have a lot of the mixture number 2 – I was wondering if I could swap that out for each other – wanted to use that for tukey day..
I haven’t tested with that, and in general 100% breads made from mixture number two are tricky. I think it would take a lot of experimentation to get it to work. The problem might be extreme density with the oats. You could consider using a recipe like the one on page 102, with the oats instead of the millet, but it’s going to require a water adjustments and in which direction I cannot say. Same for the recipe on page 106 where you can think of the oatmeal in place of the flax. Or just skip the oats and make one of those two recipes?
Thank you for getting back to me..
Happy Thanksgiving ….
And to you and all!
Do you have a recipe for Italian sausage bread?
Ah yes, Italian breads with pork product in the loaf… On page 227 of my book The New Artisan Bread in 5…” (link to https://artisanbreadinfive.com/artisan if interested)… I have a recipe loosely based on a recipe from a friend’s Neapolitan mother: Pane di Lardo. Well sort of, her original called for pork fatback and I used prosciutto. In the book I shape it like a flatbread/focaccia but you can do any shape you like. Pieces of sausage would also work beautifully. It’s based on one pound of my olive oil dough, with 2 ounces of the meat product of your choice. You could use more, and you don’t have to use the olive oil dough, you could use my basic recipe. If you don’t have one of my books, that basic recipe is at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2023/01/27/11510/ . The pork product provides its own fat to the loaf, so the olive oil dough is very much optional here.
After baking how do you store a loaf as you eat it?
Cut side down on a non-porous surface… A plate, or the counter. Or in plastic, but the crust will get soft.
I mixed up the dough for the raspberry/cranberry star bread 4 days ago and made the first star bread the following day. I would like to make the other star bread but the dough now has a stronger smell. Will it still taste ok?
To me, yes, but it’ll have a slight sourdough effect to it. I think it’s great, some people don’t think that flavor belongs in sweet breads, but it’s a matter of taste. I’d try it!
I am using the first edition published in2007. I am wondering if you have any recipes for a sandwich bread using some whole wheat and maybe some honey. If that type of recipe is any of the newer versions I would be happy to purchase those
What about the recipe on page 76 which has honey?
I’ve been baking the master recipe and the sourdough recipe from the Best of Artisan Bread book. Recently when I use white flour, there isn’t enough stretch (it just breaks) in the dough to gluten cloak. I thought maybe my dough was too dry and the gluten wasn’t being activated because of that, but when I’ve tried upping the water, it’s far too sticky to work with or hold a loaf shape. I did recently switch flour brands (Great Value Unbleached Flour, previously using Kroger Unbleached Flour). Is it possible the gluten content is too low? I do have vital wheat gluten; is it advisable to try a recipe with that added? Any other tips?
Yes, it sounds like since that’s the only change you made, that’s probably the culprit. You may be able to fix this by adding a couple of tablespoons of vital wheat gluten. You may need a little more water if you do that, probably so.
Gluten Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day, p. 61. Mixture #2. Daughter cannot consume oats, would you suggest to replace with sorghum flour 1:1 by weight, or to replace proportionally with the other three flours in the ingredients?
Ah, the substitution problem in GF, very tough. My testing showed how temperamental the formula was to any changes, including in brand (the recipes were tested with Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flours, can’t vouch for other brands). Right there on page 61 of my book that you’re referencing are the two swaps for sorghum, about three-quarters of the way down the page. So there’s definitely an alternative to oat flour. But other than those too, I didn’t find any swaps that worked for the sorghum. You could continue to experiment, but no guarantees. Proportional increase of the other flowers might work, especially for flatbread. But you may find that there are problems with loaf breads.
Thanks Jeff! I will experiment and report back what I learn for the good of others who may have oat sensitivities.
In this recipe, you don’t need steam, because you’re looking for a soft result with butter or oil. Oil. The steam only adds crispness and browning, which isn’t the goal here
Hello, and thank you for your wonderful bread books! I’m using the New A. Bread, and the Master Recipe with freshly ground whole wheat: when lifting a ‘handful’ from the container (on bake day) the dough doesn’t require cutting. It simply breaks off. There are plenty of air pockets in the container, but the bread doesn’t rise quite as much as anticipated after baked.
Please see my post on this topic, by typing the words home ground into the search bar above. Let me know if that doesn’t bring you to a post on fresh ground wheat. The short answer to your question is that home ground wheat may have a very different moisture level than commercial flour, and that could throw the recipes off by quite a lot. The same is true for differences owing to finer or coarser grind of your own wheat berries, again, compared with commercial flour. Both of these factors will mean that you may have a completely different water requirement. So, the better way to do this is to add the water based on the way the dough looks. That’s really a much more advanced technique than my basic method, but it may be rewarding for you to experiment. Have you seen the videos on the website of what the dough should look like when correctly hydrated?
Hi there:
I’ve been baking your recipes for several years now and it makes me and my family so happy! Thank you for this method of baking bread. This weekend I made the Light Whole Wheat Bread recipe on page 74 of the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book. It’s a recipe that I make regularly. But this time, the batch didn’t rise. This has never happened to me before.
I did accidentally use sea salt (the kosher salt we have is a different shaped container that usual so I mindlessly grabbed the sea salt container). Could that cause the problem? I do not recall what flour brand I’m using but I often use Field Day, King Arthur or bob’s Red Mill, and it’s the same flour I used for the last batch, which turned out great. I am pretty sure I measured the yeast correctly.
Should I scrap this batch or is there anything I could try to revive it, do you think? Thank you!
Very odd indeed!
I can’t imagine sea salt as the problem. The only issue might be if it’s a finer or coarser grind than your usual coarse salt, in which case it might be saltier or less salty than your usual result. But it shouldn’t cause a complete failure to rise (though excess salt can slow the rise). I’ve had this happen exactly once, and after the fact I realized that I hadn’t added yeast. I suppose your yeast may be dead, could check that by making a sweet slurry — like this: https://redstaryeast.com/yeast-activity-test/ Or could you have used overly hot water in the mix, which can kill the yeast?
Or– is your room temp too cold? You could try moving it to a warmer spot and giving it a little more time.
Could try to salvage this batch by using a sweet yeast slurry, mixing it in with the dough, and then correcting for too much water by kneading in flour to correct. That’s what I’d do.
I’d like to ask if I can bake the original artisan white bread in an air fryer? My ovens don’t seem to work as well as they should, and I bought a good size air fryer to assist with all my other baking and roasting endeavors
I haven’t tried bread in an air fryer, a but a quick Web search suggests to me that people are doing it. Looks like it might be worth an experiment, but be sure to follow your manufacturers safety recommendations.
I respect and appreciate all the work you have done. It has definitely improved my bread baking and enhanced my friends’ tables–they get regular deliveries of your recipes. Could you please tell me how much it would cost to get a signed copy of your Artisan Pizza and Flatbread book?
With delighted thanks,
Kathleen Dixon
Kathleen…
Unfortunately, I don’t have copies of that book to distribute. Sad to say when it went out of print I wasn’t paying close attention and so I didn’t get my hands on a bunch of copies. You should be able to find it in used book stores and the like… Jeff
Understood! I will start looking.
HI,
MY DOUGH SEEMS TO GET A CRUST AFTER STORING IN REFRIGERATOR ESPECIALLY MY WHEAT DOUGH.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR ANY COMMENTS
Does this answer the question? Read through the whole thing… https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/01/26/gray-color-on-my-dough-is-there-something-wrong/
Hi, i am reading the “gluten-free artisan bread in 5 minutes a day” book, love the amount of recipe and details. Great job!
Git some questions about it.
many recipe ask for high temperature (more than 200c, even 288c)
My oven can only reach 200c
It has a fan option though
Do your recipes conside fan is on? Or do they consider oven to be gas oven?
Is it ok to go with lower temp for longer even for pizza (288c)
I am considering getting another oven as it is getting old anyway. Wondering if a gas oven would be better?
Thanks
I’ll start with your last question: I think electric does a better job for bread, and have been using electric, with or without convection, since 1990. Gas ovens vent out air, which prevents concentration of the steam (which is important only for the lean doughs, making it more likely that you’ll get a crisp crust).
When you say “fan on,” I assume you mean the convection function. In general, convection gives you a browner, crisper crust, but sometimes that goes too far– over-browning the outside before the inside is fully baked. For the book, recipes were tested without convection since not everyone has that. You’ll have to experiment with your oven.
If your oven only gets to 200 Celsius, that’s 392 F, which is lower than what I tested with for the lean doughs, but it’s probably just a matter of baking longer. Or adding convection, which to some extent boosts the effective heat delivery.
With pizza, yes, it’ll work– just bake it longer. The result will probably be a softer crust, but you’ll enjoy it I’m sure!
Thanks for the quick reply!
Getting ready to try my first GF bread 🙂
One thing I would like to do before trying with a big batch is trying just one bread with a first small dough (just for one bread). The book says the dough is ready after 2 hours so I guess I could just wait 2 h and skip the refrigeration, but the book also says it is better to wait at least 3 h or overnight in a fridge as when the dough is cold it is easier to shape. But then do I also need to wait more time for the dough to rest (60 min) after taking it out of the fridge ?
Impatient to see result so I can test and improve.
Yes, but to be clear– you rest after refrigeration AFTER shaping, hopefully that makes sense.