Author: BreadIn5

10th Anniversary of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

BreadIn5 197 Comments

How time flies when you are having fun baking bread. 10 years ago we published our first book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and it’s been an exciting journey ever since. Our publisher took a chance on two unknown authors; a pastry chef and a physician with a crazy idea of how to change how people bake bread. The publisher printed 5000 copies, hedging their bets in case it didn’t sell, but they sold in a week. They printed another 5000 and those too sold right away. They did it again and again, thinking it would slow down, but it didn’t. Here we are 10 years later, a second edition, 5 other titles and 750,000 copies of our books sold. This is all because of you, our incredible readers and the inspiration for all of our books. You have been there with us and for us, and we want to thank you!

Our first edition of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is no longer in print, but the second edition The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is even better and we want to give you a copy. For a chance to win, please leave a comment here and we’ll pick 5 winners. You can also go to our Instagram page, like our page and tag two friends for another chance to win. We’ll be giving away 5 copies to our Instagram followers. Please see our giveaway policy. This contest is finished and winners were announced! Read More

Raspberry Brioche Braid

BreadIn5 28 Comments

Raspberry Brioche Braid | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

When my boys were little I took them berry picking. The concept was a good one and in my head it would be like a scene from Kinfolk. The boys sitting quietly by the raspberry bushes, adorably tossing berries into a gingham lined basket.

Watch Zoë Make a Cannoli inspired version of the Braid on the Hallmark Channel Home & Family Show! 

The reality was more Lord of the Flies meets Blueberries for Sal (which is my all-time favorite children’s book). The boys would never sit still in a setting as inviting as this for running and wielding sticks, in-which to sword fight. Nor were they likely to toss a single berry into the basket, when they could just as easily eat them. So, I picked berries, while keeping an eye out to make sure my children were not impaling each other and were accounted for. I got enough berries to bake with, but they were not-so-ceremoniously consumed in the back seat of the car, by the aforementioned sword fighters, on the way home. It was an absolutely charmed day in its way, but not if your goal was to bake something tasty. We stopped at the store and bought perfect raspberries, I baked a lovely raspberry brioche braid, that ended up in ABin5 and I have not gone berry picking (with the intention of bringing home berries) since … true story!

This raspberry brioche braid is ideal for breakfast, brunch, after school snack or makes a sweet gift for your neighbor who just had an adorable baby (as mine recently did). When you have a bucket of brioche in the refrigerator this brioche braid can be put together in a no time. First, I used the berries to make a quick jam, which is so simple and delicious and I recommend making extra to just have around. The red of these berries makes for a ruby colored jam and the flavor is just pure raspberry, no additives or binders. The jam is spread over a layer of rich cream cheese filling and then the dough is folded over the fillings in a pattern that looks fancy, but is incredibly easy to do. The finishing touches are a fresh raspberry glaze and sweet whole berries. It will impress everyone and they’ll assume you spent so much time preparing it. They never need to know how easy it is, until you share this recipe with them.

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Yeasted Blueberry Coffee Cake

BreadIn5 24 Comments

Yeasted Blueberry Coffee Cake | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

I’ve been on a jam making kick this week. I read about a really easy recipe in Jennifer Farley’s book, The Gourmet Kitchen and had to give it a go. I am now on my third batch, in as many days. Skillet jam is a super simple way to make fruit jam without the pectin and there’s no need to figure out the whole canning process, since this jam will disappear in a snap. Honestly, I just eat it out of the jar with a spoon. Today I made just enough blueberry jam to fill this brioche based coffee cake. Depending on the season and where you live, you can use fresh or frozen berries for the jam. I used frozen wild blueberries and they have a lovely tartness. This layered coffee cake is a perfect treat to serve at brunch… Read More

Mother’s Day Recipe Round Up

BreadIn5 1 Comment

‘The clocks were striking midnight and the rooms were very still as a figure glided quietly from bed to bed, smoothing a coverlid here, settling a pillow there, and pausing to look long and tenderly at each unconscious face, to kiss each with lips that mutely blessed, and to pray the fervent prayers which only mothers utter.’ -Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Over the years, we’ve done quite a few posts that are Mother’s Day/Brunch related. Here’s a round up of some of our favorite recipes, and also some from around the web. If you bake anything this weekend from our site or from our books, take a photo and then tag it with #breadin5 so we can see what you’re making!

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Easy Sourdough Starter (with new troubleshooting tips)

BreadIn5 265 Comments

Easy Sourdough Starter | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Before we even start, if you’ve already tried this recipe and are having trouble getting your sourdough starter to the “very-active” stage, or if your loaves aren’t rising well, or if they’re too dense, you can skip to the Troubleshooting tips below… scroll waaaay down. If you’re new to this page, start right here:

Here’s a great method for and easy sourdough starter from Chapter 11 of The New Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. (The recipe also appears in Chapter 12 of The Best of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day) You can create a sourdough starter (in French, levain); without fear and without dedicating your whole day to the project. It only takes a few minutes a day to get starter up and running. It takes a while to get your starter strong enough to actually use in a batch of bread, but until it is ready to go, you can always bake any of the other yeast-based recipes in the books, or from the Master yeast-based method.

Sourdough starter just needs flour, water and a container to keep it in. Nothing special or fancy. Just make sure the container can hold at least two quarts of starter. You’ll see some Baking Bloopers below of what happens if your container is too small (or if you seal a glass container. Spoiler alert: don’t).

Sourdough Bread Loaf | Easy Sourdough Starter | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Once you have created your starter you can use it to bake beautiful loaves, with or without added yeast. The flavor is incredible and you will still be making a large batch of dough and storing it for up to a week, so you will do the work on one day for many loaves.

To make the starter: Read More

Raisin Walnut Bread

BreadIn5 409 Comments

Raisin Walnut Bread | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

We addRaisin Walnut Bread | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Raisin Walnut Bread Ingredients | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Raisin Walnut Bread

3 cups lukewarm water

1 tablespoon instant or active dry yeast

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 cup whole wheat flour

5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (if you use King Arthur or other high protein flours, you may need to add up to a 1/4 cup more water)

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts

2 teaspoons cinnamon

In a 6-Quart Round Storage Container add the water, yeast, salt, flours

Adding raisins to bread dough | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

raisins

A bowl of raisins and walnuts | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

walnuts and cinnamon.

Raisin Walnut Bread | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Mix with a Danish Dough Whisk, a wooden spoon or a stand mixer.

Raisin Walnut Bread Dough | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Let the dough rise for 2 hours and then you can use it right away or it can be stored for about 7 days.

Raisin Walnut Bread Dough | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Pull out a 2-pound piece of dough, about half the dough in the bucket.

Raisin Walnut Bread Dough | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Quickly shape it into a smooth oval.

Floured ceramic bread pan | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Generously grease and flour the base of the bread baker.

Raisin Walnut Bread Dough | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Place the dough into Bread Loaf Baker.

Bread Dough Baker | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Cover and let rest for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. This will depend on what else you have going on and how chilly your kitchen is.

Raisin Walnut Bread Dough Rising | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Uncover the loaf and use a Pastry Brush to paint with water.

Raisin Walnut Bread | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Because this baker has a lid it traps the internal moisture of the dough, almost like a Dutch Oven, to create a shiny, crisp crust. Since it has the small holes, the crust will also color nicely during the baking without having to remove the cover.

Bake for about 45 minutes. If you open the lid and it is not yet golden brown, let it bake another 5 minutes.

Let the bread cool in the baker for 5 minutes

Raisin Walnut Bread Turned Out of a Bread Pan | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Turn the loaf out of the pan after 5 minutes and then let cool completely.

Raisin Walnut Bread | Breadin5 17

After you’ve enjoyed some of your bread you can slip it back into the baker to store it on the counter.

Raisin Walnut Bread | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Since the cover has holes the loaf won’t get soggy, but it is protected enough to keep the bread from staling as quickly. It also happens to keep nosey puppies from the counter.

Raisin Walnut Bread | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Here is the loaf baked in a regular loaf pan. You can see that the crust is pale and dull looking in comparison. It was still as tasty, but without the trapped steam the loaf just wasn’t as appealing. You’d have to add steam to the oven if you were to bake it in this style pan.

Lesaffre Yeast Corp. (Red Star) provided samples of yeast for recipe testing, and sponsors BreadIn5’s website and other promotional activities. Emile Henry provided bakeware and sponsorship.

Chocolate and Orange Confit Brioche

BreadIn5 12 Comments

chocolate orange bread

With less than a week away from the most wonderful time of the year (sing that to yourself in a Bing Crosby voice), I find myself frantically baking for this Saturday and Sunday. I love passing out goodies to the neighbors each year, and while we have stacks of cookies and bars, somehow a loaf of bread is most ideal. This loaf is extra special – with both a tender crumb and studded with chocolate and orange pieces, it is breakfast and dessert, a sweet indulgence to bring tidings of comfort and joy. This recipe makes two loaves, so you can make one for snacking and one for giving. Happy Holidays!

chocolate orange bread

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Milk and Honey Braided Buns with Dried Fruit and Pearl Sugar

BreadIn5 11 Comments

Milk and Honey Braided Buns with Dried Fruit and Pearl Sugar | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

We’ve made plenty of delicious holiday breads here on our site (Christmas Stollen, Brioche Cake with Sugared Cranberries, Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread, and Panettone, just to name a few), and we’re going to add one more to the line up: Milk and Honey Braided Buns. Studded with dried fruit and topped with pearl sugar, these little braids are a lovely addition to any Christmas breakfast or New Years’ Brunch.

Milk and Honey Braided Buns with Dried Fruit | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

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Herb Crock-Pot Dinner Rolls – Easy Thanksgiving Baking

BreadIn5 73 Comments

crock-pot buns

This week is Thanksgiving and we have to make the most of our oven space. Scheduling what will go in and out of the oven is just shy of a NASA level endeavor. By the time the pies come out, the Turkey must go in and then what to do about the rolls? There is an easy answer. What was originally a lark, bread in the slow-cooker has become my go-to holiday baking method. As you orchestrate the yams and dressing in the oven, your rolls can be baking on the counter. I made a savory herb dough for our Thanksgiving meal, but really you can bake just about any of our breads in this method.

Blueberry Morning Buns

BreadIn5 58 Comments

blueberry morning buns

Summer months means fresh fruit aplenty. I love going to the market and finding rows and rows of peaches, plums, and several varieties of berries as far as the eye can see. I always look for ways to incorporate them into everything: pies, tarts, scones, and our no-knead bread dough. Swirling fresh blueberries in brioche dough (with just a little bit of sugar and cinnamon) was my latest experiment, and the result? Delicious morning buns I’m happy to wake up to. Read More