Back in 2007, the New York Times Cooking section wrote that the BreadIn5 method produced a “crusty, full-flavored loaf that may be the world’s easiest yeast bread.” Today, the New York Times Cooking app came out with“40 Recipes for Procrastibaking…“ in other worlds, things you can mix in advance, and bake later. And the BreadIn5 recipe for a simple crusty loaf is one of the 40! You can decrease the yeast from what they reported on in 2007– a tablespoon is enough. If you’re on my site, you probably know about my method, but the other 39 also look terrific. Some other links:
And finally, our greatest hits book, The Best of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, is on sale at at the moment– 60% off (so it’s just $13.00)–click to view on Amazon. If you’re checking this after March 2022, the price may vary from that…
Note: BreadIn5.com is reader supported–when you buy through links on the site, BreadIn5 LLC earns commissions.
Zeppole are a traditional Italian doughnut–a Christmas treat, but the internet holds many different descriptions and definitions of what they are. Some versions are carefully piped, some are made as small doughnut holes, and some are roughly free-form. Years ago I ate the latter rendition in New York at the San Gennaro Street Festival in Little Italy, (which is held in September, so these aren’t just for Christmas) and he loved them so much he knew we needed a post about them.
The version here is based on the Beignet recipe from my book New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day; the dough is no-knead, of course, and is lightly flavored with orange and lemon. I must admit I was a little nervous not pulling out my doughnut cutter to make perfect circles, but we need to embrace the irregular shape: let go and toss the roughly-shaped dough in to the very hot oil.
The golden brown Zeppole that emerged a few minutes later were absolutely delicious; their haphazard shapes gave them a charming quality, and the gentle citrus flavors were lovely. I’m not Italian, but these really are too good not to anyone’s Holiday tradition. And if you’ve been to the blog before at this time of year, you’ll remember these zeppole are very, very similar to Hannukah soufganiot (see the soufganiot post for more on frying up doughnuts).
Vegetable Oil – 3 to 4 inches deep (use a pot that is large enough that your oil is not sitting too high in the pot)
Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling
Combine the warm water, orange juice yeast, sugar, lemon zest, and salt in a 5-quart bowl; preferably, in a lidded (not airtight) plastic container or food-grade bucket. Mix until all of the flour is incorporated using a stand mixer or dough whisk. Cover, and allow to rise at room temperature for 2 hours. You can use the dough right away, or refrigerate it for up to 14 days.
On Baking Day (if you need to see a visual, you can check out our other post on doughnuts here, with more pictures on shaping and frying).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lightly grease the parchment.
Pull out 3 oz pieces of dough (peach-sized) piece of dough, and flatten them slightly (the whole bucket of dough will make 15 to 20 zeppole, but you can do fewer pieces if desired). Place them on the prepared pan and cover with a lightly greased piece of plastic. Allow the dough to sit for at least 20 minutes (and up to one hour) while the oil heats up.
Once your oil reads 360-370°F on a Candy Thermometeryou are ready to fry. Use a slotted spoon or Basket Strainer to flip the doughnuts over after about 2 minutes and then to take them out of the oil once they are golden brown on both sides. This works best with two people – have one person shape the dough, and the other to manage the submerging and turning. Try to keep the oil temperature as consistent as possible. Lay them out on paper towel to allow some of the oil to drain off. Let the zeppole sit for a few minutes, then lightly dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm.
Note: BreadIn5.com is reader supported–when you buy through links on the site, BreadIn5 LLC earns commissions.
Here’s a live broadcast on Instagram grilling pizzas and flatbreads outdoors on the gas grill (Click to view the recording on Instagram, or on YouTube). You’ll see the whole method, from dough-mixing to topping, to finishing beautiful pizza and flatbread right on the gas grill—keeping your house cool this summer. You’ll be able to post questions for us to answer right to Instagram, and answered questions in real time—pizza questions or anything else about our method.
And as always, I’m answering questions right here…
Note: Red Star Yeast sponsored this post and Instagram video, and provided free samples of Red Star and Platinum yeast for testing. BreadIn5.com is reader supported–when you buy through links on the site, BreadIn5 LLC earns commissions.
My new book, “The Best of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: Favorite Recipes from BreadIn5,” isnow available. I was excited and grateful to be asked to do a “greatest-hits” compilation. Through the lockdowns and trials of the past 18 months, the conversation continued here on the website, hearing what you were looking for and clarifying which recipes really mattered. The new book reflects those conversations, and it’s perfect for anyone who wants a curated collection of the all-time favorite recipes from my seven previous books on super-fast stored dough—for yourself or for the ABin5 newbies on your holiday shopping list. You’ll find:
The best of the European and American artisan traditions
Whole grain loaves
Pizza and flatbread
Brioche, challah, and other sweet or enriched breads
Gluten-free recipes (a few)
Natural sourdough bread
But enough from me—the multitalented Andrew Zimmern graciously agreed to write the foreword to the book:
From the Foreword by Andrew Zimmern:
“… the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes series is [proves] that the world’s easiest yeasted loaf, the most versatile bread dough recipe (even pizza!), can be taken in so many directions and have so many applications that it has created a series of hits, launched a gazillion home bakers on their own bread journey, and spawned, finally, a Best of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day… This series redefined bread baking for America, long before the Covid-19 sourdough craze. This series of books launched on a simple premise: bread baking can be easy, simple, and anyone can do it. Then it took off—and took on healthy breads, hydration ratios, flatbreads, gluten-free breads, holiday breads, pizza, and more. That’s what happens in our culture: Success breeds more success and, in this case, more books…”
—Andrew Zimmern
Thanks Andrew!
Note: BreadIn5.com is reader supported–when you buy through links on the site, BreadIn5 LLC earns commissions.
It’s Friday night at the end of April, and I’m still baking (this is, after all, Minnesota). I know challah as a traditional Jewish bread but it’s a close relative of a whole family of enriched, sweetened breads. The most famous is brioche (see link below), which is twice as enriched–with butter. Challah’s lighter, and it works well with butter, or any vegetable oil (including coconut oil; melt it first). There are many versions of this versatile favorite here on the website, and of course, in the books. Here are some of my favorites–the first link includes the dough recipe for a basic white-flour challah. All these recipe-links will open in a new tab:
Many readers have asked about baking bread inside a closed cast-iron pan, based on a much older method, where bread is baked inside a closed clay pot (or “cloche,” meaning bell, in French). Both methods depend on trapped steam from the dough to create a perfect crust, but the clay pot has the added benefit of being porous, so moisture is trapped, but also conducted away from the surface as the bread bakes. I tested the Sassafras brand “La Cloche” product, and I’m very impressed with the crust I’m getting –take a look at the picture above; this crust is thin and shatters when broken (the burned bits are perfect in artisan loaves; that’s how you know you’ve baked long enough). Keep in mind that these crust results are hard to re-create with loaves very high in whole wheat (because of oils in the wheat’s germ). The bread above is about 15% whole grains– it’s a light version of the Peasant Loaf in the book, and of course the basic recipe works great in this situation. Whole grain breads perform beautifully in “La Cloche,” but the crust tends to be softer and thicker. One other thing to note–any clay product is somewhat fragile, and after some years of owning the Sassafras product, the base did crack (still quite usable with a stone underneath).
For crust aficionados, I think the “La Cloche” results are a little better than what I get inside closed cast-iron.
I may have made a resolution about not complaining about the weather this year, but too bad! Greetings from Minnesota, where I’m freezing at my desk, so today’s a soup and bread day. In the book, we included a Portuguese Corn Bread (Broa) and an accompanying Portuguese Fish Stew (Caldeirada de Peixe) to go with it–it’s a perfect combination.
The Broa dough is simply the Master Recipe, substituting 1 1/2 cups of cornmeal (yellow or white, stone-ground or regular) for 1 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour. Bake as usual as a round loaf. In the picture above I used a lightly greased and stove-top pre-heated black cast-iron skillet (my skillet doesn’t come with a cover or I’d have tried that, see this about baking in covered cast-iron). Amazon carries the Lodge brand (click here to view). Here’s the Caldierada de Peixe recipe: Read More
People often ask us why I only used all-purpose flour (where we called for white flour) in The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Why not “bread” flour, which is higher in protein and is often considered traditional in bread? Well, not in all traditions. French baguettes, for example, are typically made with lower-protein flour for a more tender, and less chewy crumb. And we knew most of our potential book users already had all-purpose flour in the house. But sometimes, a stiffer dough is desirable, like when something really needs to hold its shape, like these wreath-shaped, well… bagels. You can always swap bread flour into our recipes that call for all-purpose, just by adding a little extra water (details below).
OK, first the disclaimer, I did not bake the breads above, this is from an old post I did after a trip to France, where these loaves were bought and eaten. I also need to admit that it looks like I bit the perfect tip off the baguette on the right (I did, on my walk back from the boulangerie–bakery). Truth moment, even though you can bake baguettes in your gas grill (and I’ll prove it in a video below), they won’t look quite like these. No matter, they’re still delicious. Read on–click “more” below…
