Author: jeff

Stollen Buns

jeff 8 Comments

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I always find myself excited each year about the Holiday season. As a child and young adult, Christmas was always a magical time of year, where I felt safe and secure, and slightly spoiled. My only concern was opening the pile of presents before me, and trying not to overindulge on sweets. Now that I’m an adult, I still feel the same magical feeling in December, but it is intermingled with the knowledge that this time of year isn’t always special and lovely for everyone else. There are many without. There are many who don’t enjoy their families, can’t afford to indulge, are missing loved ones, are feeling hopeless. As I sing along to carols decorate cookies, I wish the magic of Christmas could sweep in and heal all, instead of just bringing temporary forgetfulness for a few weeks. I often get overwhelmed, and then find myself not doing anything. I’ve learned over the years that small and simple is best, and looking around to my neighborhood and immediate community is the best way to help others. So if you are feeling the desire to reach out, a simple way is to bake something (these stollen buns, for example), and share it with those around you. Bringing something to a neighbor you haven’t met (or are frustrated with!) can open the door to conversation, and possibly a relationship. Taking small steps to get to know those near can help in the future make bigger steps when needed, and can bring us a little closer to ‘peace on earth, good-will to men!’

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Hanukkah panini: Jeff’s new favorite Holiday tradition

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About unorthodox Holiday traditions (for me, Hannukah)–how about panini? Any time of year is the right time of year for one. We’ve done two grilled sandwich posts here on the website. Now, our official panini post isn’t quite right for Hannukah (there’s ham in it, but you can leave it out, of course). Our other grilled sandwich post is more American style than Italian–also fantastic. Read More

Jeff’s doing a benefit class for Minneapolis’s Legal Rights Center on November 30

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Jeff will join forces with New York Times food writer Martha Rose Shulman to create perfect pizza crust and imaginative toppings (guess who’s doing which), in a benefit for Minneapolis’s Legal Rights Center, a non-profit legal organization dedicated to diverting kids from the criminal justice system and into restorative justice programs. The baking demo will be from 4:00pm to 5:30pm on November 30, 2017 ($150 donation to LRC). After the demo with Jeff and Martha, starting at 5:30pm, it’ll be an evening of great conversation with great Twin Cities cooks and foodies who’ll be in attendance, including Lucia Watson (founder of Lucia’s restaurant and cookbook author), Beth Dooley (Twin Cities food writer and cook book author, and Matt Morgan (chef from The Bachelor Farmer, Heartland, Aquavit, and Chef’s Taverna). There’s an additional $100 donation if you choose to stay after the demo.

Click for more information and to register…

Corrections to Holiday and Celebration Bread (2018)

jeff 21 Comments

In the Kindle version, the Stollen recipe omitted two items from the Ingredients list: Those are: 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.

Page 35, Volumes conversion chart: 1 teaspoon is equal to 1/6 ounce, not 1/3. Metric volume is correct.

Page 85, Ingredient chart, all-purpose flour should read 6 cups | 1 pound 14 ounces | 850 grams

Page 115, Conchas, yield: Should read “Makes 8 buns”

Page 153, Whole-Grain Challah Dough, Step 2 should read “Combine the water, honey, oil, vanilla, and eggs.”

Page 173, Chocolate-Raisin Babka Bundt, Step 1: says to add milk, but the ingredient lists says water. The recipe was developed with water, but the truth is, you can use either.  

Page 189, Truck Stop Cinnamon Rolls makes 4 rolls, not 8.

Page 225, Panettone, Step 5 should read “On baking day, grease a 6-inch panettone or brioche pan with butter.”

Page 249, Finnish Pulla, Step 9 omits using the walnuts we called for in the ingredients list on page 248. Step 9 should have ended with “Sprinkle with raw sugar (or regular granulated white sugar) and walnuts.”

Page 262, Saint Lucia Saffron Buns, Step 2 should read “… whisk together the bread flour with the potato flour.”

Page 275, Hot Cross Buns should include a yield statement at the top of the ingredients table: “Makes about 25 buns”

Page 286, Easter Raisin Bread (Mazanec), Step 2, in keeping with the ingredients list, should call for milk, not water, and read “Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, eggs, melted butter, extracts, and lemon zest with the milk in a…”

Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread

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pumpkin spice monkey bread | bread in 5

We’ve had a lovely Autumn here in Minnesota, with warm weather lasting far into October. However, November has brought about a winter chill, and, with it, the desire to head to the kitchen and bake with cinnamon and pumpkin. Often I turn to cinnamon rolls or caramel rolls, but I decided this time around to make Monkey Bread.

Monkey Bread is easy to make. It’s basically a pull-apart cinnamon roll baked in a Bundt or loaf pan. Zoë has posted a standard recipe before, but today I’m doing one made with pumpkin spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, and topped with a cream cheese icing. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the coming cold.

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Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Vanilla Bean Baking Book

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chocolate-chip-cookies-the-vanilla-bean-baking-book3-of-7

These cookies were just featured in the New York Times! We’re so thrilled for Sarah and it just confirms what we already know about them, they are AWESOME!

You are on the right site, we are just taking a short break from baking bread to bring you one of our absolute favorite recipes from Sarah’s new book, The Vanilla Bean Baking Book. You all know Sarah’s gorgeous work here on Breadin5, but you may not be as familiar with her baking website. Sarah has been working with us on the Breadin5 website and has been instrumental in our cookbook photoshoots as a food stylist. During our last marathon photo session she brought us cakes, cookies, scones and even pie she was testing for her own cookbook. When she brought in these chocolate chip cookies we took a moment out of the shoot to declare them the best cookies any of us had ever had. I do not say that lightly, considering I had a cookie company in college, have baked no fewer than 500 chocolate chip cookie recipes and have consumed even more. These are the best and now you have the recipe.

We are thrilled for Sarah and are so proud of her and this brilliant book! She and her publisher have graciously offered a copy of her book to a lucky winner of our GIVEAWAY. Just leave a note in our comments and we will select someone at random. It will make a great addition to your cookbooks or a lovely gift for someone on your list. All our normal contest rules apply. This contest is over.

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How & When to Swap Bread Flour for All-Purpose in Mini-Wreath Pain d’Epis

jeff 61 Comments

People often ask us why we 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).   Read More

Upside Down Plum Brioche Cake

jeff 5 Comments

Upside Down Plum Brioche Cake | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

August is slowly slipping away from us, and here in Minnesota it’s brought endless days of cool weather and rain. Baking has been an essential part of my day, as I process changes: new routines about to begin, weather moving from hot to cold, and daily current events that fill my computer screen.

Stone fruits are still front and center at my grocery store; they’ve replaced the piles of berries that filled my fridge all through July. While we’ve mostly been eating them perfectly ripe and sliced, I did sneak in an up-side down brioche this week that was incredibly delicious. Made with plums, some butter and sugar, and a splash of vanilla, this brioche cake is a perfect way to celebrate the end of summer.

Upside Down Plum Brioche Cake | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

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Grilled Breakfast Pizza Two Ways

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Grilled Breakfast Pizza Recipe | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

We’ve had some incredibly warm days here in Minneapolis (scorchers, as we like to call them, as in ‘what a scorcher!’) so our grill has been in constant use. Grilling during extremely hot weather isn’t always the best idea, because, well, that grill is hot, but it does keep the house much cooler. I decided on one of these raging hot mornings that I would start grilling early – friends were coming over for a late breakfast, and maybe we could just do pizzas? With breakfast toppings? Everyone was amused by the idea of breakfast pizza, and now my kids request it daily. We made two different kinds: eggs, bacon, and Swiss chard with a roasted garlic sauce, and peach-sausage-basil with mozzarella. Both were considered hits by all.

Grilled Breakfast Pizza Recipe | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

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Chicken and Donuts

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I’ve recently become obsessed with Gary Cooper – not the Gary Cooper, but a decadent donut breakfast that a local Minneapolis diner serves, named after Mr. G.C. The diner is the Hi-Lo Diner, a new establishment that serves a fancy item called a Hi-Top, which is essentially a donut piled high with either sweet or savory ingredients. The Gary Cooper is my favorite hi-top on the menu, it’s covered with buttermilk fried chicken, maple-bourbon syrup, country gravy, and micro arugula. I decided to try and recreate this number in my own kitchen, using our no-knead brioche dough for the donut base, and then building the rest with maple syrup, mashed potatoes, gravy, and crispy chicken. It was incredibly delicious, and although this dinner will be a special occasion treat in at my house, it was worth all the effort.

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