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Arrange interviews, print media, or television, please contact publicist John Karle at john.karle at stmartins.com

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  1. Just purchased Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. As I page though, I got to the Whole Grain Bread chapter and I was suprised to find on page 89, Rosemary Flax Baguette, the inclusion of unbleached all puprose flour. Same for the Olive Spelt bread (sounds yummy!) and more. You state you include white flour to make an lighter loaf but should you really call the resulting loaf whole grain?
    If I want to swap out the white flour for whole wheat, should I just add a little extra vital wheat gluten to help the texture?
    Thanks
    Bobby

    1. Hi Bobby,

      Yes, you can add a little more vital wheat gluten, and you’ll want to add more water to compensate. You can try to base the amount of water to add on the 100% whole grain loaves in the book. It will result in a denser bread, but will have the whole grain content you desire.

      Thanks, Zoë

    2. Hi Zoe and Jeff. Love your Artisan in 5 book. Have added granulated garlic to the “whiter” bread and fabulous garlic bread without all the oil.
      My questions:1. Am making the oat bread recipe. Why does this bread need to be in a loaf pan and could it be free form? 2. I use cast iron pan w/lid for baking bread several times/week.(My oven has vents.) The pan is now flaking the black off the exterior of the pan. Inside is fine but outside lost its “seasoned” look and actually looks rusty. Am re-seasoning it, but any comments/experience? Thanks! Jude, Gallup, NM

      1. That oat bread can definitely be made free-form. Those non-enameled iron pans do need some special care–which is where the enameled pans are nice.

        Until you can re-generate the black layer, I’d wipe it out after use (minimal or no water, and no soap), then oil it lightly with vegetable oil, and heat until it smokes. Wipe out the excess again. An exhaust fan is nice for this, otherwise you have the smell and fumes in the house. Do that as often as needed to keep it looking good.

      2. This works very well for cast iron and as an added benefit, eliminates any fumes in the house. I re-seasoned my cast iron pans in 2009 with this method and they still look great. This comes from a friend who is a very successful chef:

        1. Coat inside and out with MELTED Crisco (not oil), wipe off excess. Place bottom-side up on grill..

        2. Grill over Direct/MEDIUM until it reaches about 400°F, about 10 minutes, then Direct/LOW or a tad higher (450-500°F), for 1 hour.

        3. Coat again with MELTED Crisco, wipe off, and season 1 hour more.

        4. Let cool slowly in turned-off grill.

  2. Hi!
    I made my first batch of The Master Recipe from HBin5. Everything seemed to go well, except that when I pulled the piece of dough out of the rising container, it breaks right off; there’s no need for a knife or scissors and does not look like the picture in chapter 5 right above step 4 (I’m looking at an iPad so the page #’s are off). It also rises very little on the counter or in the oven. The yeast was new so that’s not the problem. I don’t know if that means it’s too wet or too dry (it looks plenty wet, but will hold it’s shape nicely on the pan) or something else is the problem. Any ideas what to do differently next time?
    Thanks!
    Sarah

    1. Hi Sarah,

      This is typically caused by dough that is too dry or too cold. I have a refrigerator that run really cold and my dough tends to be a bit stiffer when I pull it from the bucket. If this is the case, you can just let it rest for an extra 15 minutes and it will most likely bake just the same.

      Thanks, Zoë

  3. Hi Zoe and Jeff. I love your technique for making artisan bread. After taking a few courses at the San Francisco Baking Institute, I find your technique faster, easier, and in the end, more rewarding for me.

    I have the “old” Artisan Bread in Five and was checking out the New Artisan Bread in Five on Amazon.ca. Since most of my bread baking has been using scales, I noticed On page 53 of your New Artisan Bread in 5 (using Amazon’s preview on their website) you have a chart for the master recipe that shows 3 cups of water weighing 680 grams. I am wondering if it is a misprint or miscalculation as an online chart shows 3 cups of water weighing almost 710 grams.

    https://calculator-converter.com/converter_c_to_g_cups_to_grams_calculator.php

    1. Hi Dave,

      We assumed that 1 cup weighs 8 ounces. When I weigh it on my scale 24 ounces = 680 grams. That matches the google converter as well. We tested the recipes with 680 grams. If you’ve made it with 710g, it will work, it will just be touch wetter.

      Thanks, Zoë

  4. I tried,for the first time,the basic bread recipe,from The New Artisan…Book. I am so excited. The recipe was easy to follow and we ate the first loaf yesterday. Thank you for sharing this wonderful way to create delicious bread. I look forward to trying the other master recipes.

  5. Dave, did you zero out the Tare weight of the measuring cup first? If you didn’t, then the weight of it will be included with the weight of the water.

  6. Hello Zoe and Jeff,

    I bought the new 5 min/day after I had the old one for years. Just wonderful!!

    Do you plan to update the other books with scale measurement (kg and g) as well? It’s much more accurate this way.

    Best wishes,
    Susu

    1. Thank you Susu,

      We are so thrilled you tried the new book and found the revisions helpful! We hope the publisher will let us do the same with HBin5, but no talk of it yet!

      Cheers, Zoë

  7. Bobby, I mixed another batch because the first one didn’t raise at all and the same thing happened with this one… The yeast in new… ?????? What did I do wrong?????

  8. I recently purchased The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and even though I live at 6,000 feet, I have been thrilled with the two loaves that I made in a dutch oven (All gone!)
    I purchased “Premium Gold” Gluten Free, Flax & Ancient Grains All-Purpose Flour, which promises to be ‘All-in-One TRUE 1 to 1 replacement for All-Purpose Flour’
    Any experience with this type of flour or suggestions before I dive in?

    1. Hi Debbie,

      I’m not familiar with it, but you could try using it in place of the flour mixture for our Gluten-Free chapter. I’d start with a half batch. Let me know how you like the results.

      Cheers, Zoë

      1. My guess is that you’ll need lots of water, but then it might be too loose to work with?

  9. Can you recommend a brand of parchment paper that is safe @ 450 degrees For semolina bread p.143 in “THE NEW ARTISAN BREAD……..

  10. In response to what kind of Parchment Paper will withstand 450 heat.
    I have been using the Parchment Paper from Costco for over 2 years while baking bread in cast iron. It works great
    bj

  11. I am very excited to see a gluten free bread book coming out in October 2014. I loved makeing bread out of the other books, but now I follow a paleo diet and was wondering if the new book will be paleo diet friendly too? Thank you.

  12. Red wine and cheese bread- page 137 from the
    Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook.

    The final bread is heavy but okay (did not seem like the usual moist dough), but the crust is extremely crunchy (tooth crunching, perhaps). I carefully measured all ingredients and used my usual flour. The only difference was not using the prepackaged yeast (used jar). I have made several others from this book, which were more like the bread crusts from your original book.

      1. I would sometimes like to have a softer crust. Can I use a lower temp, more traditional such as 350°. Thank you. I and my co workers are loving this book and baking this bread.

      2. Yes, though you’ll have to bake for longer. Also consider omitting the steam and using butter or oil on the crust before baking. Can re-apply when just out of the oven.

  13. Hi there! I have been LOVING your book! I got the Kindle edition and it’s great. The only improvement I would *LOVE* to see is that the index be linked. It’s kind of clumsy to have to flip through all of the pages to find the recipes. I TOTALLY appreciate all of the links that ARE in there, for example having links to the master, challah, brioche recipes in recipes that use them, but I would love to be able to go to the index and then click to the link, or have them all listed in the menu. Thanks so much, this way of cooking bread has revolutionized my kitchen!

    1. It’s a great suggestion, and one we’ve made tot he publisher ourselves. For now, all we can say is to type the concept you’re looking for into the search function of your eReader. Sorry!

  14. I want to use an heirloom wheat for the master bread recipe. The protein is weaker than modern wheat (which is the reason I want to use it) however, it fails to rise as well as modern wheat. If I add some xanthan gum would this assist it to rise and how much should I use?

    1. We haven’t tested xanthan as a structural agent in wheat breads, only in non-wheat ones, where we use about 2 tablespoons in a four-pound dough batch. You should need less here, since heirloom wheat is certainly not gluten-free. 1 tablespoon? Less? You’ll have to experiment, and I can’t say how Xanthan will interact with wheat’s flavors and chemical makeup.

      1. Got adventurous and tried the xanthan gum (1 TBL + 1/2 tsp to 3 1/4 cups eikorn flour) in a half batch of the Master Recipe and, voila! – almost a perfect loaf. I baked it after allowing it to rise for two hours and rest for 20 minute before baking. It is very acceptable. The crust is almost as crusty as the Master loaf. It has a nice crumb and the added advantage of not triggering my addiction to wheat flour products. The brand of einkorn flour I used is named ‘Jovial’, which I bough online.

      2. Fantastic. And had you found the without the xanthan, that the einkorn just didn’t support much rise and was too dense?

  15. Gail, I must try to acquire that flour and give it a try. You do know that einkorn is a German dialect word for one grain, yes. regardless, glad to hear about new ground broken/explored.

      1. Actually, I bet it would work fine as flatbread/pita, even without the xanthan. You’d need less water though.

  16. We have been having so much fun with the new book– i have 2 questions–
    1– can you share a recipe with the vital wheat gluten? I love the 100% whole wheat sandwich bread recipe on p134, but would like a lighter texture. I have no clue how much vital wheat gluten/increase in liquids to addfor this recipe.
    2– what recipe do you recommend for st patricks day? Is there a recipe similar to an Irish brown bread or a soda bread in the book?

    Thanks so much!
    Kathleen

    1. Irish Brown Bread, and Soda Bread, are made with baking soda not yeast– so we don’t have one. I use James Beard’s recipe from Beard on Bread (on Amazon at https://amzn.to/1gqhXAF). Also, we’ve done a St. Patrick’s Day post, at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2014/03/14/green-four-leaf-clover-broccoli-cheddar-buns-for-st-patricks-day.

      We have links here on the site about VWG:

      1. General info, see the FAQs tab and click on “Whole grain flours and vital wheat gluten: How do you use them?”
      2. A sample recipe from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (on Amazon at https://bit.ly/3wYSSN) can be found at https://tinyurl.com/yfafxk7

  17. Made bread from your master recipe to serve with an Italian dinner. It was fantastic! So glad I bought your Artisan Bread in Five Minutes Day!

  18. All of the recipes I’ve tried from your new Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day have turned out wonderfully. I’ve made the standard Rye Bread, the basic recipe and I wanted to share my tweaking of your Buttermilk Bread recipe. I followed the recipe exactly as written but used plain kefir (which can be purchased, similar to what I used) instead of buttermilk. The bread was moist and tender and out of this world!

    1. Love that Kefir, which, for folks new to it, is a Turkish-style yogurt, more liquidy, and with a different kind of sour flavor. Glad it worked well in there, thanks for letting us know!

  19. Bought some pre-packaged gluten free baking mixes that are starting to pop up in stores. Can they be used in your recipes 1:1 exchange? Have been making your recipes for bread for a few months now and each batch has turned out excellent. Now, I want to try making gluten free recipes, but don’t have all the various flours for your GF recipes.

    1. Haven’t tried them; likely you’ll need to adjust the water (? which way), and we can’t vouch for the taste. Worth a try, please let us know what you find and whether anything needed adjustment.

      1. Thanks for the reply Jeff. Much appreciated. Should the mixed dough consistency be the same as you non-GF recipes? If so, I will adjust the water till I get the same consistency. I will send an update for anyone else wanting to try the new GF flour mixes. I have now read some of the above comments about GF also.

  20. I am using Einkorn flour which has way less gluten than regular flours. My bread always flops. I have measured the water temperature to make sure it’s not too hot so that’s not the problem. Can you help.

    1. Einkorn isn’t going to work well in our recipes, because it’s low in gluten. I’m assuming that’s why you’re interested in it– otherwise the only way to deal with this is to add back gluten (by using vital wheat gluten, as in our FAQ-post, click above the FAQs tab and scroll down to: “Whole grain flours and vital wheat gluten: How do you use them?”)…

      Or, just make flatbreads from einkorn-based dough.

  21. I just bought the New Artisan bread in 5 minutes…Is it possible to incorporate nuts into the master recipe? And if so, would that change any of the other steps/amounts? I’m thinking of nuts such as sunflower seeds, or walnuts. Thanks, Lori

    1. Absolutely! Use the technique on page 103 if you want to do it loaf-by-loaf, or just use four times the amount you would have used in the single-loaf– in the initial mixture. Just put them in with the liquid.

  22. One last question – if I put nuts or seeds in the master recipe, does it affect the shelf life of the dough at all?
    Thank you so much!

  23. Hello Jeff and Zoe,
    I LOVE your method for making bread!! I make your bread at home and have also taught many others how easily you can make bread everyday. Have you ever thought of doing classes around the country taught by others passionate about this method. If so I would be interested in doing something like this! We have a beautiful space do to cooking classes here in Orlando, FL.

    Thanks,
    Nikki

    1. Yes, folks are teaching from our books all over the country, we love that. The only thing we’d ask is that you exercise some care with our copyright– in other words, please don’t hand out copies of our recipes pulled from the books or website. The best way to teach the classes, while continuing to follow copyright law, is to refer people to our books or the website. Some have done this by including a book in the cost of the class– the alternative is to supply them with brief, modified versions of the recipes. See this link for more: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/01/02/can-i-use-your-recipes-on-my-website-in-my-class-or-in-a-publication

    1. Hi Mary,

      I have only used it a few times, but I really like it! I’d recommend it for sure.

      Thanks, Zoë

  24. Hello,
    I am wondering what brand of double oven you recommend for a home kitchen?
    Thanks,
    Amy

    1. Hi Amy,

      I have the Bosch double wall oven and it produces great bread. I’ve previously had Frigidaire and it also baked well, but I didn’t get quite as nice a crust on the bread. I am trading my Bosch for a BlueStar electric double wall oven, which is a new product and should be available in the next few months. It has a built in baking stone and French doors, plus it holds a full size professional baking sheet. Jeff uses a Jenn-aire, but it is a full range.

      Thanks, Zoë

    1. Hi Kevin,

      If you just let the loaf rest a bit longer before baking this should no longer happen. Try letting it rest an additional 15 or 20 minutes. Or let the dough rest in a slightly warmer spot in the kitchen. Also slash the dough 1/2-inch deep.

      Let me know if that helps. Zoë

  25. Enormous thanks from the bottom of my tummy…er…heart! For the first time in my life I have conquered the little yeastie beasties and made bread! (I feel sort of like Tom Hanks in Castaway when he finally starts a fire. To paraphrase with much dancing around in the kitchen: “I HAVE CREATED BREAD!!!”) 🙂
    My question is this: I’m getting ready to try the Quinoa Bread from Healthy Bread in Five. Should the quinoa be rinsed prior to adding to the dough? I’m worried about possible bitterness.
    (Sorry if this has been answered previously. I did a search but didn’t find anything.)

    1. Hi LM,

      We are so happy you tried the recipe and are liking the results! I do not rinse the quinoa before using it. You may want to make a half batch and see if it is to your liking. If you find it bitter, you can try rinsing the next time.

      Thanks, Zoë

  26. I love and create delicious recipes from your books. I am excited to go to the next step and learn the art of baking “course grain” breads. Would love any help to guide me in baking a delicious addition to daily meals.

    1. Hi Sara,

      Give me an idea of what you are looking to bake and I can try to point you in the right direction! So glad you are enjoying the breads!

      Cheers, Zoë

  27. I have tried both the regular and gluten free sandwich breads. The sandwich bread does not rise much. The gluten free bread does not rise at all and after 2 hours in the 400 degree oven the gluten free loaf was still raw. I bought new yeast in case mine was old, made sure the water was not too hot, and my oven temp is perfect. Please, what else could be going wrong? I’m getting very discouraged after many tries.
    Cheryl

      1. I am using “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”. Thank you for that link and recipe I will try that today and see how I do. I don’t have the proper Dutch oven or a stone though so I will try it in a slow cooker liner – I hope that will work?
        Thank you so much for your quick response.
        Cheryl

  28. I just bought Artisan Pizza in 5 and mixed up a batch of Ultimate Tender crust– page 73– using 00 flour. After several days in the refrigerator, I find the dough has formed a stiff dry crust on top. I cut it off as I made my dough balls, but is there a way to avoid this problem? The bucket was covered loosely and was only about 1/3 full after the dough collapsed after first rise.

    1. Should have read the FAQ!!! Sounds like too much air space in the container. Will use smaller containers in future! Thanks.

    2. Hi Steven,

      This generally happens when too much air is getting into the bucket. The dough gets dried out and forms a skin. You can try closing the lid more, just don’t snap it shut.

      Cheers, Zoë

    1. Hi kc,

      I think you will have to use the stone loaf pan as you would any other loaf pan. You really can’t preheat it like you would a baking stone, or it will be very difficult to lower the risen dough into it.

      Enjoy, Zoë

      1. Unrelated follow-up question: I want to make some of the GF bread options from the Healthy Bread book, but we have a corn intolerance as well, and many of your GF recipes use Corn Starch. I regularily use arrowroot as a substitute, but you’re really asking for a lot in some of these (3 1\2c. Olive bread P.238). Is arrowroot an acceptable sub for that qty, or do you have an alternate option?

      2. Hi kc,

        You can make the “crusty boule” recipe with 1/4 cup olive oil (just reduce the water by that much) if you want a recipe with less starch. If you substitute arrowroot in place of cornstarch, just try a half batch to make sure you like the results.

        Thanks, Zoë

    1. Hi Mary,

      You have great timing. It just went up on Amazon, so it is official as of today! Our next book is Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five!

      Cheers, Zoë

    1. Hi Sara,

      We do add whole grains to some of the recipes. Is that what you mean by coarse grain? They are in combination with gluten-free flours.

      Thank you! Zoë

  29. I am looking for a gluten free, course grain bread that will not form a ball if rolled up (like white loaf bread). I would especially like to use grains that have the greatest nutritional benefit. Due to health related problems my husband and I have reduced our bread intake greatly…….with the right recipe, bread would be on our table daily.

  30. I am work in on the master boule recipe from page 26 of your 1st edition. My problem is that after mixing, resting and storing the dough, the dough seems to ferment and no longer is stretchy. I am doubling the batch in a bucket with a lid I drilled a hole in. Please help as this has happened over 3 times and I really don’t want to go back to store bought bread. Thanks!

  31. Great to see your “Bread in 5” recipe on the back of the Gold Medal Flour. But why the instruction to put a towel over the oven window and then add the water to the broiler pan. I have three of your cook books and never saw that in your wonderful books. I have not bought store bread in two years!!!

    1. Hi Judy,

      the towel was meant as a precaution for those who may have older ovens, without tempered glass. It has since been removed from the directions, since so few people have such ovens. Just bake as you always have and enjoy the bread!

      Thank you! Zoë

  32. Hi,
    Would I be able to bake the Oatmeal Maple Bread on pg. 162 of The New Artisan … free form or must it be baked in a loaf pan? I love your book! The breads I have made are amazing!

    1. Hi Mary,

      Sure, you can bake it as a free form loaf. You will just want to watch the timing in the oven, since it will have so much more surface area it may bake faster. This is especially true if you bake a smaller loaf.

      Thanks, Zoë

  33. I love my new 5 min a day book! I just wish you had dedicated a section to slow cooker baking and recipes, maybe even a separate book!
    I find that using the slow cooker is wonderful for me and I love to give some dough and baking instructions to friends as “just because gifts”. Maybe I just missed it in the big book.

    1. We only have a one recipe in the book. Hmm, a whole book of those? Not sure it’s needed, since you can make most of the doughs this way. Just convert it…

  34. Adding leftover dough is such a good practice. I was unable to bake for a few weeks and just discovered some dough that I had purposely left in a container in the refrigerator to use as “altes teig” several weeks ago. The hooch had risen to the top.

    My question is: How long can the leftover dough be kept before it stops being beneficial to the new dough?

    Is the yeast completely dead by that time?

    Thank you,
    Rita

      1. The alcohol just boils mostly off. Some people can taste it and don’t like it– see what you think, and consider a low-yeast version, go to the FAQs tab and click on “Yeast: can it be decreased in the recipes?”

    1. It starts to get over-sour at about 4 weeks. And discard if you see mold, go to our FAQs tab and click on Gray color on my dough: Is there something wrong?

      1. 4 weeks is longer than I thought, so that is very good. As a rule I decrease the yeast in the recipe quite a bit, so it might last even longer.
        I didn’t think there was a problem with the gray color, which was mostly on the outside of the dough but it was nice to verify that in the FAQs. Thanks for the tips!

  35. Hello! I just saw your new book coming out for gluten free bread. Hooray! Before I pre-order, could you tell me if most of your gluten free breads use eggs? My little guy is sadly wheat and egg free and so many GF bread recipes have eggs. Love your books! Thank you!

    1. The sweet breads (brioches and challahs) all have eggs. The regular breads, except for 100% whole grain, do not. Hope that helps.

    2. Erieann, I’m wondering if your little guy is allergic to all kinds of eggs, or might there be a type to which he doesn’t have an allergy. For instance, when my son was a “little guy” he had an allergy to eggs also. Through some research it was determined that possibly he could consume “fertilized” eggs. We tried him on fertilized brown eggs and found that he was able to eat them without an allergic reaction. We limited the amount of egg in both quantity and frequency of use. While hais numerous other allergies continued to plague him, the eggs became a non issue.

      Perhaps this might be a helpful path for you also.

  36. I have recently been using Caputo chef’s blend flour of 00 it is from Italy. Can you tell what adjustments I need to make for the basic dough recipe on the website.

    Thank You
    Donna

  37. I heard about your method and books on The Splendid Table podcast and I am so excited to try some of your recipes. I want to try several of the gluten-free recipes but noticed that some of them contain soy flour. I must stay away from all soy products for health reasons, in particular estrogen-sensitive breast cancer. Could you suggest a substitute flour that I could try in its stead. I am starting with your gluten-free olive oil bread recipe if that helps.
    Thanks for your time!

    1. Just increase the other flours proportionally– there’s not much soy in the first place and you should be fine that way.

  38. I read that you can substitute certain seeds for eggs in gluten-free recipes, such as chia. Maybe there are others?

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