Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day; recipe at post 30

Sazbo

Hi GreenManGO - funny you should come back today - I started reading this thread from when you first started it all that time ago, but only this weekend did I finally pluck up the courage to give the bread a try!

My first effort on Saturday, the dough was too wet. I don't think I had the quantities right. Too wet to handle so I just tipped the dough out onto a tray and picked it and the bread was quite flat but tasted delicious.

Then on Sunday, had a think about the protein/gluten content and with my DH's mathematical assistance, decided to try a 2 to 1 ratio of plain to strong flour and hey presto the resulting loaf was wonderful. And in years of breadmaking, this was the first time I've ever got a truly crisp crust.

Will be giving it another go this week! And it's a godsend for time-pressed folk too. Thank you so much for posting about it.

And good luck with sorting the debts

Saz

rowsew

Can't believe I haven't found this thread before ... I've been doing the 5 Mins A Day since early last year - even my husband can knock out a loaf/pizza/pitta without any help! I have been making my own bread for about 6 or 7 years now, but have found this the easiest to keep on with. I used to have a bread machine (couldn't knead due to weak wrists), and when I started making this dough used to cook the bread in there, but now I do all my bread in the oven, either on a baking stone, in loaf tins, or in a stoneware casserole dish with the lid on.

My tips for handling the dough are :
Use bread flour - it gives a better result
Use WET hands to handle the dough especially if it's gone a bit weepy
Bake for at least 38 mins in the hottest oven you can get (my gas oven goes up to 230C/Gas 9 ish and that's a good temp)
Larger loaves need more time - duh - but it took me a while to work out that the water needs longer to be driven out of the dough!
Use the water to make steam to get a crispy crust as they say in the master recipe
You can reduce the yeast - I use Doves Farm quick yeast in the orange packet, and have got my basic recipe down to about 2/3 tbsp, but I have gone down to 1 tsp - you just have to wait a lot longer for the dough to rise
Add 1tbsp olive oil to aid keeping quality
Use flaky salt like Maldon - table salt is too fine and the rock salt is too chunky
You don't need to use warm water - just wait a bit longer for the rise

We make all our bread needs at home, and have a box of dough in the fridge all the time. Mostly with the basic recipe - but we like a granary/wholemeal/white mixture at the moment which is very tasty. We can make HM pizza - just take an orange sized lump, roll out and slap onto hot stone, add toppings and cook for about 17 mins, pitta - small lumps also rolled out and cooked quickly on the stone, rolls - small lumps made into rolls and put onto hot stone 20 -25 mins, can even do cinnamon rolls.

Absolutely the best bread book I have bought - and I've had a few!
Forgot to add, save all the crusts that don't get eaten, chop up into small cubes and freeze in bags. Then you have instant croutons ready to fry up, or cubes that can be whizzed for crumbs, or even, lumps to make bread pudding!

Sazbo

Great tips rowsew, thanks

ginvzt

I have finally got this book last week and I have already tested out the Master recipe, Panettone and now I have a batch of deli-style rye bread (ok, I did half batch, and baked one loaf already). They all tasted great, and the Panettone finally worked - I have been trying to make one for ever, and it never tasted good. This one is a treat.

Now, I was thinking to try pumpernickel bread - has anyone did this? If so, where could I find molasses? Would Tesco or Sainsbury's have this? As well for caramel color?

adelight

The red pepper fougasse looks incredibly, and I have a red pepper and want to make bread... but everyone is saying the dough is too wet and it seems like the recipe for no-knead bread which is FAR too wet to work with. I will probably have to improvise with my own kneaded dough to make it.

ginvzt

The Master recipe I made was quite wet, it was very hard to handle (I coldn't shame it easily into loaf), but the bread was great anyway. I think next time I will add a little bit more flour to it though.

blueberrypie

ginvzt wrote: »

The Master recipe I made was quite wet, it was very hard to handle (I coldn't shame it easily into loaf), but the bread was great anyway. I think next time I will add a little bit more flour to it though.

I have an image in my head of you standing there shouting at your dough. "Look at you, lying there all wet like a wet thing! What a pathetic excuse for a dough you are! You're a disgrace!"

Etc.
:rotfl:

ginvzt

Sorry - I really don't shout at my bread - I love it!!!! (I guess you got it that I meant shape...)

GetRealBabe

ginvzt wrote: »

Now, I was thinking to try pumpernickel bread - has anyone did this? If so, where could I find molasses? Would Tesco or Sainsbury's have this? As well for caramel color?

Hi

Tesco or Sainsburys might have it and Health food shops sell molasses. I tend to use treacle instead.

I've been thinking about making a pumpernickel bread but wonder if it will be heavy. Is it mainly rye flour?

ginvzt

GetRealBabe wrote: »

Hi

Tesco or Sainsburys might have it and Health food shops sell molasses. I tend to use treacle instead.

I've been thinking about making a pumpernickel bread but wonder if it will be heavy. Is it mainly rye flour?

It is 1 cup of rye flour and 5.5 cups of wheat flour. It is the same proportion as for deli-style rye bread, which is lovely... (Well, for us, anyway).