The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A True Game-Changer for Homemade Bread (Without the Fuss) I’ll be honest—bread baking always felt a little intimidating to me. Too many steps, too much waiting, too many chances to mess it up. Then I found The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and everything changed. What I love most about this book is how approachable it is. The recipes are built around a simple concept: mix a few basic ingredients, let time do the work, and bake when you’re ready. No complicated techniques, no stress, no feeling like you need to be a professional baker to get it right. And it actually works. The dough comes together with minimal effort, and the results feel almost magical the first time you pull a loaf out of the oven. Crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, and honestly better than most store-bought bread. Why This Book Stands Out for Me Simple ingredients — nothing fancy or hard to find Flexible process — make dough ahead and bake when you need it Healthier option — a great alternative to overly processed white bread So much variety — not just basic loaves, but different styles and flavors Beginner-friendly — truly takes the intimidation out of bread baking I also really appreciate that this isn’t just a “one recipe” book. It gives you a system you can actually use and build on. The Real Test: Would I Recommend It? I already have—multiple times. This has become one of those cookbooks I reach for again and again, and I’ve even gifted it to friends because it’s just that good. It’s one of those rare finds that actually delivers on what it promises. If you’ve ever wanted to make your own bread but felt overwhelmed, this is the book that will get you started—and keep you going. Final Thoughts This is a keeper on my must-have cookbook shelf. Not because it’s trendy or complicated, but because it makes something that used to feel difficult… simple and enjoyable. And honestly, that’s exactly what a great cookbook should do.

Simple enough to get started immediately, with little hassle or fuss. Exhaustively detailed enough to provide months of learning and pleasure experimenting and refining your skills! Taste-wise, the results are fantastic. I spend a lot of time in France, and the bread I baked from this book on my very first try is at least as good as your average bakery in the country known for its amazing bread. It is not as good as the very best, but as a simple daily 'everyday" bread, this book gives you a near perfect solution. The secret to the book's popularity is not just the excellent recipes, but the carefully thought out no-knead method using high moisture dough. The water in the dough develops the gluten, making kneading unnecessary. The book is well written, well organized and attractively laid out with photos and info boxes with additional information engagingly presented. It simply and clearly details everything you need--the ingredients to buy, the skills you need to develop, tools to buy, etc.--in order to make fresh homemade bread part of your lifestyle. At the core of the authors' method is a secret most professional chefs already know: You can make your bread dough in advance and store it in the refrigerator, and it actually gains flavor over time. This is super convenient as you can mix when you have time, and just pull out the ready-to-bake dough when you want it! While this is not anything new (I learned it years ago from a professional chef friend of mine), the authors do a wonderful job exploring in detail how to use this concept to simplify your life. The "master recipe," the core of the book, makes enough dough for 3-4 loaves; You can keep it in the fridge for up to two weeks, snipping off a piece of dough to bake whenever you have a hankering for bread. Everything in the book is meticulously documented, clear and simply written. The authors do a particularly good job describing the trade-offs between time-saving methods and superior results. For example, a longer preheat of the pizza stone you're baking on may give you a more divine crust, but you may prefer to save energy and time with a shorter preheat; the authors demystify the issue and clearly describe the trade-offs so you can make your own decision. This is a pleasant contrast from cookbooks that simply tell you the way things must be done and don't offer you reasons why or clearly explain how much difference it makes if you take a short cut. The section on "what to buy" also strikes the perfect balance between perfectionism and practicality. For example, the authors recommend a dough whisk to mix the dough, saying it works faster than a wooden spoon and offers less resistance. But for those who don't have this implement, and may not want to buy one, they note, reassuringly, "a wooden spoon works fine." Another thing I like about the book is the troubleshooting section. If your bread's crust is not crunchy enough, for example, it lists three possible ways to fix it. Is it really just five minutes a day? Well, almost...for me, on mixing day it takes about 10 minutes of my time, and on baking day, another ten minutes of active work. The method is simple: You mix four ingredients (yeast, warm water, salt and flour) in a large bowl or plastic container, let it rise for two hours on the counter. The "master recipe" makes enough for 3-4 loaves. You pop it in the fridge, where you can leave it up to two weeks, and whenever you want to bake, snip off enough for a loaf, shape it rapidly and let it rest. Another tradeoff in the book is that a longer rest time gives you better "crumb" or the texture with nice big holes in it. The authors recommend a minimum of 40 minutes but up to 90 minutes; I get great results with an hour. Once it's rested, you score it with a knife, slide it into the oven onto a hot pizza stone and cook for a half hour. Hot bread comes out of the oven 1.5 hours after you start. (Do I chow down on the hot bread? Sadly, no. The authors recommend cooling completely because the texture is best if you don't cut too early.) If you want your bread ASAP, you can simply snip off some dough and make a Naan in a cast iron skillet. Just snip off the dough, roll it out into an oval, and cook 2-3 minutes on each side. The results are stunning: The best Naan I've had in my life! The smaller the amount of dough, the less "resting" time you need: The baguettes and the dinner rolls in the book, also made from the master recipe dough, take about forty minutes from the time I decide I want one. This book is one of two that, in recent years, have popularized the no-knead high moisture method. The other is My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method . The main difference between the two are that Artisan's master recipe details an initial two-hour rise on the counter, while Lahey's method uses less yeast for a slow rise of 12-18 hours; you have to plan ahead more with Lahey but the method also involves minimal labor. Another difference is that this book's master recipe uses all-purpose white flour, while Lahey's uses bread flour--whole wheat or white, depending on the recipe you choose. (There are some whole-wheat recipes in the Artisan book but the core of the book is the all-purpose flour master recipe.) I have used the Lahey recipes a couple times and find overall they are slightly more marvelous than the Artisan breads. However, since the Lahey method only occasionally fits into my lifestyle, I use the Artisan method regularly. One area of significant discussion among afficionados of no-knead high-moisture breads is whether the slow rise or faster rise is better. I have been experimenting with using a longer rise on Artisan's master recipe--and I like the results. The authors recommend a two-hour rise probably because they want to keep it simple, nonfussy and accessible; longer rises necessitate more lead time and planning. But they also note (and their frankness and detail is the reason they get five stars) that many people prefer the flavor of a longer rise. They note that you can simply use less yeast and wait until it rises the proper amount. (When it collapses slightly, it's at the end of its rise.) I did a bakeoff this weekend between this book's master recipe involving a two-hour initial rise, and a test dough which rose for ten hours. The master recipe has a tablespoon of yeast, and I used a third as much in my test dough. I baked one loaf of each side by side on the same pizza stone, and then took them to a dinner with ten friends. Both breads were delicious. But when given a side-by-side comparison, almost everyone preferred the lower-yeast long rise bread because it had a less strong "yeasty" flavor. One friend described the yeast flavor as "winey." Several people liked both about the same, but those who had a preference all preferred the slower rise. I also waited two days and did another test with more mature dough, and again, the slower-rise lower-yeast version has an edge. My conclusion is I'd rather do a longer rise when I have the lead time, but the two-hour rise is just fine if I have a deadline. In addition to providing the basic method, this book is chock full of fun and inspiring recipes--for example, three-citrus marmelade and Asian-style pork bun which look scrumptions! I buy very few cookbooks these days as you can find most of what you need on the Internet. However, this one is really a treasure. Even if you've been baking bread for years, the book is chock full of useful professional tips you may not know. The section on parbaking alone is worth the purchase price. When you want hot bread on a deadline (for example you want to bring fresh bread to a friend's house but have no time the day of the event), you can simply cook it most of the way, cool and freeze--and the day of the party bring it and pop it in the oven for five or ten minutes.

The reason I purchased this book is I wanted a simple, quick way to make bread. I have made sourdough (I keep a starter in my frig for making sourdough waffles), and I have made spelt bread, both from scratch. You have to kneed those, and there are a bunch of steps that must be followed. This bread recipe is easy to follow (although it takes up several pages in the book with long explanations about each step, so it can be kind of hard to follow along as the book pages tend to close, and you have your hands with things like flour on them); you only have four simple ingredients: water, flour, yeast, and salt. Unlike the prior book (this is the revised or new edition), this time the ingredients are also listed by weight, taking the guess work out of things like getting the right amount of flour in each cup you put in. So, if you follow the simple directions (and use the right equipment and sensing devices for your oven like an oven thermometer, your results should be excellent the first time (and if not, they give you trouble shooting tips to correct whatever problem developed in your bread). My only mild gripe is they suggest making four batches worth of dough at a time (but they concede you can halve or double the amounts); they want you to use a 6 quart container to keep in your refrigerator. I don't have that kind of room in my frig, so I went with a half size (3 plus quarts) for a half batch. They advise you to get the basic recipe down first before you go experimenting. Since I love sourdough (and they say you can just incorporate the sourdough in their basic recipe), that will be my next recipe. My point is, if you can follow simple directions, have the right equipment and quality ingredients, you will be successful for a certain amount of time invested. Their 5 minute a day bread title is a little misleading in the sense you have to go through certain steps that take time (like when you pull it out of frig and prepare your loaf (all in about 40 seconds they recommend), you still have to wait 40 minutes before you bake it, and then, of course, you have to bake it and let it cool before eating. That will take at least a couple of hours, so you can't just start fixing it at 5 p.m. and expect to eat it for dinner at 6 or 6:30 p.m. It isn't going to happen. That said, if you have the time, I think this is a foolproof recipe that is easily worth the money for the expertise (and yes, you probably can get the basic info for free, but, heck, give the authors some credit and some reward).

Who knew it could be this easy to make amazing bread? The recipes in this book are easy to follow, easy to make and have great results. I have made many batches of the master recipe, the Vermont Cheddar bread, the rye bread and the brioche. The master recipe is an extremely versatile recipe. I have used it to make pizza, hamburger buns, rolls, flat bread, stuffed buns, and many other kinds of sweet and savory bread. For example I have added cinnamon, walnuts and dried fruit to the master recipe, I've added nutella (which is awesome--you just roll out the dough then spread Nutella on it roll it up, shape and bake), I've done peanut butter and chocolate chips, chunks of cheese and herbs. You could pretty much add anything you like to the master recipe and make an amazing loaf of bread. The brioche dough is AMAZING! I made cinnamon rolls with this dough and they were probably the best cinnamon rolls I've had. There are so many ways to use this dough. This dough would be great for making baked good gifts (as is the master recipe). The Vermont Cheddar bread is also really great. It rises well, and I find it a bit airier than the mater recipe. I think because it has sugar in it the crust gets darker than the master recipe. The Rye bred was delicious. I used it for grilled cheese and also toasted some slices and topped it with lox and cream cheese. My first batch of bread did not turn out great, but still tasted good. Here is what I have learned through trial and error. I find I get an airier crumb by letting the dough rest for 90 minutes. I also discovered that I usually get 3 loves out of the master recipe instead of 4, so I needed to increase the baking time for those loves to 40 minutes. In the book they suggest using a little bit of dough from your previous batch of mater recipe in your new batch--I do this every time, and I do think it helps to add flavor to the bread. In some of the videos they use parchment paper instead of cornmeal--this is a helpful tip if you are not so great with a pizza peal. There is a really helpful trouble shooting section in the book, as well as a Q & A that is also helpful. Equipment: The main thing you need is a big enough bowl or container for the dough. Here are some things I find are helpful to have: A dough whisk--makes mixing up the dough too easy and you don't have to get your hands dirty, measuring spoons with a 1/2 Tablespoon measure, a pizza stone-I found one on sale for $15 and it made difference in the crust of the bread, a pizza peal, a good sharp knife for slashing the bread (kitchen aid makes a good knife--it is a small serrated utility knife--it solved all my slashing problems) and a metal pan for the water for steam (many people use an old broiler pan). I think this is also a good book for someone who wants to start seriously baking bread (and by that I mean someone who wants to learn all about bread and sourdough and other fancy stuff). This book will give you some quick success and build your confidence. It will also allow you to practice skills like shaping, slashing, using a pizza peal etc.. It is also a good way to let your creativity run wild. If you are already an experienced bread baker you might find this book too basic. But you might like it because you can make good bread fast. This book has paid for itself already (and I haven't had it that long!). I haven't bought bread, rolls, or pizza crust since I bought this book. Since the dough is always ready to go you can come home and make a pizza after work in the same time it would take to order one. I love that I can provide healthy, homemade bread for my family. I think anyone you would give this bread to, either as a gift or at a meal, would be impressed. I am definitely a super fan of this book!

It’s great for beginner bread bakers. It took me down the rabbit hole and I am now into sourdough baking due to my first loaves being dense not having a high enough oven spring due to lack of preshaping and tension. The authors obviously want to make this a quick way with the least amount of costly tools for busy people to bake breads otherwise the extensive stretch and fold and tension building would turn people off because it’s more effort. I have yet to try their sourdough recipe and perhaps I will and come back to report. My photos are of ther technique and recipe. Still tasty just pretty dense.

While I admit that the authors have omitted the rise and bake times in their statement that these artisans loaves can be routinely enjoyed at home with only 5 minutes per day, their explanation for their reasoning is quite valid. Their, "5 minutes," includes active time, time that must be solely devoted to the process. During the rising, resting, chilling, and baking, the artisan can be doing other things and therefore the time is not really devoted to the bread. The bottom line is that you cannot decide to have this bread and eat it, let alone just have it, in a mere five minutes. That said, five minutes now can, indeed, give you great bread later on in the same day. And I simply cannot imagine a lifestyle that is truly busy enough to preclude carving out the requisite daily five minutes for this delicious, inexpensive, and nutritional bread. Believe me, if I can do it, then so can you, but it does require just a bit of planning. I must admit here that I did cheat a bit. Having heard about this wondrous technique, I went directly to the authors' website to learn more about it. I then proceeded to make the Basic Recipe, without ever purchasing the book. Then I graduated to Brioche, Pannetone, and Hot Cross Buns, all courtesy of the instructions on the website. My family and I have been enjoying the fruits of these authors' labors for several weeks now. I began to feel guilty for having exploited the authors, and decided that I really ought to buy at least one copy of the book. That was a few weeks ago, when the revised edition was available only for pre-order. I decided to go ahead with the revised edition, despite concerns that some of the original recipes may have been sacrificed to allow room for the newly added ones. As explained by the authors in this new edition, a major difference is the addition of weight measurements for all of the ingredients. It was as if they'd read my mind. Many times, while diligently measuring out 7 cups or more of flour, I had lost count and had to remeasure. Each of those times, and many in between, I longed for weight measurements so that I could use my digital scale, Ozeri Touch Professional Digital Kitchen Scale (18 lbs Edition), Tempered Glass in Elegant Black (which I adore), and never worry about losing count again. Apparently, others had voiced this request through the website, and the authors actually heeded the advice of their readers! The authors also explain that the number of pictures in their original edition was severely limited by their publishing budget, and that the new edition includes 150 How-To-Black&White photos and 40 color images of their loaves. Having never seen the original edition, I don't know first hand how this measures up, but the authors mention that the other edition had only 8 color photos and, "a smattering," of Black&Whites. As for recipes, the only recipe I've sought that wasn't available on the website (or in the other edition, apparently) was the Pretzel Bun Recipe, which is proudly displayed on page 207 of this edition. That brings me to another point regarding the Index. The index in this edition, at least, is a delight to peruse. Within the first ten minutes of opening the book, I'd already found many old favorites and new loaves to try in the coming weeks. There's even a Soft White American Loaf for all those kids (and young at heart) who lamented the loss of Wonder Bread from the shelves when Hostess met its demise. Also, it's notable that the book includes recipes and ideas that go beyond the breads, such as spreads, sandwiches, and even a Moroccan-Style Gazpacho. This is more than just a collection of no-knead bread recipes; it's an entire cookbook with a well-planned and easy to use index. Oh, and for those of you who felt duped because you cannot actually eat the bread 5 minutes after deciding to prepare it, try the Naan Bread on page 260. There's no required rest and no oven to preheat for this one, making it the fastest bread in the book. Just one final point. I have many times been enticed by cookbook authors' claims of fast and easy recipes only to find that indeed they would be fast and easy if only I could find the rare (and/or expensive) ingredients in my local grocery store. The Master Recipe in this book was created, tested, and perfected using Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour, precisely because that's what most people have in their pantries or can easily find at the local chain grocer. Thank you, Chef Francois and Dr. Hertzberger for my new favorite cookbook! UPDATE 10/24/13: I just realized that I neglected to mention that each recipe has BOTH weight and volumetric measurements for its ingredients in table form. So, if you'd rather use measuring cups than a scale, you're free to do so. Yesterday, I used the scale for the flour but measured the other ingredients by volume.

This book is a great starting step for getting into the world of baking and pastry. The author explains how to make it practical for the home baker to create consistently high-quality artisan bread with very little time, effort, money, and start-up equipment. I'm making my third loaf right now as I write this review. You can screw up and it still turns out pretty good. My pattern has been to have a fresh piece or two as soon as it comes out of the oven, then to make eggs benedict breakfasts with it for the next couple of days. Now I really don't need to go to the store and buy bread anymore. The homemade stuff from this book is cheaper, higher quality, and easy enough. Tonight I'm having a celebratory dinner for a career achievement, and coincidentally I have this entire new bread-baking culinary skill to lean on. Now I can have an oven-fresh piece of bread to make Sizzler-style garlic cheese toast along with my $31.48 raw cut of USDA-Prime Tomahawk ribeye steak 2" thick and 40 oz (Costco), cooked sous-vide (Anova) and seared with a culinary torch (Eurkitchen), homemade Fleming's potatoes knock-off (Cuisinart food processor), and ice cream with homemade lava cake for dessert. The whole meal costs me less than $45, but if you try piecing this together at the local upscale steak restaurant, you can end up paying $110 for the steak alone, plus maybe another $40 for the side and dessert additions. Fresh artisan bread is a necessary part of the ultimate home chef's dining experience, and with it suddenly a complete $200 ($150+tax+tip) restaurant-quality celebratory meal for one is within range for an entrepreneur on a tight budget. My inspiration was to take my overall culinary skill set to the next level, and because I instantly got great results, this book was the perfect starting point for some serious home bread baking.

After watching most of the videos on their YT channel, this was great to 'fill in the blanks'. I do appreciate the narrative style - the why as to how things work and how they should work. But, I have a dilemma as to whether to continue to use bread flour (it is bread after all) or to switch over to all purpose flour as in the recipes. I do understand why the 'system' is based on ap flour (Jeff tells us) but my journey down the bread at home path for the past 20 months has involved bread flour (because I make 3 loaves a week of bread). I was a little put off by the blandness of the actual book cover (not the paper cover, but the cover of the book) and the small number of photos. It could have used more color photos of the crumb - and not just whole loves. My journey has passed the 'does it taste good' mark to the 'does it look good'l and, I am now at the 'does it look great and still taste good (like the bakery)' level. That 'look great' includes the inside and outside. I am hoping that following their instruction will get me there - though most home bakers are happy with the look ok and taste good marks. I have to figure out whether the captain of the kitchen will grant me space in the refrigerator (but maybe a half recipe and smaller container will be the compromise) and my fermenting container moves from the counter to the refrigerator. As some have said, the basic recipe and approach is great for the home baker who wants to have bread on the table without re creating the mixing process three times a week. But, as the mixing process was down to a few minutes and the dough fermented on the counter (not taking refrigerator space), the jury is still out as to whether the approach would work out. The time difference is almost negligible; the mix it as you need it method allows for different recipes and flavors (though an attempt was made to allow for that in the book, I think that my rosemary/thyme bread is so good because the dough is fermenting with the herbs in it). But, the book goes beyond the dough and gives more ideas for using the dough (which apply to whatever method you chose to make it) than I will ever use. It is not written for the pro baker - but why does a pro baker need a book? The creative types are in the home kitchens where we can experiment and share without the demands of the retail trade.