Thursday, August 06, 2009

I heart this easy bread thing...

I bought the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day maybe 4 months ago... And I have been really enjoying it. One thing that has been a challenge is finding a large container that I can use to mix and store the dough in. I found this at Sam's yesterday:



It's 6 quarts and if you can't see there are three of them. That means that I can have a loaf pan dough, a sweet dough and a basic dough and just refill as needed. I like mixing in the same container I store in and before that was impossible because I was storing in a casserole type tupperware. I am also moving a little half fridge that DH had at work to the basement so I can store the bread dough without eating up all my fridge space. Here is one with the dough just mixed in it (plenty of room to rise):



If you have not tried this method and you definitely should. I don't know why I was making it so much harder than it had to be all this time. You really can make bread in only five minutes a day. It's so nice!!! There is nothing like fresh baked bread, it just smells so wonderful and tastes so good!!! Next to nice fresh laundry smell there is nothing more comforting to me than fresh bread throughout the house.

Does this mean that my bread-making has reached the level of obsessive? **wink** MMMM, no one is complaining yet!

15 comments:

BusyMomKnits said...

Tell me more about this method.

Umm Nassim said...

Assalam Alaikum,

Yes! Another bread-obsessed one. I did find though, that the inside of the bread is a bit dense...not light enough? It even turns out well without a bread stone. Did you try the pita bread yet?

.::Tuttie::. said...

oh please. do tell us more about your **obsessive** but effective method

Anonymous said...

Asalaam alaikum,

Oh wow that bread looks amazing! My coworker has that book and I browsed through it real quick one day. InshaAllah it looks like I may have to invest in it myself!

UmmLayla said...

Basically, you mix up the ingredients only until the flour is incorporated. Then you let it sit on the counter for a couple hours until it sighs (reaches the level of rise where it falls back down). Then you put it in your fridge and use it over the next several days by pulling off a ball and shaping it then letting it rise uncovered just on your counter or whatever. The beauty is that there is no watching it double or proofing it at a higher temp or any of that. And best of all no kneading. I'd throw up a recipe but I'd hate to have that happen to me if I were the author... So go buy the book!LOL

UmmNassim, I think some of the boule and other breads do come out a little dense. I have added a little yeast where that is the case and make sure the dough is moist. That helps it rise a little better. Also, my kids like the White sandwich bread... And it really is nice for toast or sandwiches more like the light sliced bread they are used to. My regret is that it is all white flour... I want to try to tweak it to have half whole wheat at least.

Overall I have enjoyed the recipes in the book. The one I have yet to conquer is the broiche (sweet bread)... But I am going to bake that today, insha'Allah. I just think fresh bread is so nice... But I'm not really at a place where I can have a baking day! This way I can just get it out while I'm already in the kitchen making dinner or something. As long as I am home for a couple of hours doing something I can throw in a loaf. Or two since they go fast!!!LOL

Muslim Hippie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Muslim Hippie said...

Man I've been raving about that book for a while now. In the coming days I should be sharing some bread photos of my own on my blog.
My fav. one is the peasant loaf, where you mix half a cup rye, half whole wheat and five and a half white. I tried the white, the sandwich, and the whole wheat. I am yet to try the sweet loaves, I also want to try the pizza and pita dough.

I'm in love *sigh*

Muslim Hippie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Digital Nomad said...

That sounds like such a fantastic way to make bread! I'm going to check this book out soon, inshaAllah! We have a bread-making day in our house, but it would be really nice to have some mixes on hand to bake a little at a time. How long do the mixes stay good for?

salma said...

Asslamu Alaikum, wow this sounds great. how long and how do you need to mix this dough?

salma said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

It was certainly interesting for me to read the blog. Thank you for it. I like such topics and anything that is connected to this matter. I would like to read more on that blog soon.

Anonymous said...

It is certainly interesting for me to read the blog. Thanks for it. I like such topics and everything connected to this matter. I definitely want to read more on that blog soon.

Anonymous said...

BTW, buy Wifi jammer to block all secret transmitters in your room or at work.

laura said...

Thanks for this! I've been looking for a good bread recipe to try out here but haven't had much luck. I'll have to order that book to try it. We go through a lot of bread but a lot of the stuff here is the cardboardish kind.