Category: Special techniques

The Refrigerator Rise Trick on a Busy Thanksgiving Morning: Fresh Rolls (Kürbiskernbrot) from the German Alps

jeff 132 Comments

Kürbiskernbrot Pumpkin Seed Bread | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Before we even start with this, you should know that this reprised Thanksgiving post is one of many– click here for all our Thanksgiving posts over the years.

Some people shy away from yeast breads and rolls at busy holidays because they think the proofing step (the rest after the loaves or rolls are shaped) is too time-consuming, even with our stored dough. Here’s a great way to get around that–form rolls or loaves the night before, refrigerate overnight and they’re ready for the oven in the morning. Read More

Pumpkin Swirl Bread

jeff 339 Comments

Pumpkin Swirl Bread | Breadin5

Pumpkin pie and brioche are two of my all time favorites, so why not combine the two. The result is a bread rich with butter, eggs and spiced pumpkin puree. Spreading the pumpkin onto the brioche dough and rolling it into a log creates the swirl pattern when you cut it. The bread is gorgeous and tasty, perfect for Thanksgiving or just a fall morning with a cup of coffee.

Next week is the official release of our book The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Woot! To celebrate we are doing a giveaway, before the book even hits the stands. It is a small token of our appreciation for all your help in creating this new edition. We’ve incorporated what we’ve learned from your comments, your questions and your suggestions. Please leave us a comment below about your favorite experience baking bread or what you are most eager to try. We will give away 5 copies of the new book to randomly picked winners next week.* Thank you! Our usual contest rules apply (click here for rules); you need to respond within 24 hours of notification or we have to pick someone else. CONTEST CLOSED, WINNERS CHOSEN AND NOTIFIED 10/22/13.

To make the Pumpkin Swirl Bread:

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Keep baking bread all summer long–outside!

jeff 94 Comments

cover-on-the-grill.jpg

Below, one of my posts from years back, on baking loaf breads on the gas grill in my backyard.  Some folks were having trouble with the bottom scorching and one solution is to crumple a bunch of aluminum foil and put it under the loaf so it insulates under the parchment.

Even in Minnesota it’s 83 degrees today, so out to the gas grill I went.  Last summer, I did pizzas, and other breads on the gas grill (I like the Weber gas grills for this), but I never tried baking on a gas grill with a closed cast iron pot.  The results are terrific– the crust is much better than last summer’s projects because the Dutch Oven traps steam next to the bread–you don’t have to add any other steam to the baking environment.  But you also need to use a pizza stone under the pot, or it can scorch. Read More

Star Spangled Berry Pizza on the Grill

jeff 19 Comments

4th of July Pizza 10

There is nothing more American than grilling on the 4th of July, well, maybe a star spangled pizza is the most patriotic of all. This is a super fast pizza that is ideal for breakfast, which I just served my family this morning, or can be throw together at your holiday BBQ as dessert. I made the pizza in a small baking sheet, but you can make a larger one if you have a crowd to feed.

Happy 4th of July! Read More

Gluten-Free Calzone

BreadIn5 48 Comments

Gluten-Free Calzone | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Stuff a calzone with any fillings you like and you have a simple and delicious lunch. And if you make them small, individual-serving-size, you can pack calzones for a great school lunch. There is no end to the flavor combinations. This recipe can be made with any of the doughs in our Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day book, but today I made a gluten-free calzone, which is super tasty and the dough is easy to work with. Because the dough doesn’t have the same gluten-full stretch, we have to handle it slightly differently, but it is just as simple as traditional dough with the right technique. Read More

Braided Black-and-White Pumpernickel and Rye Loaf

jeff 26 Comments

KitchenAid Professional 600

Given all the baking I do, you’d think I’d have started using a stand mixer years ago.  But believe it or not, I’ve recipe-tested for three books using nothing but a wooden spoon or a Danish dough whisk.

Well, I’m tired.  So above, my new KitchenAid Professional 600 series, 6-quart capacity stand mixer, which is an outstandingly beautiful piece of industrial design that hasn’t really changed its look in about 100 years. More on the mixer in a bit.

So many doughs, so little time.  I’m hooked on this machine, especially when I have to make more than one dough for a recipe, like in this very beautiful Braided Black-and-White Pumpernickel and Rye Loaf from two doughs in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (this photo by Mark Luinenburg):

New York Rye

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5-Minute Easter Bread – Tsoureki

jeff 32 Comments

Tsoureki Easter Bread | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

This beautiful Tsoureki loaf is the traditional bread of Easter in Greece and many other Christian countries. It is an enriched dough that is twisted around brightly dyed eggs. The bread is often braided with three strands to represent the holy trinity, formed into a circle as a reference to life and the eggs are dyed red as a symbol of Christ’s blood. The dough is lightly sweet, flavored with orange zest and a traditional Middle Eastern spice called Mahlepi, which is made from ground cherry pits. The spice can be found in Middle Eastern or Greek markets. If you don’t have the spice, you can make the dough with ground Anise seed or even Cardamom. Read More

Ham and Cheese Pull-Apart Bread

jeff 39 Comments

Ham and Cheese Pull-Apart Bread | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Here is a fun, easy way to pack lunch right into your loaf of bread. No, I don’t mean the typical sandwich our kids are sick to death of, I mean ham and cheese (or whatever you are in the mood for) is folded into the dough and baked as a loaf: pull-apart bread! Each slice is a sandwich. In order to get the layers to keep their shape, I made the dough with bread flour, which boosts the amount of gluten and gives the loaf a little more structure. To make it a touch healthier (I’m constantly sneaking whole grains where kids will never see them) I also used whole wheat flour. This technique would work equally well with many other doughs from our books.

Sliced Ham and Cheese Pull-Apart Bread | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

As the name suggests you can just pull sections of the loaf apart, but I sliced into this one to show you how the ham and cheese ends up woven through the bread.

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