Our New Book, a New Look and a Giveaway! [WINNERS WERE ANNOUNCED 6/15/09, CONTEST CLOSED]
As many of you know Jeff and I have spent the past year working on a new book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients
(HBin5). It is a project that started with you! Because of your questions, comments and requests for breads made with whole grains, seeds, nuts, fruits, veggies and even gluten-free ingredients, we set to work to create new recipes. We liked them so well, we decided to do another book. We’ve been playing with ways to make breads that are not only nutritious, but incredibly tasty and still fit into our busy lives. The methods will still be fast, easy and only take 5 minutes, but the results are wonderful breads made with ingredients that will keep us happy and healthy, no matter our dietary needs. Who better than a pastry chef and a doctor to write such a book?
Writing a cookbook takes a long time, not only to test and retest and then test again the recipes, but the editing and designing of the book after we write it. Although it is nearly done we still have more work to do before it comes out this fall. HBin5 will be available in the book stores on October 27th of this year. In the mean time Amazon has posted it for pre-orders for those of you who want to avoid the mad rush at the book stores! 😉
In honor of HBin5 we’ve launched this new home page on our website. My husband Graham designed and built the site for us and Jeff’s wife Laura, who is also our copy editor, wrote much of it. We are so fortunate to have such a creative and talented team to help us. We want to thank them for all of their work!And THANK YOU for inspiring us to write our second book. As a thank you we are giving away 5 signed copies of our CURRENT book: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
Here is a little glimpse into our life of writing HBin5:
On any given day I have about 5-8 buckets of dough in my refrigerators. (Yes, I have two and at the moment there is little room for anything but dough!) I generally wake up in the morning, shape and let rest several loaves of bread and then once I get my boys off to school I bake them. I have a double wall oven, nothing fancy, but having two ovens makes testing a dream. I can bake about six loaves at a time. Jeff is simultaneously doing all of this across town at his house as well. Between the two of us we could qualify as a chain of bakeries.
Once the loaves are baked and cooled, Jeff and I meet and have a tasting. We sample each others breads and do a critique on taste, texture, the look of the loaf and even the sound of the crust. If one of us isn’t absolutely in love with the bread, we discuss how to improve it and go back to the bucket! Sometimes we hit it on the first try and others take several variations. After a tasting we usually walk around the lake, to work off all the sampling and then head back to our kitchens.
As we test and talk and retest and change things and have others test for us, we write everything down. The stack of notes and versions of the recipes that you see here is only my stuff. Jeff has a similar pile in his kitchen, along with a testing schedule and excel spread sheets of all our progress. (It is a blessing to work with someone who loves excel!) This process is a lot of work, but we absolutely love it. I wake up in the morning totally excited to see what my buckets of dough have brought me for the day. As Jeff always says, “if your not having fun the bread won’t taste good!” You are so right Jeff!
Oh and let me not forget the photo shoots with Mark Luinenburg. He did all of the gorgeous photos in ABin5 and this time for HBin5 we have twice as many. He does wonderful work and is so much fun. And Nan the make-up artist who did her very best to make me look like Audrey Hepburn and told Jeff he looks like a young Paul Newman. She will forever be in our good favor!
Leave us a comment about your favorite bread and you will be eligible to win one of the 5 signed copies of our current book: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day! We will announce the winners next week.
While we were loading the new front page of the website we ran into a little snag and ended up losing the last 2 days of our comments. So, if you wrote to us in the past 2 days and haven’t heard from us that is why. Please, write to us again and we will get back to you. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Thanks, Zoë and Jeff
My favorite has been beignets made with the brioche dough. It’s a decadent breakfast that reminds me so much of New Orleans. In fact, I’m headed to New Orleans tomorrow and I’m going to stop by Cafe du Monde to refresh my memory of how good a fried piece of dough can be.
I love the light whole wheat for pizza, but I often like to substitute white whole wheat flour for regular whole wheat! I’ve baked bread for more than 30 years (since I was a girl in the kitchen with my Mom) – everything from regular sandwich breads to levain/sourdoughs — but I’d gotten away from it with an active 3 year old and 5 year old. Your ABin5 has made it possible for me to make bread any time I want and still keep up with my kids. Thanks so much ! Looking forward to book 2!
Love this post – beautiful new site! I would have to say our favorite bread is the baguette – we eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
I love the Fougasse stuffed with roasted peppers! I’ve made it with red peppers, poblanos, and anything else I can get my hands on. I’m making the broa dough tonight to try a corn Fougasse with poblanos and chipotles in adobo tomorrow.
I love everything i have tried from the book and the website but my favorite dough is the brioche. absolutely versatile and delicious in everything we have tried in it. in fact we are making the lemon curd blueberry ring with the first blueberries of the season from the farmer’s market for breakfast tomorrow.
Wow that purple/red one looks very good. I can’t wait for the new book to see what that one is. My favorite from the book is the olive oil dough. I use about 6-10 oz of whole wheat flour to it. I love it because I can do so much with it. I can make pizzas, pitas, focaccia, hamburger buns, or even just a loaf of bread for dinner. All that out of mixing dough once. Thanks!
We do so love the master recipe (especially for pizza dough lately) and the challah is our fav for cinn rolls. Thanks!
I having spent the morning looking for your first book. Two of the bookstores I tried were out of it. I am now going to Amazon to order it on line. I can’t wait to try some of your recipes. I love al types of bread and I am very excited to try baking it myself (with you help of couse). Thanks!
the Light Whole Wheat sounds amazing!
my fave is the pizza dough!
Congratulations on your new book and I can’t wait to get a copy of it! My favorite recipe is Cinnamon Raisin Bread from the buttermilk bread. My husband and I couldn’t stop eating the bread as soon as it came out of the oven ….. at midnight!
Buttermilk dough made into English Muffins…No! Semolina for pizza dough…
I can’t decide.
I am totally in love with the Boule recipe! My family eats it all week long, unfortunately I now have to go gluten free and I am dying for your new book so I can eat again! Thanks so much, I am awaiting in anxious anticipation!!!
So exciting, and such an accomplishment – a new book!
Cinnamon bread with a few extras thrown in is my favorite.
I’m sooooo excited about your new book – can’t wait to get my hands on it and start trying your new recipes!!!
That pink and green loaf of bread looks very intriguing.
It’s really hard to pick a favorite -but I’m going to have to vote for the light wheat recipe … it’s sooo versatile.
I’ve given away many copies of your ABin5 for gifts to family – and have shared my copy with others – who in turn have purchased their own copy. Everyone raves about ABin5 and thanks me for re-opening their eyes (and stomach) to making their own bread. One of my friends says ABin5 has changed her life – it’s inspired her to cook and bake again … and she shares her creations when we get together for dinners. So… we all benefit!
Keep up the great work – Thank you Zoe, Jeff, Graham and Laura… serious teamwork!!!
I love your book so much that I have purchased one for both my daughters and my daughter in law, and now they’re baking bread everyday too! Can’t wait for book 2!
The light wheat is definitely my favorite – I’m a fan of whole grains, so I’m *really* excited about the new book. I can’t wait!
What beautiful pictures, of you both and the bread! I am completely intrigued by the red/purple one and can’t wait to buy your cookbook.
My favorite bread is more of a memory bread – my Mom used to buy what she called “Russian bread” from a now closed bakery in Portland, OR. It was dense but chewy and had these amazing pockets for melty butter – kind of like a cousin to english muffin bread, but chewier. I wish I knew what it was called so I could recreate it. I’m not even sure my memory is reliable enough.
I follow you in Twitter too, love that you post there.
Love the whole wheat bread! So excited for the new book!
I wrote a message before, but I forgot to tell you guys about my favorite bread.
I barely got the book, so I didnít have a chance to make all the recipes yet.
From the ones I made already, I really likde a lot the European Peasant Bread.
Delicious!
The brioche for sure. I’ve made so many different variations on it, sweet, savory.. wonderful!
How exciting. I know my friends, my readers and I have been wanting to make bread with more whole grains. I will have to post about this. Well my daughters favorite is the challah bread, they devour a loaf right in front of me. Clarice
My favorite is probably the no-knead bread I make from the recipe on Steamy Kitchen. I just bought your first book, and I bet I’ll love things I make from it soon 🙂
Hi Guys!
How to choose a favorite! My (our) brioch dough is fantastic! It rises (!) to every occasion especially the Mother’s Day Berry pudding. The color! The flavor! The compliments! And it’s pretty impressive on its own.
Making individual mini baguettes with the basic recipe is a crowd pleaser too. I have the special curved pans and can make 4 at a time!
I could go on and on!
Thanks so much! Margot
I have had your book for a year now and I am so glad I bought it. The recipes are delicious and consistent. Guests think I am a fabulous baker because of your bread baking method. I am looking forward to the new book because I like to bake with whole grains and I am hoping you have worked out the kinks that come with using such grains. FYI- Your book is also being offered on the Barnes & Noble site with a pre-order discount of 5%. See link: https://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=healthy+artisan+bread+in+five+minutes&box=healthy%20ar
We love the basic recipe, and so do my friends with whom I’ve shared loaves. The bialies brought back fond memories of the bakery my husband’s family frequented 30+ years ago. My bagels looked really funny, but also tasted great! Can’t wait for the new book.
Congrats on the new book, and the site looks great! My favorite is the boule from the master recipe. Baking from your book has helped so much with my confidence level in the kitchen…thanks for the inspiration, and I’m looking forward to the next installment.
I love bread, my favorite would be any bread with nuts in it. Please include me in your giveaway.
Thanks
Carlene
WoW! Sharp new site! Congratulations on all of the good news! When I clicked my bookmark I thought I’d somehow gone somewhere else by mistake and was getting ready to go back to bookmarks to try again when I spotted the oh so familiar boule on ABin5! I have to agree with Brie way up the line…my favorite is probably the last batch I made, whatever it might be most recently. For me that’s the buttermilk as who can not love something that can be the most marvelous cinnamon bread in the world, wonderful basic loaves and boules to enjoy and to share and most recently the base for a breakfast pizza! (Precooked turkey sausage, thin slices of cheddar and then I broke a farm fresh egg on top just to see how that worked… the things you inspire us to do with your bread is endless…BTW, let the pizza cook just a bit before adding the egg if you want the yellow to stay soft, it was the neatest thing, I’ll have to make pictures next time! And of course I got the idea from Jeff’s egg in a nest type muffin from a few months ago!)
I’m really looking forward to HBin5; I already add bits of whole wheat to my mixes and things like barley flakes and ground flax as the mood hits. Just imagine if I had a real recipe to follow…and I can’t wait to find out what that gorgeous red load with the green interior is. Forgive me if you’ve already described it in a previous reply….no time to read them all right now! And for the record, I’ve had HBin5 on preorder for a couple of months now…but a signed copy would be extra special.
Thanks for not only bringing all of this but also for being so accessible to so many people. You two (four!) deserve every good thing that comes your way and I hope your blessing continue to multiply…just like your dough!
I bake several times a week, but until now, I limited myself to cakes, brownies, bar cookies and things that DIDN’T involve yeast, my final frontier. My Polish grandmother was a pro with yeast breads (she used fresh yeast and never needed a thermometer to get water temperature accurate, nor did she measure ingredients), but that gene seemed to have skipped my mother and myself. Previously, my sad attempts at bread turned out like bricks, particularly when using refrigerated dough. Enter “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day;” using the master dough recipe and its variations, I’ve whipped up divine caramel pecan rolls, decadent chocolate brioche, almond bostock, and more. Remember: my first breads turned out like bricks, so having fluffy, flavorful loaves on my first try was nothing short of a miracle. Thanks to your book, I’ve been appointed the official family bread baker!
I can’t wait for the new book to come out!!!!!! My favorite is making cinnamon rolls with the buttermilk dough with the brotchen recipe running a very close second. Heck! They are ALL my favorites lol. Thank you so much for entirely changing the way I look at my kitchen. Being able to bake such fantastic tasting, smelling and feeling bread has really boosted my culinary confidence. I’m counting the days until the 2nd book comes out!
I love using the English granary bread recipe to make hamburger buns on the grill! And instead of malted cereal, I substitute a cup of All-bran! Best buns ever!
My family loves the Vermont Cheddar bread the most, but we always have the light wheat on hand too. Thanks for all the great ideas and I can’t wait for the new book!
My family is addicted to bread. I make a loaf every other day if not more often. Our favorite? We love every recipe that I have tried. Grilled pizza is one of our favorite meals. I have used the master recipe, the peasant bread dough, the light whole wheat dough and the semolina dough. All are good. I have preordered 3 copies of HAB in 5 from Amazon.
My favorite bread is the 100% whole wheat, but I also love the master recipe–because of its flexibility. I’ve done grilled pizza with it twice, and my family thinks I’m a genius!
My favorite is the whole wheat. This new book looks great!
The new website looks great, can’t wait for the new book!
Our absolute favorite bread is the European Peasant. It is so delicious and so versatile, we never tire of it. Whenever I make any kind of bread to take to a party, Euro Peasant is the base dough I use. I always keep a bucket going and mix the new batch right on top of the old.
I’ve also made the Master Recipe, Deli Rye, Semolina, Light WW, !00% WW, Broa, Bran-Enriched White, and many breads with additives: herbs, Olive, Sun-dried Tomato, Red Pepper Fougasse, Stromboli, Calzone, improvised raisin bread, improvised garlic bread. And then the flatbreads – pita, Naan, Za’atar, etc.
Haven’t progressed to pastries yet but I plan to try Challah soon.
My own book is heavily marked up with notes because I weigh out the flour (learned the hard way) and I am always tweaking the amounts. I would love to win a new signed copy!
And another me too for the identity of the red crusted bread with the green interior – please don’t make us wait until October !
wow I’m looking forward to getting a copy of your new book. At the moment my favourite dough is the olive oil one – great for rolls and pizza bases!
I’ll always love a good baguette, but I can’t seem to get the crust right at home. Right now I can’t get enough of making flatbreads, either on the grill or on the pizza stone and then topping them with a salad. It’s an edible plate!
I ALWAYS have a batch of your light whole wheat dough in the fridge. We love it baked as a boule, in a baguette pan, rolled with spinach, cheese, nuts, leftover chopped meat in it, as a base for pizzas–lots of ways.
Looking forward to your new whole grain book. When I purchase bread it is always whole grain.
I just made the buttermilk bread (and am currently eating it… yummmm… fresh bread!) and I’ve got to admit, it is my favorite so far. Its got just exactly the flavor I was looking for!
Our all-time favorite is the semolina bread with sesame seeds!
It’s great for pizza also. Being Italian and having many Italian friends from Italy – they LOVE the bread – some say it’s the best they’ve ever had.
I’ve taught my daughter, daughters-in-law and many many friends how to make this wonderful bread.
There’s always a bucket of dough in the fridge and fresh bread or rolls on the table most days!
Can’t wait for your new book – I have no doubt it will be another great success!!! Thank you so much for all you do!
Can’t say that I have a favorite bread – I am such a big fan of bread altogether. Really excited about the new book as I was raised with whole grain breads and love them so much!
the master bread in Abin5. You can’t go wrong.. although the buttermilk is good too 🙂
We really love the bran enriched bread – can’t wait for more whole grain options! Right now we’ve got a combo bran/olive oil dough going and just took hamburger buns out of the oven! Can’t wait to see how they came out. (We also used 1/2 white whole wheat and 1/2 white flour…it’s so fun to experiment!)
My family’s favorite recipe is your European Peasant Bread. My parents, who live in France, make a loaf of this bread EVERY day. They used to go to the bakery to pick up a baguette, but since you have made it so easy to do at home, they now make their own bread! Thanks!
my favorite has got to be olive oil, with just a little bit of white whole flour. I love making pizzas in a snap. Can’t wait for the new book, I’m intrigued by the pink loaf…
I am so excited about the whole grain book. I have been experimenting on my own with the master recipe subbing in White Whole Wheat, Regular Whole Wheat, Chunky 9 Grain Blends, Oatmeal, Rye, Cornmeal, you name it. and what is amazing is that nothing I have tried has failed yet. It is fool proof! I also love the Challah, but it will be great to have more full recipes. I just mixed up another batch of olive oil dough. The only thing I don’t like is that my fridge only holds one bucket at a time!
What an awesome sounding new cookbook! I’m excited about both of them. 🙂 I love to make a simple wheat bread recipe I have from a friend. I’ve been wanting to try sourdough and others.This method with the bucket of dough in the fridge sounds awesome!
love what ever bread is coming out of the oven!
I always have a bucket of dough in the frig, just waiting for me to bake. My granddaughter loves any and all bread I make. LOVE, LOVE your book , can’t wait for the new one!