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
I just love Focaccia bread!!!
Without a doubt my favorite is the deli. I also grew up in Queens and it rivals the renowned Garden Bakery of my youth.
European Peasant Bread is our absolute favorite. I have it in the fridge almost always. Children call it the yammiest bread. I make bread, rolls, even pizza of this dough. And what a relief to be able to make pizza fast “from the scratch”.
My favorite is the original recipe – the first one in your book. I have tried some of the others, but return to the original – it’s my go to recipe and sits happily in the bottom of the fridge just waiting for me to need more bread!
I have the oatmeal bread half eaten on the counter right now. It’ll be completely gone in a few hours! Can’t wait to see what the red bread is in the photo!
Peasant Bread is my favorite! Bought your book after my sister recommended it. I have given away eight additional copies since then! Can’t get enough of your wonderful breads. So happy you are coming out with the Healthy bread book since my husband needs to be on a cardiac diet. Just can’t tell you how wonderful you guys are. You have changed how we eat.
My favorite (do I have to pick one) is the master recipe. There is just something incredible about that chewy texture and crackly crust! I, too, want to know about the pink and green loaf!
I’ve just started with the basic recipe and love it! I cannot wait to try the others! Congrats on the new book! Looking forward to so much more!
Wow! The site is beautiful-wonderful job, all involved. I’m very excited about the new book and the images from it are gorgeous. I’m particularly intrigued by the red-crusted bread that looks green on the inside! I won a copy of ABin5 in another giveaway, so no need to include me in this giveaway. I just wanted to comment on the new design and check out the new book. I’m heading to Amazon to get my copy right now!
I just started making this about 6 weeks ago. I love it SO MUCH. I’m not a baker, and this book has made me feel so proficient. I love having fresh baked bread ALL THE TIME. This question is all about timing for me, because every week I seem to have a new favorite, but today my favorite is the 100% Whole Wheat. I love love LOVE this bread and will be using it for sandwiches, toast, the works.
I got your book a few months ago and have been thoroughly enjoying it! Making bread has become so much easier! So far, I think my favorite recipe has to be the Naan! I throw a little garlic in at the start and, yummm, it’s much better even my local indian restaurant 🙂
The master recipe is my favorite, but my relatives would probably vote for the brioche (mini cinnamon rolls). Can’t wait to read your new book
I have only had your book for a week, so right now my favorite bread is the basic Boule – but we have had it every night and love it.
Great news about the new book. My favorite bread is definitely sourdough! But really all bread rocks!
I NEED this book! I have been adding more whole grains and seeds to the peasant bread recipe but want to add more.
I love the light wheat, but I use the Master Recipe most. Today I’ll be making Naan with honey and ginger for my book club using thanks to the naan post on this blog! Such a fantastic idea, thanks!
My favorite bread recipe would have to be brioche. I love the buttery sweetness of the dough. I can’t wait to see your new book and hope you continue to write more in the future!
After a surplus of pumpkin puree found its way into our freezer last fall, the pumpkin and oatmeal loaf has been a house favorite! That and I love replacing about 1/4 to 1/3 of the master recipe with whole wheat, ground flax, wheat germ, cracked barley – whatever I can find, it always turns out wonderfully!
… more importantly, WHAT is that purple and green loaf in the pictures?? I’m so curious! Is it wrapped? How is that done? So pretty!
My favorite is the light whole wheat. I have used it many times for bread and rolls. Then I started using it to make pitas and english muffins. It is so versatile! I can’t wait to read the new book! Love the new website design.
I saw the title of today’s blog and thought, “what would I do with ANOTHER book about bread?” – but then I got a look at what it is you have done and I can hardly wait to get my hands on it! [Now if you can come up with a way to keep the oven from heating the house up in the summer, life would be perfect!]
Hi Kat,
Sounds like you need to be baking bread on the grill! That is how we do it all summer long! https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=627
Enjoy and stay cool! Zoë
Zoe, PLEASE tell me your hair doesn’t always look that great when you work in the kitchen!! 🙂
It’s hard to choose a favorite, but I tried brioche for the first time this past week and fell in love, so THIS WEEK it’s my favorite. I made the berry lemon curd ring and it was fantastic but it was also just succulent when I made it into a loaf and a boule.
I love the new look to the web site. And the new book looks great. I can’t wait to get a copy.
I can’t say I have a favorite from the first book. I love bread! So there are so many that I love. And you have made bread making so easy. Thank you.
I have taken your basic recipe and made it more grain for us- adding rye and whole wheat for 1/2 the recipe and bread flour for the rest.
You have changed how I bake and buy bread. I no longer buy -only bake!
Congratulations on your new book. I can’t wait to get a copy of it to try your other recipes. The favourite bread around my household is the classic boule recipe.
I have two favorites – the European Peasant Bread, which I keep going back to, and, well, the European Peasant Bread made into Brotchen using egg whites. The second is my favorite because I used it to introduce my German neighbor to the Artisan Bread in 5 method. She couldn’t believe she could make brotchen at home, and now makes it regularly.
I even use the peasant bread for pizza dough, kneading in a little olive oil. I also keep the non-eggwhite-version going perpetually so we can enjoy the deeper sourdough flavor that results.
Thanks for making great bread such a joy!
My kids demand a rosemary scented loaf twice a week. I put the peasant bread dough and a bunch of rosemary branches in an iron pot. The lovely scent fills the house. I’m so excited about the new book. Congratulations!
My favorite is still the basic loaf, though I’ve put it through it’s paces. The semolina loaf is great too, but we use the basic all the time. In fact, we haven’t bought bread all year!
I just found your book and made my first master recipe yesterday. I impressed the whole family when they arrived home to the smell of bread and the taste of a white bread boule. Thanks SO much!
I’m brand new to your book–so I’m in love with the basic Boule–I have modified it to do my own Cheddar bread, added Rosemary and added sauteed onions, even without using a direct recipe from the book. I LOVE IT!
Mmmm….. I love the chocolate prune bread. I have issues with eating it all in a sitting…
Thank you so much for doing a book on this subject! I can hardly wait! I’ve been baking bread for 20 years with old time honored recipes…whew, they take forever! Lately I’ve decided to try faster methods since with the economy, I’m baking daily! This week I start construction of small (but useful & cheap to build) adobe horno oven! My baking just got cheaper! Thanks again!
KATinNC
We love the light whole wheat bread dough but my favorite right now is a recipe for carrot flecked whole wheat rolls which has been my go to recipe. Looking forward to the new book!
I just tried the 100% whole wheat sandwich bread and I love it. I am also a big fan of the basic recipe–especially for the eggs and bacon in toast! (https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=482#more-482) It is a definite crowd pleaser. Thanks for changing my mind on bread baking, and congrats on your new book! I can’t wait.
I can’t wait for the new book, but in the meantime, I keep making the original recipes. I love the sunflower seed breakfast bread the most. And the brioche and the challah and the cinnamon raisin bread. Can’t think of one we don’t like. Thank you!
The light wheat has become our daily bread. My husband, who used to just shake his head at my obsession with good bread, swoons for it. I love the versatility and how much we’ve shared it with family and friends: It’s our morning toast with homemade jam, the pitas for lunchtime sandwiches, rolls or heavenly slices with dinner, the base for weekly make-your-own pizzas with friends, a nourishing part of meals delivered to friends celebrating births and coping with difficulty.
Being able to make our own bread so easily has been tremendously important to us as we’ve struggled with dietary issues the past two years — allergies, intolerances, cardiovascular concerns, and more — even as we try to spend less at the market. We’ve been eager to try more whole-grain options: Can’t wait to check out the new book!
So exciting! My favorite bread is the basic whole wheat. I use it all the time for so many things.
I love any wheat bread, the grainier the better, so I’m excited to get a look at the new book.
A great follow-up to a tremendous book.
For me, it’s the ciabatta – I love the chewy crust with the airy interior.
Your basic recipe is my favorite so far and I’m sure I’ll find others as I make them!
Hi Zoe and Jeff,
First of all congratulations for your book. I would be happy to have a copy of the autographed book, as I do not get it here in India. Thank you.
Congrats on the new book! I can’t wait to try it! My favorite bread is either sourdough or multigrain bread with seeds and nuts in it for that great little crunch.
To tell you the truth, I haven’t gotten past the basic recipe because I love it so much! After the first bucket of dough, I went out and ordered 2 more books — one for my daughter & one for a dear friend whose husband likes to bake bread. When I was at a quilting seminar this spring, a woman in our class who was from Germany was bemoaning the quality of American bread. Well, I started my 5 Minutes a Day spiel, and that got the whole room talking. Even the quilting instructor, a gentelman from Montana named John Flynn, chimed in about his love for the book and the technique. Maybe we could make a bread quilt? Can’t wait for the new book!!!!!
I can’t even tell you how excited I am for your new book. I am the biggest ABin5 fan and I have converted many. It is so amazing. I love all of your breads. We really love the pizza crust, makes the best crust in no time. I also like the baguettes for French toast. Congrats on all of your success. I can’t wait for the new book!
My favorite is the boule master – so versatile! But I am dying to know about the red bread? What makes the crust red and what makes it different from the middle?
Light wheat, and European Peasant – those are our favorites. How exciting to have a new book to wait for!
I borrowed this book from a friend and tried the brioche and loved it. Unfortunately that was the only one I got to make before the friend needed the book back. Can’t wait to try more of the recipes. The new book looks great, will add to my wish list.
Wow, this sounds exciting!
My favourite bread is Finnish Pulla from the book “Baking with Julia”. Soft and love the flavour of cardamom in it.
Wish me luck!
the whole wheat bread is very good for all occasions.
Hey guys! You do such an amazing job! Love your work!! Congrats on the new book!!
My fav bread is Pita! Love it with a chicken mayo filling and hummus! 🙂 Smack!