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
Oh! Can’t wait for the new book, you’ve made my Christmas shopping easy!
My current fave is the European Peasant Bread, which I use for everything! Bread, flatbread, pita, pizza, and those lovely egg cups Zoe posted!!
My favorite bread is the deli rye. I also like the light whole wheat.
I’m so excited about this book! I just started baking bread and have only done the Cooks Illustrated no-knead, and Deb/Smitten Kitchen’s light whole wheat, but I’m already addicted to Deb’s! Can’t wait to get *both* of your books and start baking my way through. 🙂 the picture of all the breads’ insides is incredible!!!
oops, I guess the light whole wheat is a BBA recipe!
I can’t wait for the new book! My current fave is ABin5’s baguette. I just can’t seem to turn the page to make the next loaf because this one is soooooo good! Oooh, and when the new (healthier) book comes out, I can justify my hubby making the pecan rolls as often as he does.
My favorite dough is the light whole wheat – I love using it to make pizzas, pitas, and boules, so there’s a batch of it in my fridge at all times. I can’t wait for the new book – especially to find out what that gorgeous pink and green loaf is!
My favorite bread so far has been the Challah, but that might just be because it was the last one I made! It seems like every one I try is my new favorite. I can’t wait to get the new book, because I’m only having partial success in trying to incorporate whole grains on my own.
I keep coming back to the European Peasant bread. I always seem to tweak it a little each time, but it is so versatile, and my kids love it. One of the best loaves I’ve made is the oatmeal bread with dried cherries and pecans folded in. But I always seem to go back to the peasant dough because it can make anything! Just made Naan with it tonight. Will you post some of the “healthy” recipes for us to beta test?!
Love the photos! You both look like movie stars 😉
My all-time favorite is the Master recipe for boule. I always have a bucket in the frig and today, I made pitas! They turned out great!
I’ve made so many of your recipes and have never been disappointed. The granola recipe is a staple here also.
My favorite bread is freshly baked bread! I would love to win a copy of the book (and to know more about that colorful bread)!
Nice, clean look on the website, fresh and smart. I pre-ordered the book, good luck and all the best,
Stefan
The two of you are genius. I have been baking my own bread now for three weeks. We have stopped buying store bought bread, and my family is now enjoying fresh baked bread every couple of days. I have two daughters that help me mix the dough (they are 2 and 3 yrs old!) They LOVE mixing days. Even my 3 yr. old said “I love mommy’s bread. It’s better than that old bread.” (read-store bought gunk) That’s a pretty high complement from a preschooler. We have tried the master recipe, the brioche (I did the caramel rolls and my own version of some cinnamon buns-yum), the american white bread, the light wheat, and tonight we mixed up the oatmeal bread and another boule batch. It is quick, easy, and makes me feel like I am not continuing to pump preservatives into my family. (I have a loaf of store bought in my pantry that still hasn’t molded after 3 weeks- scary) Thank you Thank you Thank you. I can’t wait for your new book. I will be first in line.
Stacey
My friend Gale told me about your book not too long ago and I finally got a copy via the Library yesterday! (we didn’t have it at our local library so they check it out from another library so I have it for a month!) My first plan is to try the basic Boule then branch out from there! It’s such a great concept! I read your book half way through already and I wish I win to get my own copy!!!!
i would love to win one of your books
bread making is a true art form and certainly enjoyed by all who are fortunate enough to be around when the bread is fresh out of the oven. like the grill idea
Shirley
Can’t wait for your new book! I don’t know if I can wait until October. My favorite is the Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread.
I have to pick one bread as my favorite? I have been known to sit and eat one whole loaf by myself in one sitting. I would have to say my personal fav I have made is with roasted garlic chunks and fresh rosemary. And sometimes I smear it with peanut butter. Gotta have my protein. I am putting the book in my wish list now.
OH MY GOSH! Im loving the look of the new book! ABin5 is my bible! I baught it from the book store and its in my kicthen when im baking and when i go to bed its on my bedside table cuz im ALWAYS looking at it when i have a spare min! I have made a few diffeent kinds of bread from the book but my household’s fav is the 100% Whole Wheat Sandwhich Bread recipe! MINUS the honey tho as we like the more savoury style bread 🙂 i also add wheatbran and flaxseed meal to this recipe! Its DELISH! Thank you both so much for giving me the confidence in myself to learn how to make bread from scratch!
~Kira~
Wow picking out a favorite – hmmmm – my go to recipe is the basic Boule – you can do so much with that – and you can play with it too – I have substituted 3 cups of King Arthur white whole wheat for their regular – I have used a cup of semolina in place of a cup of regular KA flour – and no matter what it has come out great.
Can’t wait for the new book to be out.
I love pumpernickel, and thanks to your book I can have it any time, fresh. But I think your chocolate bread is the biggest hit at work. 🙂
I love your whole wheat bread. It reminds me of the bread that I get from a local store which I now can abandon. Congratulations on your new book and Web site!
Must I really choose just one?!? I regularly make a batch of rye and use it for pizza on the grill with just picked from the garden tomatoes and basil with smoked provolone on it – ohhh, delish! I adore taking baguettes to wow my friends – which has cost me 3 copies of the book since they keep comandeering mine. The brioche is fabulous, especially as raisin bread. So there you have it, my favorite or maybe the top 3…
Can’t wait for the new book – the pics look marvelously tempting. 🙂
I am facsinated by that red loaf. What is that?
My absolute favortie bread is made from my own sourdough starter (over 7 years old now). The dough is slow fermented in the fridge and baked free form on my baking stone. Divine!
I like the light whole wheat and the basic dough. These breads make the BEST toast! Oh, and garlic bread to go with my spaghetti 🙂
I am working my way through the book one type of bread at a time, and my family loves all the trials. I know the book says to let the bread cool before eating it, but I haven’t convinced my family of that! So far their favorite is the baguette. I would LOVE to get another copy of the book, so I can have one to lend and one to keep. And I am looking forward to the new book!
Our favorite is the red pepper fougasse! Can’t wait for the new book!
Love your book. Its revolutionized lunch break!
Can’t wait to see the healthy bread recipes! Have loved making the master and brioche doughs, and the olive oil pizza dough was so wonderful.
Oh, and my personal favorite is the basic boule!
My favorite bread is the sourdough made by poilaine in the 7eme in Paris. But choosing a favorite bread is like choosing a favorite song. You can give a name, but at any given time there will be a dozen others that could have just as easily taken the honors.
My favorite is the basic loaf. We make bread, rolls and pizza from this basic recipe. Thanks for your hard work
Dear Jeff and Zoe-
I am too very excited about the new book. I have not anticipated a new book this much since the last Harry Potter. I have had to slow down a bit on the bread making as I put on a few too many pounds but now since you have the word Healthy right there in the title and Jeff is an MD I guess I will be back to baking more bread. Thanks again for all your hard work we appreciate it.
Looks like a long process in making the cooking book and we are so lucky that you both do all the work and then we just enjoy the book .
It is really difficult to choose a bread which i love from the Artisian bread in 5 minutes as every time i try a new recipe i tell wow to the resulats and i have tried sweet breads and everyday breads from the book, but i think i will write my daughters favourite bread from the book which i have made a lot and that is Brioche filled with chocolate Gnache.
Thankyou so much for the give away. I’d love to be included as this would make a gorgeous gift for a close friend of mine. My favourite bread recipe so far is your Cherry Tomato Baguette – it’s so delicious!
I love both the Master Recipe and the Olive Oil Dough. I make pizza at least once a week from one or the other (sometimes more!) and have taken to making myself Naan for lunch and/or breakfast several times a week. (My husband and I both love it with refried or black beans and cheese!)
Hi Zoe and Jeff…unfortunately I was one of the admirers who had left a comment in the past couple of days.
No issues though…I have added you to my blog roll…so I don’t miss any action per se… ;p
Writing a cook-book is far more work than I imagined…and sure excel guys rock…ask me…I had to train myself on excel (I am more of a pen-paper person) while I was working with HSBC, nothing beats it.
Would love to receive the autographed copy….it will adorn my coffee table. 🙂
Thank for the giveaway. 🙂
Hi Navita,
Did you get a response from us? So sorry about that. Please ask your question again and we will get back to you!
Thanks! Zoë
Hi guys. I check on ur site nearly everyday to see what’s new. So my favorite bread so far is the challah. However I have a bucket of brioche in the fridge to bake for the first time tomoro /later today so we’ll see. Last weekend I made the challah dough and went crazy. First I made the braided loaf. I then made the turban but instead of raisins I put cinnamon sugar and sliced almonds. After brushing with egg wash I also sprinkled almonds on top -Delish. A few days later… N I almost feel guilty telling u this, I made another turban, but this time I sprinkled cinnamon sugar and 5 Hershey bars on the middle before rolling up. I didn’t even bother to melt the chocolate- just chopped it up. It was so good I almost wanted to cry! So good it just felt wrong…LOL. I made it while visitng my family and my sisters n I just indulged. Anyway, since I made I thought about posting n so tonights giveaway gives ms an official opportunity to share. You have done a phenomenal job on this book and I look forward to the next one. I have tried to incorporate whole grains but often end up with a super hard crust, I look forward to TTY what you have come up with. Thank you
I’m following your site so that I can get over my fear of yeast and kneading. one of these days I’ll work my way through it. Until then, I have to say my favorite bread is No-Knead Bread. I think its easing me into the yeast thing without over whelming me with the whole kneading thing, which will be my next venture 🙂
My favourite bread is a pumpkin bread recipe… The colours of bread in your above pictures are beautiful…
Congrats on the new book!!!!!!!
I would say that my fav recipe is the brioche one, especially when used in sticky buns. I hope I win!
The new book looks great and sounds very promising!
Before I pre-order, may I ask if you have included weights for your new recipes?
My only problem with Abin5 has been to translate the American cups measurements into grams and cl.
Sadly, I have to say it has been a major drawback in trying to re-create all your fantastic recipes…
Well done for making all of us real bread makers!
Hi Claudine,
Thank you for bringing this up. We sell many books in Europe and Australia and have included a weight conversion chart in the new book. The master recipe is written in weights, measures and metrics. We also have a similar chart for of all the most commonly used ingredients. It will now be much easier to make the switch to your preferred way of baking!
Thanks, Zoë
My bread baking is a bit of a paradox, really:
As a young teen, I went through a phase of making bread. I bought a bread recipe book and spent hours making my dough, letting it rise, shaping it into loaves or individual rolls or plaits and then baking it. This was about 25 years ago!
For some reason, in the intervening years, I lost the art of bread and certainly the confidence I’d once felt. I became nervous about getting wrong something I’d once so wholeheartedly done.
Last year, a friend of mine gave me a soda bread recipe, she promised it was easy, fast and very forgiving. I made it once and was hooked – I suddenly rediscovered the thrill and sheer delight in making my own bread and enjoying it, still a little warm, straight out of the oven.
It’s time for me to progress on from my soda bread and branch out to make other, delicious breads. I have your site on RSS feed and love reading the posts about so many wonderful recipes. The photographs in particular always make me salivate. It’s time!
Very exciting times indeed. I’m so happy to be baking my bread (thanks to both of you) and my fave is obviously the classic Boule.
Hi, since I have the book my oven didn’t stop. I tested several dough. I like a lot the “Brioche”, very soft with a firm texture. The “Broa” recipe is very nice.
But the master recipe boule or the variation “European Peasant Bread” which I use for all kind of bread is my special of all.
I had made a Focaccia yesterday with it.
Thanks.
PS: I can’t wait to have the new book. I had offered my friends with ABin5, they loved it too.
I love your book and cannot wait to get the new healthier one!!
I had warned you that your bread would be done all over Portugal hehe 🙂 After I posted the recipe lots of people have done it. I see Renato has commented too.
I don’t have the 1st book, but I think the master recipe is the best one! With that recipe you method was recognized all over the world, it’s easy, cheap and tasty, and with that recipe you understand that everything is possible as long as you have imagination. The sky is the limit. Congratulations on your success and good luck for your next book.
LOVE the Olive Oil Dough!! Loads of uses!! Very anxious for the new book!
I can’t wait for your new book to come out. My husband will only eat whole grain breads becuase of health reason. So your new book is perfect.
In addition, I loved ABin5. It was a good introduction into bread making, not scary at all..
My children love Naan and will make their own throughout the day. Thanks for the work you do. It’s been a Godsend for us!
I am a lifetime bread baker but new to 5 Minute Bread, so have only tried the master recipe. I am looking forward to trying many more.
My husband & I are retiring and as soon as our house sells we will live full time in an 5th wheel traveling the US and Canada. Good bread is often hard to find in the small towns and remote areas we love, so baking it will be a necessity (and pleasure). I just purchased a Cuisinart brick oven for the RV and tried it with the 5 minute bread on a recent trip – a perfect combination!
I don’t have a favorite, I have many favorites. Right now the one I am making most often is the Italian Semolina bread. Sometimes when I cut it the sesame seeds fall off, so this last time I mixed the seeds right in with the dough. No more mess and same great taste!