Ask a Question

Questions? Start with the Search Bar: I’ve been posting recipes and answering questions on this site since 2007, so if you have a question, there’s probably a post that addresses it somewhere on this website. So, the first thing to do is to use the Search Bar on the Home Page. In narrower laptop or desktop displays, it sometimes appears right underneath the orange BreadIn5 logo, and on phones it’s right above where it says “How to make bread in five minutes a day?” Just type in the bread style, ingredient, or technique that you’re interested in, and the search-engine will show you posts on the topic, with recipes and answers to many questions.

Another place to look: the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) page (there’s also have a Gluten-Free FAQs page). If you don’t find your answer in the FAQs, you can post baking questions and comments, but please be brief, so I can get to all the questions.  

If neither of those get you to the answer you need, click on any “Comments/Reply” field at the top of any post (it doesn’t have to be here on “Ask a Question”) and scroll down to the bottom; then enter your question or comment. Don’t look for the response in your personal email… Come back here to the site on the page where you posted, to look for the answer.

Questions are answered here on the website within 24 hours, often with a reference to a page number in our books where possible.  Please remember that the blog is moderated, so your post may not appear until I’ve read and approved it; this can take 24 hours.

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6,789 thoughts to “Ask a Question”

  1. I just purchased your GFABin5 book and am very excited to get started. I was wondering if guar gum can be substituted for xanthan gum in the all purpose flour mixture on page 60 to be used in the Master Recipe?
    Thanks.
    Donna

    Reply

    1. Hi Donna,

      Unfortunately we didn’t have any luck with the guar gum when we were testing the recipes. I tried it in several quantities, but never got a result I liked. If you are not in favor of xanthan, then give psyllium a try as an alternative.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

      1. Hi. Want to try your refrigerator rise overnight technique for larger loaves. Can I still pop it directly from the frig into the preheated oven without a wait time, as you advise for dinner breads and rolls.

        I would guess there should be a wait time for a 2- or 3-pound loaf.

        Love your breads. Many thanks

  2. Hi there,
    I’ve been baking bread for quite a long time, using the traditional method, For the first time I tried to bake “in five minutes a day”, using the “Ten-grain bread” recipe (p.111) in Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I weighted the flour, used Vital wheat gluten but when I pull some dough out of the refrigerated bucket, it doesn”t come out in long strands I would have to cut …. it just break off by itself! I can see a bunch of air bubbles in the dough but there is no elasticity at all. I live at about 5000 feet. When I mixed the dough it only took about fifty minutes for the dough to more than double. What didn’t go right? Should I decrease the amount of yeast?
    Thank you 🙂

    Reply

      1. Hello,
        since my last message I’ve tried the master recipe in “Healthy bread …” and the 10 grains recipe again. I added some water and a little bit of gluten. But I’ve noticed that when I pull the dough out of the tub it never looks as stretchy as yours looks on your videos and when I form a boule, the top of my dough is not smooth but looks more like a web! Plus, today, the loaf I baked didn’t raise in the oven but mostly spreaded out (my dough wasn’t too old). Am I doing something wrong? I baked Tim Lahey’s no knead bread many, many times and never run into what I’ve described above.
        I would also like to know if I want to add some wheat bran or wheat germ to the dough, if I can just replace some of the flour in equal parts or if I would have to adjust the amount of water?
        Thank you.

      2. First question– what brands of flour and 10-grain cereal are you using? Any substitutions mean that all bets are off. When you say you “added” a little gluten, do you mean that you increased it over and above what we called for? Or did you only use “a little?”

      3. One other thing– in your exchange with Zoe, sounds like you’re using a non-standard flour (Montana Farms). Sounds like a nice product, but it might need more water than we call for.

        And as for the bran etc., that you want to swap, if it’s just a little, won’t require adjustment, but more and you might need to change the water– not sure in which direction!

  3. Hello! I love your basic recipe. I am going on a vacation with my boyfriend’s family of 21 people (some whom I haven’t met yet, and want to impress with your bread). It will be in Aug. to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I will be flying from Chicago. My question: is it possible to bring a bit of yeast on the airplane or do you think it’s integrity would be damaged during the trip? When I get there, I prefer not to purchase an entire bag of vacuum sealed yeast. Wondering what you recommend? If those little individual packs, how many should I get for one batch and do you recommend a certain type or brand?
    Thank you so much!

    Reply

    1. Hi Pam,

      I travel with yeast all the time and it doesn’t harm it at all. You can use the packets of Red Star (doesn’t matter which type, but I tend to use Platinum) and you’ll need about 2 packets for a single recipe.

      Enjoy your travels! Zoë

      Reply

  4. Hi Zoë,
    thank you for answering so quickly! I used all-purpose
    unbleached flour and white whole wheat flour, both from Wheat Montana Farms and Bakery. It’s really weird, I checked my dough again today and as soon I pull on a piece of dough it breaks right away from the bulk …
    Thank you again,
    Fanny

    Reply

    1. Hi Fanny,

      Did you use the 10-grain mix from Bob’s Red Mill or another one? I’ve never worked with Wheat Montana Farms, so I’m not sure what protein content it has. Just from your description it sounds like the dough needs a bit more vital wheat gluten and water. The flour and the grain mixture are absorbing so much water and not producing enough elasticity.

      You may want to try a batch of the Master recipe just to see if the all-purpose and wheat flours are behaving like the flours we tested with. It is hard to tell with all the extra grains in the 10-grain bread recipe.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  5. I’m interested in a “roman style” pizza dough in 5 a day. do you have any suggestions on what I can do to adapt one of the existing recipes?

    Reply

    1. Hi Jacqui,

      We have recipes in our Pizza and Flatbread book for Roman Style pizza. It is a matter of thickness of crust and traditional toppings. It’s about 1-pound of dough for a 16-inch oval pizza. We top ours with tomato, eggplant and mozzarella.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  6. I made the deli-style rye bread from the new artisan bread in 5. I found the crust to be tough with out any crunch in it. What whent wrong?

    Reply

    1. Hi Elena,

      Tell me more about the bread and how you baked it. Are you using a stone? Do you have an oven thermometer? Any details may help me figure this out.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

      1. Thanks for the quick reply Zoe,

        I baked the bread with a stone yes, 1 pound dough, but i dont have an internal oven thermometer.
        The bread inside was dense with very few holes, but maybe thats how it supposed to be? I left the bread for 30 mins though it seemed ready at 25 mins.should I baked it less time?

      2. Hi Elana,

        If the bread was overly dense you may need to let the loaf rest a bit longer before baking.

        What kind of oven do you use gas or electric?

        Thanks, Zoë

      3. I used electric oven! I will leave the loaf to rest more with my rest dough and hope it works!

      4. Hi Elena,

        You may also want to get a simple oven thermometer, just so you know your oven is running true to temperature. That can cause a tough crust.

        Resting longer may help too.

        Thanks, Zoë

  7. Is artisan bread flour really better to use for artisan breads? Would AP or bread flour produce same results?

    Reply

  9. Zoe,
    please describe the serrated knife you use to slash dough before baking. The one I use catches and pulls the dough sometimes making a mess specially with a baguette

    Reply

    1. Hi Alan,

      Here is the exact knife that I use: https://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-Gourmet-8-Inch-Serrated-Bread/dp/B001L80GPY/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1435673794&sr=8-12&keywords=serrated+bread+knife The softer the dough, the more the dough will want to stretch and not slice cleanly. You need to hold the dough to support it while you swipe your knife through. If it doesn’t cut through the first time, repeat it again. Moving quickly can prevent some of the dragging.

      Hope that helps?

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  10. To avoid greatly hated oven cleaning as much as possible I always cover food in the oven.Can I still bake bread if I cover it – I am gluten free.

    Reply

    1. Hi Jackie,

      Yes, in fact a great way to bake bread is in a closed pot. Here are some options:

      https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2009/03/11/baking-bread-in-a-dutch-oven

      https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2013/12/08/baking-in-a-cloche-plus-a-big-holiday-baking-package-giveaway-signed-copy-of-thenewabin5-gold-medal-flour-red-star-yeast-and-an-emile-henry-cloche

      Both work well with Gluten-Free breads too. You can also find the instructions in our Gluten-Free book.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  11. Hi,
    I’m trying out the recipes in Healthy Bread in Five Minutes and so far I’ve had good results. The exception was the oatmeal date bread. I followed the directions exactly, let rise for two hours in a relatively warm (80F) kitchen, and then placed in the fridge. I baked that night and the bread had patches of intense alcohol flavor, especially around the areas with the dates. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t drink, but the alcohol flavor was extremely strong … so much so that I had to throw away the loaf. The bites I had without that flavor were delicious. Any ideas of what I can do different? Less yeast?

    Reply

    1. We’ve intermittently gotten this complaint about our stored dough when it’s a sweetened dough, especially with fruit as you say. It’s not everyone, so there are probably differences among people in their sensitivity to this.

      First thing I’d try is to consider this particular recipe (for you) as a non-storable dough. Just bake off immediately, and freeze any uneaten loaves. Or halve it so you won’t have so much.

      Or, as you suggest, try decreaing the yeast (see our post on that at https://tinyurl.com/yate3j6

      … which might help, though I’m skeptical.

      Reply

  12. Hi,I just purchased a New England hot dog pan. Although they have a dough recipe, I was wondering if the buttermilk dough or the brioche dough would work for these buns. If not what would you recommend?

    Reply

  13. When substituting buttermilk for regular milk in a bread recipe, are there any other adjustments that should be made?

    Reply

      1. Thank you Jeff. Makes sense. I wasn’t sure if the acidity of the buttermilk might be a factor other than the fact that it’s thicker than milk.

      2. We don’t have huge experience with this but my best guess is that the acidity will change the flavor but not the liquid requirement all that much.

  14. Hi. I love your recipes and have been making them for years with great success! I was wondering if you have developed a recipe with sprouted wheat flour or if you think it could be used similarly to whole wheat flour in your recipes? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Basically just need a little more liquid. One-quarter cup for one of our 100% whole-grain batches? Less if it’s just partially whole-grain in the recipe.

      Reply

  15. Hi Zoe & Jeff…Been using Healthy Breads for quite a while now, even grind our own grain. When I was looking for your links on Amazon.com to help someone else buy one of your books, I came across your ‘New’ Artisan Bread and I picked up a few great pointers that were worth it to me to support you again by buying the book myself! Looking forward to trying some new recipes.
    We love making a whole wheat, Kalamata olive/ cheese bread. We rolled up the loaf after loading it but that resulted in a spiral with lots of air pockets. The tip I found so helpful was the simple added step to fold the rolled dough one more time as shown on pg 103 in ‘New’. No more gaps and a perfect loaf resulted. We’ve been baking all of our bread on the BBQ(using propane).. it is so much better than in the oven and obviously it keeps the heat out of the kitchen too! Is there a way to share some photos?

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the feedback, Lis. We don’t have a way to share photos here on the site, but you can always Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest a picture and tag us (we have accounts on all those, click on the icons above (except for Instagram, but that’s also @BreadIn5 just like Pinterest and Twitter)? I believe that’ll work?

      Reply

  16. I am making the olive oil dough for pizza. I am using a high gluten flour. I form the balls and i’m putting them in a proof box. the box is long a n it can hold up to 8 1 lb balls. i refrigerate them and the next dy wen I open the box I expect a little rise but they seem to inflate too much. They blow up and merge. I have reduced the yeast a bit and it still happens. Am I doing something wrong?

    Reply

    1. I’m actually glad it’s expanding so nicely, it just sounds like you’re putting too many balls of dough in there– and there isn’t enough room for them to expand. Maybe 4 at a time rather than 8? To fit eight, let’s say two lumps by four lumps of this size, I’d bet you’d need a surface dimension of something like 14 by 28 inches, and I’m guessing there’s no way this thing’s that big. Or 21 by 21 if it were square, with one blank-space. That’s still gigantic though less unwieldy (apologies if my algebra is off a bit).

      Given enough time (as you’re doing), the yeast will “grow out” so reducing the initial yeast dose won’t help.

      Reply

      1. They are actually 18x26x3 I am using a large fridge. They are expanding sometimes 3 to 4 time the size overnight.

      2. Well… it’s just too small, and you won’t be able to make so many in that container.

    1. Just do a flour to beet proportions (a ratio), for each recipe. So it’d be:

      TheirFlourWeight divided by TheirBeetAmount equal to OurFlourWeight divided by UnknownBeetAmount. Just solve for UnknownBeetAmount.

      Sorry for the algebra lesson!

      Reply

  18. I do not understand when to slash the loaf. Basic white bread, original book. Do you slash it when you preheat the oven or just before you put it in?

    Reply

  19. I have a copy of the 2007 edition of your book. I purchased it before I noticed that you measurements were all in cups, not grams or ounces. I have watched your video about how you measure by dipping your cup measure, but that is still too variable a measure. I searched this website, but I found no published conversion. My question is what is your cup to gram conversion for flour?

    Thanks
    Ken K

    Reply

  20. Hello. I am new to this way of bread baking but already hooked. I just bought The New Artisan Bread in 5 and so far have made 2 loaves and a ciabatta from the Master Recipe and loved the results.

    I’d like to make some soft dinner rolls but I’m just a little confused. The instructions on page 88 say to preheat a baking stone (they don’t mention the broiler pan or any water in this recipe). THEN they say to rest the small dough balls on a baking sheet and to put the whole baking sheet in the oven.

    Are you supposed to put the baking sheet on top of your stone?

    Another question. If I wanted to sprinkle a little fresh herbs on top of the rolls when I brush them with melted butter would that work? Or do I have to wait until I make up a new batch of dough and mix the herbs in at the beginning. Thanks

    Reply

    1. You can put the pan on top of the stone, yes. And that stone evens out oven heat, which is nice to keep the rolls baking evenly and all done at more or less the same time.

      But you don’t have to use a stone if you’re using a baking sheet, especially if the baking sheet is a thick one like this: https://amzn.to/1UF9YmI. That’ll also shorten the preheat time (whatever your oven’s manufacturer says).

      You can definitely put herbs on top like that. Sometimes dried herbs burn at high temp, but you should be fine with fresh.

      Reply

  21. Hi, I made your Master Boule Recipe. I measured by volume. It had a beautiful rise, from 2qt to 4qt when I put it in the refrigerator. Now, it has decreased to just under 3qt. Is this normal? I allowed to rise at room temp. about 2-1/2 hrs prior to refrigeration. Thanks! I just don’t remember it deflating that much last time. I use 50% Bob’s RM Artisan Bread flour and 50% KA AP unbleached flour.

    Reply

  22. Hello, I’m french and I have tried your marvellous recipe of bread! thank you so much!
    Is there a traduction of your books? where? and if not, could you think of it? pleeeease !!!!! 😉

    Reply

    1. Oh, there is not, and, bien sur, it would make us so happy if a French publisher would make us an offer. Short of that– seems your English is pretty good… 🙂

      Sadly, we are told that US cookbooks have generally not sold well in Europe in translation, so we’re not optimistic.

      Reply

      1. Thank you Jeff!

        So i’ll improve my english with your books!
        thank you for the traduction in “grammes” in your recipies… it’s a great help for me!
        I wish you a big succes and to reach us in europe very soon!!!

  23. Question: I’m using the Master Recipe page 64 from Gluten Free Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I’ve just switched to a gas oven, checked the temperature with a good thermometer. The bread ‘splays out’ around the slash in the top, and any small fissures in the dough beneath the smooth surface splay out as well – it appears the crust is cooking faster and perhaps ‘sloughs off’ the interior dough. I’ve tried making the dough drier, and a bit wetter, neither effect it. Just lower temperature? If I lower the temperature, increase cook time? Thank You.

    Reply

      1. Flavor is great, crumb is good – not too moist, not too dry. The crust is thicker than with the previous oven, though still very good. The loaf itself just doesn’t look as good as previously.

      2. Hmm. We haven’t gotten this using this dough, and it surprises me, because what you’re describing is usually the result of an over-fast bake, especially where there’s been inadequate resting time (so first consideration, could consider a longer resting time). You’ve checked your oven temp, so that’s probably not it. Have you compared your dough consistency to what it looks like in this video? https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2015/03/03/gluten-free-bread-in-five-minutes-a-day-the-video

        That should settle the question of whether your dough is too wet or too dry. Also, assume you’re not making any swaps in flours, or flour brands (we tested with Bob’s Red Mill). And that you’re using xanthan gum or ground psyllium husk (actually, which one are you using)?

  24. I have your New Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day and am having wonderful success with all purpose flour. I didn’t see anything about sprouted wheat flour or heirloom flour. What will be different in the Master Recipe if I use these? Thank you, Margaret

    Reply

    1. We’ve only just started experimenting with these. Sprouted flours are, as far as I can tell, always whole wheat, not all-purpose (which is white), so you can’t just swap it for that in the Master Recipe. You can swap it for whole wheat flour in the book (or in any of our other books), but it needs a little more water, and we’re still not sure how much (it’ll vary by brand). About a quarter-cup more water per 4-lb batch?

      As for swapping it for white all-purpose flour, you could- but it’d take a lot more water than that, and I’m not sure how much. Plus it’d be much denser unless you use vital wheat gluten as well– we explored that in detail in our other book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, based mostly on ordinary whole wheat. Again, you’d need a little more water than we specified in that book.

      Reply

  25. Hi again,
    I’ve been letting the dough rest for one hour.

    The consistency of the dough looks pretty close to on your video.

    I use xanthan gum.

    I’m using Bob’s Red Mill sorghum and teff, but I grind my brown rice (lundberghs short grain organic), oat, and quinoa flours fresh.

    But these are the same ingredients I have been using, the change in the crust – much thicker – and the ‘slump’ started with this gas oven.

    I tried a shorter bake time, same result. A person at King Arthur flour said to try a hotter oven so the crust sets faster and prevents the slump…..?

    And I’ve ordered the oven thermometer you suggest somewhere on your site, maybe mine is actually inaccurate, though the reading is the same as with our previous oven.

    Any other ideas?

    Reply

    1. Well, probably not the thermometer, but let’s see.

      More likely is the swap you’re making with home-ground flour– all bets are off when you do that. It absorbs water differently and behaves differently as dough. Home ground flour is virtually never as fine as Bob’s, and further, the level of moisture in the grains isn’t absolutely uniform like what you get with commerical products. I’m afraid you’re just going to have to experiment, we won’t be able to figure this one out!

      Gas oven the culprit? Qualified “maybe.” We’ve found that our readers always report better results with electric, don’t know why.

      Reply

  26. I just bought your book (New AB in 5). Under Equipment (ch 3), you talk about a covered cast iron pot. Can I use a Dutch Oven (ceramic covered cast iron)? Thank you.

    Reply

  27. I have your book, “Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day” and bake bread about 3 times per week for my husband and I. We absolutely love the results! What a difference between a loaf I bake and one bought from the grocery store.
    I have a question: Can date syrup be a substitute for the honey in the Brioche loaf? Thank you.

    Reply

    1. We haven’t tried it but I’d imagine it’d work nicely. You may need to adjust the water (up or down) in case date syrup has significantly different water content in comparison with honey. Bet the flavor will be great.

      Reply

  28. Hello, I’ve prepared the brioche’s dough but i have not enough place to put it in my small fridge (french size ;()…can I change the dough to put it in an other smaller box without spolling the dough?
    thank you for your answer and all of your help and kindness…

    Reply

  29. hello, it’s me again…
    in some of your recipies you talk about vinaigar….is it yhe red one or white?
    Thank you!

    Reply

    1. About transferring the dough to smaller containers– yes, you can do that, but just handle it gently, trying not to deflate it too much. It’ll recover.

      Then, about vinegar, not sure I remember which recipe you must be talking about, but my guess is that we called for white.

      Reply

  30. I don’t mean to be a buttinski here, but I’ve scaled my recipes so that right after mixing the dough, I can divide the dough into one-loaf portions. Then I put each one-loaf portion into a small Glad bowl of the appropriate size to give it space to rise at room temperature and/or in the refrigerator. Punch a tiny pinhole in the lid of each Glad bowl before refrigerating the dough.

    Then, when ready to bake, you can pull, proof, and bake one loaf at a time if you’d like, without having to cut, weigh, and shape the dough into portions from the bulk recipe and thereby cause the dough to deflate.

    Then you will have the remaining one or two loaves in their individual containers for a few days, making it easy to pull out one loaf and bake one loaf’s amount of dough as you need it.

    I love using Glad bowls to save last-minute time for portioning the dough just after it is mixed,

    Reply

    2. Hello, Rita.
      Great idea!!! How many one pound loaves do you get from the Master recipe? You talk about one or two remaining loaves. So two or three? Is your method to weigh the whole batch after mixing and then divide to get the number of loaves?. Thank you.

      Reply

  31. What type of knife do you use to cut your breads? We use a good serrated knife but sometimes it’s hard to cut thinner slices. Would you recommend an electric knife? (I have your first book and “healthy bread in 5 minutes a day”.

    thanks!

    Reply

    1. I’ve never used anything but a good serrated bread knife, and yes, it’s a little challenging to get thin slices. Haven’t experimented with the electric knives…

      Reply

      1. Thanks! I might try it and see if it works any better…Really appreciate you having this place where readers can ask questions. Very amazing. Appreciate your time to engage with us home bakers!

  32. I tried baking 100% home ground whole wheat flour bread. It was very heavy and somewhat bitter.

    I then tried baking 50% home ground whole wheat flour bread. I added bread gluten and dough enhancer. The flavor was very good, but it did not rise enough, ever. I think that the whole wheat flour had too many large particles in it.

    I have now re-ground my whole wheat flour and put it through a very fine sieve. I re-ground the flour a few more times and re-sieved it. The flour I have now is very fine, just like store bought unbleached flour.

    I have a lot of bran left over.

    When I use your recipe of 50% whole wheat flour, how much bran should I add to how much whole wheat flour…. because there is NO bran in the home ground whole wheat flour?

    What amounts would you use?

    How much unbleached flour
    How much home ground whole wheat flour
    How much bran.
    How much liquid,
    How much of everything else.

    i just don’t want to waste the bran.

    Thank you for you help.

    Phil

    Reply

    1. I’m really sorry, but there’s no way for us to tell how much water this (or any other home ground flour) will absorb. You’re just going to have to experiment. More on this at a post I did on the subject, just type “home ground flour” into our Search bar above and you’ll see what I mean.

      The key is how much liquid is needed, everything will follow from that.

      Reply

  33. Hi. I’d like to promote your wonderful breads on my site. I’ve read your policy. I’m happy to refer people to your site for the ingredients. I took Zoe’s course on crafsty and am looking to promote that master recipe. Is it posted somewhere on you site so I can use it as reference? Thank you!

    Reply

  34. Hi,
    I am wondering how/if I can freeze pre-topped pizzas using the master recipe in Artisan Pizza? We make thin crust pizza often from this recipe and it would be fantastic if we could press out the dough and top it, then freeze. But would that work? Or do you recommend a different method?
    (Not trying to freeze just the dough – going for a whole pizza we can pop into the oven instead of store-bought frozen!)

    Thanks so much fro a fantastic recipe!

    Reply

    1. Your welcome!

      Yes, there’s an entry in the Tips and Techniques chapter called “CAN I USE THE FREEZER TO SAVE EVEN MORE TIME?”

      … which talks about this. Last item in that paragraph.

      Reply

  35. Hi Jeff,
    first of all I would like to thank you to take time to answer all our questions! This is awesome!
    Concerning the flour I’m using (Wheat Montana), I checked the Nutrition Facts label: It says 5 grams protein for 1/4 cup of unbleached flour and 6 grams of protein for 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour, which is a little weird because when I check their website it says 13 and 16 grams of protein per cup. Anyways my question is: if the flour I’m using has more protein than the one you’re using, do I need to increase the amount of water? And by about how much?
    Thanks again for all your help!

    Reply

    1. This is helpful, those numbers don’t surprise me– more protein requires more water, and don’t worry about the apparent discrepancy when they report the grams protein in 1/4-cup (about 30 grams) versus 1 cup– about 4 times that– there’s a rounding error because they only report to the nearest whole gram.

      Bottom line is that you need more water and I’m not sure how much. You could check this for guidelines:https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2008/02/10/qa-flour-and-water so, anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra water.

      Reply

  36. Hello Jeff,

    Help !
    My dough is very very wet and my bread is flat!!! …. is the flour you use is like the floor we call “T65” in France or “T55” or “T45”?
    Thank you!;)

    Reply

    1. I know that French flours have less protein than many U.S. all-purpose flours, so basically, it sounds like you need less water. Not sure how much to decrease by. 1/4 cup? I’m not sure about the subtleties between the various grades in the French system of flour-labeling. OK, someday I’m living in Paris for a year and figuring this out! 🙂

      Reply

      1. Thank you Jeff! more the number is high and more the flour is complete….and your welcome in France!;)

      2. Ah, that’s part of it– “complete” in European labeling means whole-grain, which really changes things. You’ll need to adjust with more water for that, and I’m not sure how much. 1/4 cup?

  38. Rosemary Flax Baguette – Jeff & Zoe, am following your book Healthy Bread in Five minutes or less. Have made the Rosemary Flax Baguette (p 89) a number of times. The flavors are amazing but the crumb while soft is still dense and not caramelized at all. I use King Arthur or Bobs Red Mill whole white wheat or whole wheat flour. I’m using a new kitchen aid electric oven. How can I get that baguette crumb?

    Reply

    1. Assume you mean that the crust is not caramelizing, which is usually a problem with inadequate preheating, so check that with an oven thermometer like the one in our Amazon store at left. Or your oven’s too cool in the first place. Or you’re not using a stone, especially in combo with the first two problems.

      Getting a more open crumb:
      1. Use more water–maybe an extra 1/4 cup?
      2. Weigh the flours for more accurate measurement, and if you’re not, be sure you’re using the scoop-and-sweep method, not the spoon-and-sweep method for volume measurement.
      3. Allow a longer resting time.

      That said– baguettes with whole wheat never have quite the same open crumb seen in traditional, all-white-flour baguettes.

      Reply

  39. I am just a beginner and was looking for baguette pans. I found a 2 loaf terra cotta on amazon and wondered what you thought? Since your breads sit on a stone to bake, would this be a good choice to bake the baguettes in? Thanks!!

    Reply

  40. I was just reading about substituting whey (from making yogurt or cheese) for water in bread making. Do you have any experience with this? Do you think it would affect how long the dough can be stored?

    Reply

    1. I’ve used whey from cheesemaking and it works great– though I have to admit I didn’t keep the dough very long to test what you’re asking, maybe five days.

      … great headstart on sourdough flavor, very distinctive, some won’t love it…

      Reply

  41. Ran across your website, bought the book and put together a batch Thursday. Tried a loaf today. A bit underdone. Discovered my oven is about 25 degrees cooler than indicated. Second loaf I baked longer. Looks better and it’s cooling.

    I’ve been experimenting with adding spent distillery grains to my bread. They’re pretty soggy. Your master recipe is the first to produce a cridible product. Added one cup of grains to batch. I have this friend with a craft distillery. He feed left over mash to pigs. We figure BLTs with bacon and bread related to his whiskey production. He also does a pretty good bacon infused whiskey.

    Anyhow, I’ll let you know how this progresses. Thanks for your good work.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the kind words, glad you’ve had a good experience with the spent grains. We’d love to test that, but don’t have access to them (I’m a cider-brewer but not beer anymore, too much work!).

      Reply

  42. GF bread in 5 minutes – can i make the master recipe with only MIX2 OR DO I NEED TO USE MIX1 AND 2 TOGETHER?
    THANKS

    Reply

    1. Depends on which recipe you’re working from. Mixture #2 is a 100% whole grain flour mixture and can’t be swapped into the Master Recipe– it just won’t work. We do have 100% whole-grain recipes in the book–based on Mixture #2–have you tried those?

      Reply

  43. Thanks for your reply to my question about my wet dough. I’ve tried to find my question here so I could add ithis, but can’t seem to see it. The flour I’m using is Defiance brand which is supposedly 11.4% gluten. There’s another readily available bakers flour, Wallaby, which is 11.8%. Is that significantly below US bakers flours? Should I add gluten, and if so how much?

    Reply

    1. No, but unfortunately, it’s completely confusing. U.S. all-purpose flour is said to have about 10 or 11 percent protein (which is mostly gluten, though they never specify exactly how much is gluten and how much is other proteins). But European flours specify it differently– measuring protein percentage “anhydrously”— the protein percentage after all water is driven off with heat. The U.S. standard is “non-anhydrous,” the protein percentage of the flour as it comes out of the package–without driving off the water. So anhydrous measurement will always show a higher percentage than if it was measured non-anhydrously. My guess is that your flour is specifying protein (or gluten) percentage anhydrously, as is done in Europe. Which makes it very hard to compare with U.S. flours.

      If I had to guess, then I’d guess that your flour significantly less protein than U.S. all-purpose. And you might benefit from adding gluten. Or just decrease the water (or increase the flour) in the dough.

      Reply

  44. I just have to say, you guys deserve a Nobel prize for this concept! I’ve only made the master recipe so far, but i am totally converted. This is a bigger discovery than non-stick cookware – awesome! I can’t believe we’ve been kneading bread unnecessarily for the last 6000 years 🙂 Finally, my family and i can have real, delicious, wholesome bread without additives, without me having to wear myself out (and use up heaps of time). Thank you, thank you, thank you. Going to be buying your book for a lot of birthday presents, i reckon.

    Reply

  45. Made your GF Brioche bread and made it into rolls, and and bread. It was wonderful the day of baking, but the next day it was dry and hard as rock. Couldn’t even get it to soak up the egg for French toast. Wondering what I did wrong, My crumb was tight almost like pound cake, I wasn’t soft and airy, is that how it is suppose to be?

    Reply

    1. Hi Cindy,

      The crumb sounds about right. The gluten-free breads do stale a bit faster. You can try freezing it right after it cools off if you need it for the next day. The brioche seems to stale faster than the Master recipe as well.

      Thank you, Zoë

      Reply

  46. I’ve been reading about an ancient wheat flour called Einkorn. Do any of your books contain recipes using this flour? Or can I convert the basic recipe using Einkorn?
    Thanks for your help!

    Reply

    1. Hi Annette,

      We found that Einkorn behaves just like spelt, which we have recipes for in our Healthy Bread book.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  47. Hi,

    I would like to try Cornell bread recipe from your book “the artisanal bread in 5 minutes a day”, pg 140-142. Can I substitute regular milk for skim-milk powder? Would I just decrease water by 1/2 cup or 40gm? thank you

    Reply

  48. Just started reading healthy breads in 5…didn’t get all the way through yet…had to start a batch!!! Then I began reading more and saw you had a recipe for sandwich bread. This is why I bought the book actually. My son has multiple food allergies. I found a bread that is safe for him…for 2 months…now that company uses sesame seeds…so its not safe. I need a good bread for sandwiches that has no nuts, eggs, or sesame. I tried for months with a bread maker and bread was great on day 1 but every day after it crumbled like crazy!! Part 2 of my question is do you ever work with sprouted wheat? I haven’t seen it at the store but if I do I would love to try it.
    Thanks so much!
    Jessica

    Reply

  49. I just bought your newest book and am going to make Challah. Can o use egg substitute without affecting the taste or texture?

    Reply

    1. Hi Stephanie,

      It probably will affect the taste and texture, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a great bread. We’ve had many readers use egg substitutes and they like the results very much.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

      1. The bread tasted great. I ended up not using substitute for the first round, however the bread was next to impossible to braid and was VERY sticky. Any secrets? I followed the recipe (using master 1 and challah) exactly.

      2. Hi Stephanie,

        Are you making gluten-free breads or wheat? In either case it sounds like you need to use more flour when shaping the bread. Especially with gluten-free loaves it will be quite sticky if you’re not dusting with enough flour as you handle the dough.

        Have you seen any of our videos?

        Thanks, Zoe

  50. I’ve got a good and old sour dough starter. I do not use it very often, but keep it alive by dividing and feeding.

    Instead of dividing and feeding, can I freeze some of it for my next loaf? Is so, for how long.

    ALSO, can I cheat a wee bit and add to the flavor of my sour dough starter by adding some fresh store-bought sour dough bread to the home-made starter that I have and mixing it in when it gets wet and gooey?

    Reply

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