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.

Note: BreadIn5.com is reader supported. When you buy through links on the site, BreadIn5 LLC earns commissions.

6,789 thoughts to “Ask a Question”

  1. Aha! I used arrowhead mill rice flour. I will try again using all bob’s flours. I do use a scale for measuring. Thank you !!! I will keep you posted !!!!

    Reply

    1. I’ve made gluten-free bread with the #1 flour mixture, replacing white rice flour with brown rice flour and adding 2 extra Tbsp of water. The bread is too dense and gummy. I’ve gone through the list of possible causes. One item on the list is typos in the flour mixture recipe. It says to use 155g of brown rice flour and 155 g of Sorghum flour (ration 1:1). The #1 flour mixture recipe on your website gives the ratio of rice flour to sorghum flour as 4.5:1, not 1:1. Am I missing something? I substituted the amount of white rice flour with the same amount of brown rice flour.

      Reply

      1. No, the GF recipes in “The New Artisan Bread” are completely different, based on completely different flour ratios. For “Gluten-Free Bread in Five Minutes a Day” (on Amazon at https://amzn.to/1msOBmY), everything depends on the two flour mixtures in the book (one of them is published here on the website). In flour mxiture #1, the correct amounts are 1,020 grams rice flour and 455 grams of sorghum, plus the others flours.

        In our interactions with folks here on the web, it turns out that many people prefer the rise they get with egg whites– if you’re doing the egg-free version, try the egg-white version instead (page 73). It seems to solve the density problem for many people. And if you’re not using Bob’s Red Mill flours, you may need to change the hydration so it looks as wet as what’s in this video: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2015/03/03/gluten-free-bread-in-five-minutes-a-day-the-video

      2. No need to add more water for the crust-steam, that’s only important in the first third of baking anyway. Have you checked your oven temperature with a thermometer like https://ow.ly/8CVPU ?

        I can’t come up with an explanation for why the dough’s hydration would be different in the processor… Let’s see what happens if you add more flour to the mixture so the dough doesn’t seem so wet. But go easy with that…

      3. I purchased your Gluten Free Artisan Bread cookbook in the Kindle Version and both the Flour Mix #1 and the Flour Mix #2 charts are so small that I cannot read them. I can enlarge the different parts of the pages but those charts are not enlarging with the rest of the page.I would appreciate it if I could find the mixture amounts somewhere on your site. Thanks.

    2. Want to make Oatmeal Pumpkin Bread in the New Artisan in 5 book. Is it OK to use the canned pumpkin purée. Any adjustment to make if I use a baking stone?

      Reply

      2. I’m starting to make sourdough starter w/ white flour and wheat and water and no yeast. Page 46 of book says that additional yeast might be needed.if a full recipe says to use 1 -11/2 tbs, do i use what recipe says or use less yeast.

    3. The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day Page 156 English Granary Style Bread: I give up! soggy and gummy interior: followed all the suggestions on Page 38. What is going wrong. Ready to throw out the second batch. Is it the barley malt powder? Using the weight method to measure.

      Reply

      1. Did you use the King Arthur Malted Wheat flakes? Did you make any swaps? One quick thing to do– increase your resting time to 90 minutes after shaping.

        If that doesn’t work, for whatever reason, the dough may be too wet. You should be able to fix this by working in some flour, but ?? much. After adding flour, let it sit on the counter for two hours.

        Also could solve gumminess by making a dough into small rolls, about 3 ounces each. Those are never gummy. Don’t toss the dough!

    4. Thank you so much for writing Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day! My daughter and I both are gluten free and this book is such a blessing! We had wonderful food this Easter thanks to this book. We made the Master recipe for our Garlic Bread to go with our Gluten-Free Lasagna (homemade pasta too). The best part was being able to make a traditional family recipe for Italian Easter Bread that we had given up several years ago. I am sharing the modified recipe below in case it would be of value to others. One question that I have is how to maintain the rise during the braiding process. My braid did not come out as nice as it could have since I was very concerned about losing the fluffiness of the dough and I tried not to play with it too much. It’s possible I may need to just go directly into a loaf pan with minimal touching but was hoping to get some hints for the braid.

      Gluten-Free Lemon Easter Bread

      Used Brioche & Challah recipes (pg 216 & 212 and modified as below)

      Made 1/2 Batch

      Ingredients
      – GF Flour Mix #1 150g
      – Corn Starch 320g
      – Xanthan Gum 1tsp
      – Yeast 1/2 tblsp
      – Salt 1/2 tsp (used salted butter)
      – Sugar 3 tblsp

      – Milk 1 1/8 cup
      Eggs (large) x2, lightly beaten
      Egg White x1, beaten until just turns from clear to white – very soft peaks
      – Homemade Lemon Pudding 100 ml **
      – Honey 25 ml
      – Butter, Melted 170g
      – Vanilla 1/2 tblsp

      Pudding Recipe
      Milk 1 C
      Sugar 1/8 C
      Cornstarch 7 gm
      Salt pinch
      Butter 1/2 tablespoon
      Lemon Zest 2 tsp (use more or less depending on flavour)

      Whisk Sugar into milk and warm over low heat, stirring constantly
      When bubbles appear around edges ladle 1/2 the milk into the cornstarch and beat with a whisk until smooth
      Add cornstarch mixture back into the saucepan of milk and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens
      Turn heat to lowest setting and cover pan loosely. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
      Remove from heat, uncover, whisk in butter and lemon zest
      Let cool slightly before using. Be careful not to scrape bottom of pan incase pudding sticks and darkens on bottom.

      I followed the instructions for mixing and storing the dough steps for Brioche through step 4. Then switched to Challah instructions for baking day.

      However, I was hesitant to mess with the dough much as it had risen so beautifully and I didn’t want to lose that. I did attempt to braid it rolling the strips as little as possible which made the braid very difficult.

      Any suggestions for improving the recipe would be appreciated.

      Thank you again!

      Reply

      1. Wow Colette, this sounds wonderful.

        Thank you for the lovely note and sharing your version of the recipe.

        When forming the ropes to braid, be sure to press them together well, so they don’t split as you are braiding. This should be done with a light tough, as you suggest, but firm enough to make a cohesive rope. The only advice I have for braiding is to use plenty of flour, so your hands won’t stick to the dough as you gently lift and drape the ropes. You want to support the ropes in your hands, so they won’t break as you lift them. It seems this would make a good video, so you can see it in action. I’ll try to work on that.

        Cheers, Zoë

    5. I am having great success with my versions of the recipes in your GF Artisanal Bread. I’m tired of washing my Cuisanart food processor every other day. Therefore I need to buy a KitchenAid stand mixer. Please tell me do I need a 5,6, or 7 quart version? (A half recipe is OK for me most of the time, but I’d like the option of occasionally storing dough for future.)

      Reply

      1. Hi Sherie,

        I tested all the recipes in a 5-quart mixer and it was really perfect. Jeff has the 6-quart and finds it is a bit big for most of his recipes.

        Thanks, Zoë

  2. There are only the 2 of us at home now. I’d rather not make too much dough or it will go to waste.
    Can the recipes be halved?

    Reply

  4. I decided to buy and use a cookie sheet (not a pan) instead of a single purpose pizza peel. I cannot understand why peels are so expensive.

    Reply

      2. Okay, so just tried a half recipe of the master recipe….using the mixer…and the microwave.
        My microwave has a temperature probe so I used it to get the water up to temperature. Easy Peasy.
        As to the mixer…well I tried using the paddle and got a lump of dough encaing it. Scraped the dough off the hook and tried a bit of hand mixing as I feel it was lumpy and not homogenous. Still not happy with it so switched to the dough hook and let that run for a few minutes (lowest speed). The dough feels more mixed properly now.
        Of course the proof is whether or not I’ll have a decent loaf tomorrow after a night in the fridge. Fingers crossed.

    2. Well, after about 2 hours the dough rose substantially and I just cleared out the fridge to make room for the bowl. Too bad I didn’t have a commercial fridge. Luckily I only went for the 1/2 recipe as I did the mixing in the Kitchen Aid mixer bowl (I think it’s a 4 1/2 quart capacity) and the rising dough is close to the top edge. The yeast was new so I guess it really is doing its thing. Sure smells good! Looking forward to tomorrow to bake my first loaf. 🙂

      Reply

  6. i would like to see a video of you braiding a GF challah – also the GF recipes in your first book were much easier to handle than the ones in the GF in 5 min – they seem very wet and come out very dense especially the seeded whole grain

    Reply

    1. Well, someday we’ll make one…

      The big decision we had to make for the new book was whether or not to omit eggs in the basic default recipe. Many folks who are GF told us that they are also egg-free. But– as you point out, the eggs help with consistency. Our previous books’ GF recipes always used eggs.

      If you opt for the egg version in the Master Recipe in the GFin5 book, you’ll see what I mean.

      Reply

  7. I am trying the GF master dough and I halved the flour mix because I did not want to have too much If it did not work. I also halved the dough recipe.

    The dough does come out wet but a little shaggie too. It did not settle to the bottom of the container. It stayed in a sort of lump. I let it sit out overnight hoping it would settle and double. It did not.

    I made a second dough in a food processor and this time I kind of flattened it out in the bottom of my cambro so I could see if if would rise. I think it came up some but looking at the picture in your book it should have been higher

    I would love to send you a picture and see what you think.

    Reply

    1. Did you make any substitutions at all? We tested with Bob’s Red Mill flours to make the flour mixture.

      Don’t need a picture, it’s clear to me that your dough is too dry; that’s why I asked about the substitutions (which throw off the hydration).

      Also, did you use xanthan or psyllium? Can’t omit that, must use one or the other.

      Reply

      1. I used stone ground white rice flour, oat flour, arrowroot, potato starch, and xanthum gum. all Bob’s except potato starch.

      3. That video did not show a resting time before the shaping. My dough did kind of look like that when it was mixed.

        I did smooth it down the second time.

        The dough book, (pictured the side by side of the before and after) looks like it rose more than double the size without egg whites. The air holes were larger than mine.

        I think I’ll try with eggs tho I have no problem with them.

      4. Did you ever experiment with Sweet Rice Flour in testing your GF recipes?
        Thanks.

      5. Hi Sue,

        We have and it absorbed water differently, so we stuck to the stone ground white rice flour.

        Thanks, Zoë

  9. Please let me know if you have tried any einkorn wheat in your 5 minutes a day breads and what worked and what didn’t!
    Thanks a million

    Reply

    1. We have not yet tried it, because we can’t find it– where did you find this flour? We prefer not to force our readers to mail-order flours, so if it’s really not available in supermarkets, we tend not to include it.

      Reply

      1. I buy it at our local food stores but living in Sonoma County, that is a lot of readily available quality.
        While I understand and appreciate that you don’t want folks buying on line, but . . .
        Einkorn is an original ancient wheat, low gluten, high protein and DELICIOUS. It is available on Amazon as both a grain to grind and a flour.
        I hope you try it and share your learnings with us and we all increase the popularity of this un-hybridized grain.

      2. Yes, if we end up trying Einkorn, it’ll have to be online. Which of the brands on Amazon have you tried? They seem to sell mostly the Jovial product, but I have a feeling that it isn’t actually whole-grain, with only 2 grams of fiber per 30 gram serving. Whole wheat flour flour would be 3 or 4 grams. Some of our readers really look for whole-grain, so I’m not sure this product has wide appeal for them. I also notice that they don’t represent it as “whole-grain,” only as “all-purpose,” which usually means a white flour. This may be partially bran-depleted. Don’t know about the germ, which contains most of the nutrition.

  11. I have 3 of your books and love them. Fresh bread every night in our house. Which is leading to my question. I just read through the FAQs about freezing the dough. We are heading out of town for spring break and have a kitchen where we are staying. My family has asked a few times if I am still going to make bread on vacation. I would like to. My thought is to portion out the dough and wrap it with saran wrap or something similar then freeze it. I can though out one loaf a day and bake it. Do you think this will work? Thanks in advance for your response.

    Reply

  12. The New AB in 5, page 53. My family is not YET big bread eaters. I have made baguettes before. Now, I would like to make a batch, let it rise, then separate it into single loaf sizes and freeze them. Can the remaining loaves be stored in air tight containers and then frozen?

    Reply

  13. OK, so I am not such a techie – just a bread baking junkie who steers away from gluten and hence, was delighted to discover Einkorn. This was a no-brainer for me. I bought 20#. I baked the bread. It was DELICIOUS. I bought the grain. I ground it, I made more bread. I bought your book, and made the master recipe 2 hours ago and it looks BEAUTIFUL. I am going to pinch, cloak, rise and bake. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

    Reply

    2. FYI – the bread, predictably, spread out lenthwise and widthwise – that is the Einkorn. So it cooked quickly because there was no vertical rise to speak of. I have an unglazed clay bread pan I am going to throw the rest of the dough into along with some einkorn sprouts. I’ll let you know how that comes out. The Master Recipe is amazing – instant results doubled the 1/2 batch of dough I made. Can’t wait to taste it.

      Reply

  14. BTW – I have bought both Jovial and Breadtopia and both respond well. It is a whole grain – the original wheat. More protein, less gluten, different moisture and fiber contents. Hope you try it and enjoy. It is nutty, sweet, yellow and delicious. We are hooked.

    Reply

      1. So I used your B-in-5 master recipe with Einkorn. 2 hours on the counter it went from 2 to 4 oz. 1 hour in fridge it went back down to 3. Used one pound in the clay loaf pan and one pound on paper on a stone. Neither rose in the oven and both are still delicious and have great holes throughout. I think the initial rise is done before I even put it in the fridge. Any suggestions?
        Thanks so much!

      2. Sorry, but I don’t understand what you mean by “went from 2 to 4 oz. 1 hour in fridge.”

  16. Baguettes – book said let rise only 20 mins. Is this as sure at it rises prior to refrigeration or after being in the refrigerator. Confused.

    Reply

    1. Two hour rise after mixing, then into the fridge. Anytime you take out a baguette-sized portion of dough, shape it and then allow to rest for 20 minutes before slashing and baking.

      Reply

  17. Hi Jeff and Zoe, I made a batch of the master dough (NewBin5 pg 53). I let it rise for a little over 2 hours and it about doubled in size. I then placed in the fridge over night. When I removed it from the fridge, it was back to almost its original size. When I pulled my first pound of dough away from the batch it was extremely wet and very difficult to “cloak”. Should I add more flour or less water?

    Reply

      1. Good Morning Jeff, I used a super market brand all purpose flour. Everything performed as expected, but it was very, very wet and sticky, and “cloaking” was almost impossible. On a good note, the loaf had good “oven spring” and turned out very tasty.

      2. I recently tested with a supermarket brand instead of the Gold Medal I usually test with, and had a similar experience– it had less protein to absorb water that GM. You can use a little less water and it should be fine. Or add in more flour, can even do after the fact.

  18. Hi Jeff and Zoe, I am making your Deli Style Rye Bread which I have made many times. My husband asked if I added more rye flour and less white would the bread have a stronger rye flour. I hesitate to do that without checking with you. Could I add 2 cups of rye flour instead of the one cup and one less cup of white? Thanks for your help!

    Reply

    1. You can do it, but you’ll probably need a little more water. Maybe 1/4 cup more, but it’ll take experimentation. And the loaf will be different, because virtually all the rye flour available in US supermarkets is whole grain, which is different from what we all grew up with– those were made from “Light Rye,” which is bran and germ depleted. The result will be more rye-ish, but it’ll also rise less, and have smaller holes. Maybe that last problem will improve with storage though.

      Could also try vital wheat gluten (you’ll have to add more water to account for that). See https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2008/02/10/qa-whole-grain-breads for guidelines on how to use it. But only go that route if you’re not happy with the dough strength doing it your way.

      Reply

      1. Thanks Jeff! I love your website and the fact that I can ask a question and both you and Zoe get back to me so quickly! Have a great day!

  19. Hi Jeff!
    Sorry about that – I meant that the mix went from 2 quarts to 4 quarts standing on the counter, as you say it should, and then sank, again as you say it will, when I put it in the fridge. The difference between the Einkorn and regular wheat in your recipe seems to be in the oven spring. In a normal Einkorn recipe, I get it. In your master recipe, I don’t. The bread is delicious, and has lots of air holes which we love, but there is no oven spring. Maybe the gluten is all glutenned out??? Your comments and help is so much appreciated. I hope my Einkorn experiments will help you down the road when you decide to take a different wheat journey. In the meantime, I am grateful for your help and especially that my family LOVEs to eat fresh homemade bread!! Many blessings.

    Reply

    1. Interesting, it suggests that there just isn’t enough gluten in Einkorn to support our stored-dough method– it’s too wet for this low-gluten flour? Well, not that it doesn’t work, but it just creates a different aesthetic. As you say, delicious, but maybe it’s not going to support a tall loaf. Bet it’ll make perfect pitas and flatbreads, see…

      Pita/flatbreads:
      https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/07/07/100-whole-wheat-honey-pita-on-the-gas-grill-new-video-michelle-obamas-letsmove-gov-initiative
      https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2009/12/29/announcing-our-3rd-book-pizza-and-flatbread-in-five-minutes-a-day
      https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2009/07/13/grilled-flatbread-my-workhorse-summer-bread
      https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2009/02/13/fresh-pita-the-fastest-bread-in-the-land
      https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2007/12/28/i-love-new-york-but-not-the-bread

      Reply

  20. I am interested in making your bread with sprouted whole wheat flour or sprouted spelt flour. Do adjustments need to be made for these flours in your recipes or can I use the same amounts? I’ve read that they possibly require more liquid. Could you share how it would work in the master recipe?

    Reply

    1. Our preliminary experiements suggest that either of these can swap in for whole wheat flour (not white flour), but they need extra water– if you’re familiar with what our whole-grain recipes are supposed to look like when mixed (see video at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/02/16/new-video-how-to-shape-a-loaf-using-whole-grain-dough)…

      … then increase the water with these alternative flours until they look that way. More for sprouted than for Spelt.

      Reply

  21. Previously sent but didn’t include which book and page no. which are
    Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day , p32 – 2nd paragraph says , A twenty minute rest after shaping is all that is needed……………
    Is this referring to pre or post refrigeration? Thanks.

    Reply

    1. Either– you can use the dough fresh (though it’s harder to handle), or you can use it after its refrigerated. When I say “fresh,” I mean after its initial two-hour rise on the counter at room temp.

      Reply

  22. THANKS JEFF – I will try the pitas and flat breads and let you know. I am also going to make a parchment paper ring and put it on parchment paper and put the dough in that on a stone and bake it off just to get the height we want. The bread is too delicious to give up on, so I am exercising my creative juices here. Your support is so very much appreciated.

    Reply

  23. I forgot to mention all that paper will go onto the back side of a cookie sheet (makeshift peel) so I can hopefully slide it into the oven. Fingers crossed it all holds together getting into and out of the oven.

    Reply

  24. Can I use dried buttermilk in the recipes that call for buttermilk? I use 4T of powdered buttermilk to a corresponding 1C of water. (I have the 2013 New Artisan 5min book and love it.)

    Reply

  25. Thank you, Jeff. I am using egg whites and Bob’s Red Mill flours (weighed on the scale) as well as the Red Star yeast you recommended. I mixed the first batch of dough by hand and it turned out just right as far as moisture is concerned. For the second batch, I used a food processor, and the dough was much too wet. Both breads turned out dense and gummy. By the way, 1 cup of water in the roasting pan evaporates very quickly during baking. Is it ok to add more water?

    Reply

  26. Yes, I’m using an over thermometer.
    You have advised other bakers to let the dough rest longer after shaping it into a ball, or to make small rolls instead of a loaf in order to avoid a gummy texture. Could I try these measures in my case?
    If nothing else works, I’m going to use white rice flour instead of brown next.

    Reply

    1. Absolutely, yes. Try a longer rest, and yes, small rolls can help. Also, about expectations– these results are definitely moister than wheat bread…

      Reply

  27. Hi guys! I’m making the Master recipe from The New Artisan Bread… book, and I’m running into some trouble with the top of the loaves breaking and expanding upward almost into a volcano shape, rather than the top remaining smooth and round. The very first loaf I baked came out with a perfect shape and color, but it took quite a long time to bake (50-55 minutes, despite using a normal grapefruit sized piece of dough) and had a VERY hard crust (hard enough to offer way more resistance to our extremely sharp Vixtorinox bread knife than it probably should have…it actually folded the burr over!). Since that first attempt, I have made two more from the same batch of dough, same size loaves, using parchment paper instead of corn meal on the peel and managing my oven’s temperature more closely with a digital temp probe placed 2″ above the stone. Baking times on those have been closer to what’s in the book (30-35 minutes), and the crust is still awesomely crisp without being like concrete…but now I get the “exploding” top problem. Any ideas what might be causing this? Thanks!

    Reply

  28. *This is my second post of this question…the first time I tried to submit, the webpage timed out, so I apologize if this ends up being a repost.*

    Hi guys! I recently made my first batch of dough from the Master recipe from The New Artisan Bread…, and I’m running into an issue with the tops of some of my loaves kind of “exploding” upward into almost a volcano shape. The very first loaf I baked came out with a perfectly rounded top, although it took quite a long time to bake (50-55 minutes) despite using the suggested grapefruit sized piece of raw dough, and the crust was EXTREMELY hard…so hard in fact that it actually folded the burr over on our VERY sharp Victorinox serrated bread knife. Here’s a pic of how that loaf turned out.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/meierphotography/16369750644/

    For the next two loaves, I switched from using cornmeal on the peel to using parchment paper, and I also kept much closer watch on my oven temps using a digital therm probe placed 2″ above the stone. Those loaves finished in much closer to the suggested time in the book (30-35 minutes), but both had the “erupting crust” problem. Here’s a pic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/meierphotography/16804397048/.

    Any ideas what might be causing this to happen? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Aaron, that really isn’t much of an eruption. When you said that you had a super-hard crust and the baking time was too long, first thing I was going to suggest was an oven temp check. So you solved that problem.

      You may get a more uniform shape with deeper cuts. Also, be sure that if you’re doing the long rest (90 min), or your atmosphere is dry, that you’re covering the resting loaf before baking. May be drying out the top crust before it hits the oven.

      Reply

      1. Thanks for the response! It’s been fairly humid here recently, and I’ve only been doing about a 40 minute rest, so neither of those should be an issue. I’ll try deeper cuts next time and see how that works out.

        Thanks again!

  30. 3rd attempt
    Re: Baguettes. Page 32 in book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Can not figure out if the directions mean you can make bread right after “flattening” and before refrigerating.

    Reply

    1. Hi Maureen,

      You can use the dough after the initial 2 hour rise, or refrigerate it. It is easier to handle once it has been refrigerated.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  31. I bought your first book. Have only tried your method twice and both times I followed your instructions exactly, allowing the dough to rise for 2 hours, then in the refrigerator. Removed a 1 lb ball and gently cloaked on 4 sides, shaped and allowed to rise 40 min (did not seem to rise any), scored and into 450 degree oven for 30 min with steam in bottom pan. Problem is both times the crust was so hard it was difficult to cut and chew. Please help, I do want to succeed with your method…

    Reply

    1. Hi Jo,

      Your bread may benefit from a slightly longer resting time. Next time try 60 minutes.

      Are you using a baking stone? And a baking thermometer?

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

      1. Yes, I’m using a stone. Used an oven thermometer and oven was 25 degrees off, then the thermometer gave out and would only go up to 100 degrees so had to toss that one. I do use an instant read thermometer on the bread. I will try the remainder of the refrigerated dough and allow it to rest longer. Thanks for your reply…

  32. Hello,

    If anyone happens to be online this morning, I’m about to try the Msemmem (from HBin5). When cooking, once I flip the flatbread, do I continue cooking with the pan covered, or cook the second side with the cover off?

    Thanks,
    Alan

    Reply

    1. Hi Alan,

      I cover the pan, but you can do either. If you finish it uncovered it may just take a bit longer.

      Enjoy! Zoë

      Reply

      1. Thanks Zoë, I just finished cooking four, covering for both sides. I’ve got to work on making my roll stick together more tightly, it tried to come apart when I rolled them out, but not bad for a first try!

        Cooking instructions said to cook in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. In my cast iron skillet, that would have the bread afloat and frying … Is that the intent?

        I wimped out and used less, but I got some charred spots, especially on the “flip side” since the bread puffed before flipping and thus wasn’t really flat. Should I have been frying on both sides in a thicker layer of oil?

        Cheers,
        Alan

      2. Hi Alan,

        What size pan are you using? You may just need to roll the dough a bit thinner if it really puffed up to be thick. It will puff a little bit, due to the yeast. You may also want to turn down the heat a bit if you think it is getting dark too fast.

        Thanks, Zoë

      3. Hi Zoë,

        Sorry, didn’t notice your reply earlier. I’m using my old Lodge #8 cast iron, biggest heavy skillet I have. So two tablespoons of oil would have me frying in a thick layer of oil.

        I’ll try less heat on my next batch.

        Thanks,
        Alan

  33. For your master recipe you use Gold Medal Unbleached flour. Can I use bleached instead? What will happen if I do?
    Thank You

    Reply

    1. Hi Andre,

      You certainly can use bleached flour. It mostly changes the color, but some folks swear they can taste a difference too.

      Enjoy, Zoë

      Reply

  35. I want to make the 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread on page 134 of The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, but the recipe calls for milk. I’m lactose intolerant. Besides subbing lactose-free milk, what would other substitutes be? Could I sub water and perhaps a tsp of sugar for the milk? Any other suggestions?

    Reply

    1. Hi Mark,

      You can use soy milk or water. Because of the honey in the recipe, I don’t think you need to add any more sugar.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

      1. Thanks for the quick response. I thought maybe the little extra sugar would be called before because the book states that the milk was there to tenderize the dough, and I could only imagine the sugar in the milk doing that.

        If I wanted a firmer crust, could I omit the oil?

  36. I have a great recipe for authentic Belgian waffles, “gaufres de liege”, which incorporates large sugar pearls into the brioche style dough. However, it requires the time-consuming proof and rise and punch that traditional bread recipes have plus a refrigeration break in the middle. I would LOVE to see a Liege waffle recipe converted into your 5-minute a day formula.

    Reply

  37. Your website is a great complement to your Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book. I’m still experimenting with the basic recipes. Why do we need to pre heat a baking stone for your soft dinner rolls/cloverleaf buns when the rolls/buns will be baked on a baking sheet or in a muffin pan?
    Thank you!

    Reply

    1. Hi Mary,

      You really don’t have to, and in fact, if you don’t have the stone in the oven it will preheat faster.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  38. Hi. Could you please tell me what your parchment paper is? In Australia only sell Baking Paper (silicone coated), waxed paper (the old lunch wrap) and ‘greaseproof Paper’ (an uncoated paper which isn’t usually used in the oven).
    Thank you.

    Judy Pitt

    Reply

  39. I’m thinking of buying HBin5 but reviewers have said the recipes require vital wheat gluten which is difficult to obtain here in the UK. I normally use very strong wholemeal, and sometimes white, bread flour for conventional bread baking which has a protein content of 13-15%. Would this be sufficient to avoid the need to add extra gluten?

    Reply

  40. My husband and I absolutely love the master recipe and use it to make rolls a few times a week. The crust is so brown and crispy! The interior is custardy and I like that as well. However, my husband would like a less custardy interior. Is there a way to make it less so?

    Reply

  41. How will I know if my dough has gone bad and should be thrown out? I know that 14 days in the refrigerator is a general rule but sometimes I forget to label my storage container and cannot remember how long the dough has been in there!
    Thank you!

    Reply

    1. Hi Gabriel,

      The dough can be stored safely for a while longer than our 2 week recommendation. But, if you see any mold on the dough, it should be thrown away. As the dough ages it may lose some of its rising power, so you may want to stick to flatbreads or use the older dough to jump start the flavor in your next batch. Just dump the new ingredients over the old dough and mix up a fresh batch.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

      1. Thank you for your speedy response to my question!! Ilove your book and after a long hiatus from bread baking (because I had a strange aversion to the smell of baking bread during my last pregnancy) I am back at it and have loved going through the book again 🙂

      2. Gabriel,

        You’re so welcome and I’m thrilled you’re back to baking again. I couldn’t look at bananas or chocolate for a year after my first child was born. It was awful as a pastry chef! 😉

        Cheers, Zoë

  42. I have made the Granola bread in New ABin5 – Hubby loves it…

    However I’m an aussie and I’m used to muesli breads. The muesli has more variety of grains but more importantly less fat and sugar as it is not toasted. As crunch is not needed in the bread is it possible to use muesli rather than granola in this recipe?

    Reply

    1. Hi Janis,

      I tested with granola for the book, so I am sure of how much liquid it will absorb, but I am sure the muesli will also work. Now that you’ve made it with the granola, you know what the dough should look like, so you can adjust the liquid in the muesli dough to match. I have a feeling it will be pretty much the same, although muesli absorbs a lot of water, so you may need to add a bit more liquid???

      Enjoy, Zoë

      Reply

  43. Hopefully I will not bother you again after this question. I want to know if it is feasible to form the dough into rather healthy sized baguettes and freeze them then for baking later. I would not slash them prior to freezing but would do so after the defrost period. This would make my life somewhat easier.

    Mille grazie.

    Randy

    Reply

    1. Hi Randy,

      The bread may not keep its shape well through the freezing and defrosting stages, but if you were able to freeze it on a cookie sheet, it may help. After it is frozen, then you can remove the sheet.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  44. I got your gluten free book. Yesterday I made the Master Recipe. Instead of making the Boule I made the baguette. It was delicious but it did not grow at all in the oven? It was more of a “ficelle” than a “baguette”? Do you know what went wrong? I assume something went wrong with the Yeast when making the Master recipe! Do you mix the yeast to the water with the sugar before adding it to the mixture #1? I used a heavy duty electric mixer. Are the pictures of the baguette in the book of gluten free baguettes or regular baguettes? Thanks for your help? It does taste delicious!

    Reply

  45. Hi I just made the buttermilk cinnamon raisin bread and the tops cracked. This is the third time, trying to get it right. The first time the tops were hard as rock. The second time better, as a friend said to brush it with water as soon as it comes out of the oven. I thought I would brush it with water before going in this time, would that cause it to crack?

    Reply

    1. Hi Jane,

      The top cracking is a normal part of the dough rising in the oven. You can try letting it rest a bit longer before going into the oven. Give it an extra 20 minutes and it may help. You can brush it with water or butter and it will soften the crust a bit.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  46. I recently got The New Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. First attempt was the 100% whole wheat loaf. I used a scale for everything except yeast, salt, oil and honey. I ground fresh whole wheat from wheat berries in our Vitamix. The dough rose really nicely, after 2 hours I put it in the refrigerator (covered but not sealed). In the morning (about 12 h) it had collapsed to about 50% of the full raise. I took a 1.5lb ball, formed and raised in a bread pan for 90 minutes. It raised a bit more, but not a ton. I was hoping for oven spring but if there was any it was pretty minimal. I baked at 325 with convection on. After 38 minutes internal temp was 202 with Thermapen. The loaf is about 1 1/2 to 2″ tall. Seems like I’d be better off with a 3lb loaf? Or possibly adding some vital wheat gluten? It is still cooling so not sure how the crumb has turned out. Any suggestions?

    Reply

    1. Hi Bindu,

      What kind of flour are you using? Brand?

      I would try baking without the convection at 350°F.

      It is normal for the dough to collapse in the bucket, but you should be getting a bit more oven spring than you describe. Are you using an 8 1/2″ pan or a 9″ pan?

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  47. I made 2 loaves of the Deli-Style Rye bread from the New ABin5 page 111 and baked both for 40 minutes. Both loaves had a nice deep brown crust, but the crumb is sticky.

    Reply

    1. Hi Rick,

      Try letting the dough rise an extra 20 minutes before baking, your dough may be particularly chilly to start with. Make sure your baking stone is well preheated and check the oven temp with an oven thermometer. Be sure to let the bread cool completely before slicing it, or it can be gummy.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  48. I’ve made the 100% Whole Grain Maple Oatmeal Bread from the Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day cookbook several times, following the instructions exactly. Every time it seems to have way too much liquid and I end up having to add flour in order to work with the dough. Is the recipe correct? (5 c flour, 2 c oats, 1 c buttermilk, 2 1/2 c water)?

    Thanks!

    Reply

      1. I’m using King Arthur flour, white whole wheat, and I used 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten.

        Thanks!
        Ann

      3. (Responding to your later comment)

        I usually scoop flour into a measuring cup with a small metal scoop that I keep in my flour container, then level it off with a knife.

        My dough looks much wetter than in the video. This recipe is one that I usually bake right away rather than storing in the fridge. It’s the only recipe I make from your books where the dough turns out this wet.

        Thanks!
        Ann

      4. Hi Ann,

        Spooning (even with a metal scoop) the flour into the cup will result in less flour in the recipe. Try just scooping the flour out of the container with the measuring cup and you should end up with a slightly less wet dough. This dough starts out pretty wet and then stiffens up a bit when refrigerated as the oatmeal absorbs some of the water. If you refrigerate the dough it will have a different feel.

        Thanks, Zoë

  49. I made the whole wheat recipe from healty bread in five and it is not stretchy like yours. I watched the video and I don’t know what I am doing wrong. I may have made the water too hot but will that make it not stretch?
    Jennifer

    Reply

    1. Hi Jennifer,

      This can happen if your dough is particularly cold, as a result of a colder refrigerator. If you suspect that is the case, then just let the dough rise a bit longer after you shape the loaf to compensate.

      If your dough is too dry this will also happen, so if your dough seems dry, you may need to add a bit more water next time, in either case a longer rest will help get a nice result.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

  50. hello & thank you for such a wonderful book. my bread comes out beautifully – the inside and crust are perfect, i’ve made bread every day since my book arrived a week ago. i am having one small issue, however. almost every loaf i bake seems to “explode” at some point around the base of the loaf, like a large blister where the gluten cloak just doesn’t hold it in. any suggestions?

    Reply

    1. Hi Tom,

      This is a common issue when the dough hasn’t had a long enough rest before baking. For whatever reason your dough must be on the colder side, so it needs a longer rest. Let it rest for an additional 20 minutes and it should take care of it. You also want to make sure you are slashing the dough deep enough or it won’t open up in the way you want, but burst out the bottom as you describe.

      Thanks, Zoë

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *