Healthy Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day

Globilization is the word of the day, isn't it? You hear it everywhere. Our society has been moving towards a global community for a long time. Sometimes you think Africa is so far away or India is so far away or Australia is so far away. But really they are not. Being a member of the global community has helped me "get to know" people all over the world. That is one of the joys of blogging for me is saying someone from Greece visited me today on my blog. Or someone from the Phillipines visited me today. It gives me a little thrill to know that people are so connected even though miles seem to distance them.

So when people say I want to only help people in my own backyard, I say the world is our backyard. We are all intertwined. When we reach out to help someone it really doesn't matter where they live or where they came from. It only matters that we are kind. This is one of the reasons I joined Bloggeraid.

Through Bloggeraid I have the opportunity to review a recently released book. A select group of publishers have come forward and donated books for review by the members of Bloggeraid. St. Martin's Press/ Thomas Dunne Books donated the book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I am the very fortunate recipient of this book.

When I first received the book I sat down that evening and looked it over. I said to my husband, as corny as this sounds, this is the bread book I have been searching for. This is exactly what I want in a bread book. Different grains, flours, vegetables and fruits incorporated into bread. Now top all those nutritious ingredients off with a method of making bread that shaves mega time off the whole process and then delivers amazingly tastey, economical bread. How can you go wrong?

Believe me when I tell you that this is a good book. I would not endorse a book that I did not particularly favor. I can say with complete confidence that this book delivers some amazing recipes. I have made three so far and as soon as we get done eating those I will be on to another one in the book.

Check out this video with Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois demonstrating the basic boule from the new book. They certainly demonstrate the ease at which these rcipes are made.

The book has quite a bit of quick useful information that is easily referenced. The beginner baker should have no problem navigating their way around these recipes to make sensational bread. For the practiced bread baker there are some useful tips and certainly a bevy of great recipes.

The first bread I made was all about seeds. Healthy, amazing, tastey seeds all baked into a nutty bread. It's called, "Ten Grain Bread". It utilizes a ten grain hot cereal to make a sensationally nutty bread. We had it with some Cauliflower Vichyssoisse that I made. I will post the recipe soon. A very filling and healthy combination for a cold day. We really enjoyed the flavors in this one.

Ten Grain Bread
Healthy Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois; Published by St. Martin's Press / Thomas Dunne Books

2 cups ten grain hot cereal (Bob's Red Mill brand), uncooked
3 cups white whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast or 2 packets
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
3 1/2 cups warm water
1 to 2 tablespoons of seed micture for sprinkling on top of crust: sesame, flax seed, carawy, raw sunflower, poppy and or anise

1. Mixing and storing the dough: Whisk together the cereal, flours, yeast, salt and vital wheat gluten in a five quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

2. Add the water and mix without kneading, using a spoon, a 14 cup processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you're not using a machine.

3. Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately two hours.

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) conatiner and use over the next 10 days.

5. On baking day, dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut of a 1 pound (grapefruit size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape in into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on a ll four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

6. Elongate the ball into an oval. Allow loaf to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or lined with parchment paper for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you are using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or a greased cookie sheet without using a pizza peel.

7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack that won't interfere with rising bread.

8. Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with water. Sprinkle with seed mixture and slash the loaf a 1/4 inch deep parallel cuts. using a serrated bread knife.

9. Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone (or place a silicone mat or cookie sheet on the stone if you used one). Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. Bake for 30 minutes, until richly browned and firm. If you used parchment paper, a silicone mat or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully remove it and bake the loaf directly on the stone or oven rack two thirdes of the way through baking. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.

10. Allow to cool on a rack before slicing or eating.

Olive Spelt Bread
Healthy Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois; Published by St. Martin's Press / Thomas Dunne Books
(pictured above)

4 cups spelt flour
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast or 2 packets
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
2 cups warm water
2 cups plain whole milk yogurt
1 cup pitted green olives, chopped

1. Mixing and storing the dough: Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt and vital wheat gluten in a five quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

2. Add the water, yogurt and olives and mix them with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14 cup processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you're not using a machine.

3. Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately two hours.

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) conatiner and use over the next 7 days. The flavor will be best if you wait for at least 24 hours of refrigeration.

5. On baking day, dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut of a 1 pound (grapefruit size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape in into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on a ll four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

6. Allow loaf to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or lined with parchment paper for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you are using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or a greased cookie sheet without using a pizza peel.

7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack that won't interfere with rising bread.

8. Just before baking, dust the top with flour. Slash the loaf a 1/4 inch deep parallel cuts. using a serrated bread knife.

9. Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone (or place a silicone mat or cookie sheet on the stone if you used one). Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. Bake for 35 minutes, until richly browned and firm. If you used parchment paper, a silicone mat or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully remove it and bake the loaf directly on the stone or oven rack two thirdes of the way through baking. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.

10. Allow to cool on a rack before slicing or eating.
Whole Wheat Banana Bread
Healthy Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois; Published by St. Martin's Press / Thomas Dunne Books

4 cups white whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast or 2 packets
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup neutral- flavored oil
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups very ripe banana puree
2 cups walnut pieces (optional)
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) for brushing on top crust
Raw sugar for sprinkling on top of loaf

1. Mixing and storing the dough: Whisk together the flours, yeast, cinnamon, salt and vital wheat gluten in a five quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

2. Combine the liquid ingredients with the banana and optional walnuts and mix with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you're not using a machine.

3. Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately two hours.

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) conatiner and use over the next 7 days.

5. On baking day, lightly grease a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut of a 2 pound (cantaloupe-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape in into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on a ll four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

6. Elongate the loaf into an oval and place the loaf into the loaf pan; your goal is to fill the pan three quarters full. Allow the loaf to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 1 hour 45 minutes (60 minutes if you are using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).


7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. The baking stone is not essential for loaf pan breads; if you omit it, the preheat time can be as short as five minutes.

8. Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with egg wash and sprinkle it with walnuts or sugar. Place the pan on the stone or on a rack in the center of the oven. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, until richly browned and firm.

9.  Remove the bread from the pan and allow it to cool on a rack before slicing or eating.

Full Disclosure: I received this book free from St. Martin's Press.