October 25, 2010 - 12:54pm
Opinion on Aritisan Bread in 5 miuntes
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/
After doing about 10 days of research on sourdough bread and how to make starters I ran across this web site. Does this style of bread for for sourdough starters or even a similar SF sourdough bread. I am thinking of making a batch of this with wheat bread so I can make good wheat bread for my 18 month old son's lunches. I dont want to get to distracted by this type of technique since I would really like to make good artisan sourdough bread.
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Artisan Bread in 5 is a good book but it doesn't cover sourdough. If sourdough is what you are looking for, skip it.
I want to make sandwich bread and rolls for hot dogs or hamburgers will that method be easy to do every day.
Only buns and rolls in the ABIF index are carmalized onion and herb dinner rolls, spicy pork buns, and sticky pecan caramel rolls. As Floyd noted, it doesn't deal with sourdough.
You wrote earlier you purchased The Taste of Bread by Calvel. If you're not happy with it, look into Northwest Sourdough's book titled Discovering Sourdough.
The Cavel book is not here yet. I forgot that I ordered it (probably because i had to do it twice). I see my self diverging down two paths at this point and please tell me if I am crazy.
1, Become a kick arse Sourdough Artisan baker with good starters and knowledge on how to use them. Probably make a loaf 2 or 3 times a month.
2, Learn a Artisan in 5 method where I can bake sandwich bread for my son when we need it. Since it can sit for 2 weeks in the fridge (And yes I have 2 giant sized fridges). I can then make a loaf in a night when its needed to make lunch.
Two things I am looking for in this adventure. Learn to use new tools and patience and I think SD is starting to work with me. I know have 2 starters going and I think the first is dead. The pineapple juice one seems to be right on track. but its only day 4. I have purchased a SD starter from International Starter and will probably start it this weekend (Although im 45 miles from SF I should be able to do this). I ended up baking a pretty decent loaf this weekend and learned one of my fears could be easily conqured (Kneading). I am going to learn the slap and fold method to see if I can work with a wet dough. I also learned the window pane method but not tell after I had proofed my bread. And the final most important thing I am getting is a place to express my ideas and conerns and all the feedback has been really good.
A response to your question about AB in 5 Days, you can do both. I do and also bake bread with yeast and do not leave it in fridge but bake after rise. The only thing I would caution you about the book is leaving the dough in the fridge so long and expecting it to rise after 5-6 days in the fridge. Peter Reinhart says that as well. After about 4 days, you pretty much have gotten what you are going to get out of the yeast. There is room in your baking style for many ways to produce delicious bread.
That said, I think someone at TFL indicated they did have luck with leaving the dough for more than 5-7 days, but not me. However, you can try. You should be applauded for your serious interest.
Good luck to you and keep baking, Jean P. (VA)
The link to the book does not work.
It does now.
Teresa's server may have been overtaxed by people trying to download the book she wrote and so graciously offered. Floyd posted about her book on October 22, and word travels fast in cyberspace. In the interim, her website is well worth exploring.
The two paths you are considering are quite varied. The ABIF method will give you bread that's better than what's sold in the supermarts, but it isn't what I'd call great bread. And no, the dough does not last for two weeks in the fridge. The dough will begin to break down long before that and when that happens, the end result suffers.
On the other hand, learning to make sourdough bread well is a continuing education with its own challenges.
As to fresh bread for your son, you have two large refrigerators which must have freezers. Bake three or four loaves and freeze what you don't immediately need. Pull out a loaf before you retire for the night and you'll have fresh bread the next morning.
the master recipe for rolls, just size them down and bake them appropriately, you can also make pan bread with the master recipe, but for healthier breads the other book Healthy bread in five is better.
The dough is not sour exactly, but its definitely easier to use than any sourdough recipe I have ever seen on here, since its usually a two day deal to make "real" sourdough, having to build the levin and so forth, the in five breads are useable right away (although very sticky without the longer fridge fermentation) but if you are crunced for time, they are perfect, make them up, pop them in the fridge and take off what you want or need when you have the time to bake.
With an 18 month old, I expect you don't have hours to spend making a starter, and baking "real" sourdough, and the in five makes a much better loaf than the stuff from the stores, the other thing I like about it, is the fact that I can chop off enough for a small loaf, 2 buns, or what I need, and leave the rest to reside in the fridge.
If you read the book or the website, there is a the suggestion to add the small amount of left over dough in your container to the next batch of dough, which in the long run will turn your dough into a sour dough, or a more sour dough.
What I like about the books is the fact that I can now bake bread, which while is not up to a standard of the best bakers on this site, is a darn site better than anything I can buy in the store. I am 10 miles out of town, and we have 5 inches of snow already, so winter is going to be bread baking time for me.
I have already figured out ways to add things to the bread to make some of the breads on here, and will try some of the breads as I manage to get things going once my reno's are over. But I will be happy to have the ability to bake which this book gave me.