Artisan Bread

I have been seeing recipes all over the place for making quick and easy artisan breads but haven't tried any of them...until now. Mother Earth News had an article awhile back by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François on their method and book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. My blogging friend, Mary Beth from Oklahoma Pastry Cloth, did a post recently about how much she liked this method and how easy it was, so I finally gave it a try. What have I been waiting for?!?

There is no kneading required and once you make up a batch of the dough, it will last in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. There are many variations of the method floating around on different blogs so I would like to refer you back to the article from Mother Earth News for the original recipe, method and some good information and tips, you can find it here: Five Minutes a Day for Fresh Baked Bread. The only change I made was to substitute 2 cups of whole wheat flour for 2 cups of the all-purpose flour called for.

To me, this bread is reminiscent of sourdough without the need to fuss with a starter. The crust is crunchy, the interior is chewy and there is a nice artisan bread texture. The dough is supposed to develop more flavor as it ages and you use it too. I made two small loaves yesterday and we have already completely devoured one, the second one will be eaten with our bean soup for supper tonight. Jerry told me "You get an A+!"

I'm linking up with Heidi at My Simple Country Living for The Country Homemaker Hop, Mira for Crisp PhotoWorks' Food Photography Challenge and the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop.