Homemade Artisan Bread

Fresh artisan bread is one of my all time weaknesses.  Whenever I would shop for groceries, I gladly handed the cashier $6+ a loaf.  If I bought a loaf each week, along with my sandwich bread loaves, I wonder how much I actually spent on bread in one year?  Ah!  I better leave that one alone.

Good thing for divine intervention...

This is one of my homemade loaves...

One of the greatest gifts I ever received from a good friend is a book called "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg, MD & Zoe Francois.  From my very first loaf, I was truly empowered to create my own bread at home quickly and easily, no kneading required.  I haven't bought a store bought loaf of bread in 6 months and my family and I enjoy fresh artisan breads every day.

"Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" offers a simple master dough recipe that I use over and over again.  Flour, Yeast, Salt & Water are quickly mixed together in a bowl and the rest is history.  Actually theres a bit more to that but the overall process is pretty effortless.  My favorite part once again, no kneading!

After I have pre-made my dough recipe (which makes 4 - 1 lb loaves of bread), I cut off what I need and quickly shape it into a loaf setting it onto a silicone baking sheet to rest.  After it rises, its only 30 minutes in the oven until the bread is complete.

This loaf has risen and is ready for baking

Only 30 minutes of baking until my bread is complete.

Finished Artisan Loaf

As soon as I become more familiar with the bread making process (which didn't take long at all with their easy method), I experimented with adding whole grains, cornmeal, spent grains (from our beer brewing) to create different tastes and textures.  Long story short,  it all tastes great and I'm sure my bread expenses have dropped to a third of what it cost me before.

For those of you who are on gluten free diets, the authors have another wonderful book with simple bread recipes called "Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day"