I first read about this book at PaniniHappy who of course, knows a lot about different types of bread for all those yummy panini’s she makes. But this book intrigued me…how could I really make bread in five minutes a day? I checked it out and was pleasantly surprised to find that it could be done! The authors have developed a method that has you make up the dough ahead of time that you keep in your refrigerator for a week or more! It is a “wet” dough that works better when stored cold. Then, when you’re ready to bake your bread you just cut off what you need and follow the directions for the type of bread you want to make. How easy is that? There are even instructions on how to freeze your dough or par bake it, then freeze it if you don’t want or have the fridge space to dedicate to your master dough.
Included in the book is a handy guide of all the different ingredients you can or will use and how to choose them (and why you don’t have to be too picky a lot of the time). Things like yeast, salt, seeds or nuts and of course, different types of flours. There is a chapter on Equipment and another titled Tips and Techniques. Both help demystify all things bread-baking related–which can often seem intimidating! Then, of course, there are the recipes! Ciabatta, Boule. Pita and even Crusty White or Wheat Sandwich Loaf breads and sweet breads are included!
The only downside…I wish each “basic” recipe had a referral list below the recipe that told you what types of “offspring” breads you could make from that dough. It’s simple enough to figure out in the index but this would just save me a step (thereby keeping with the time saving nature of this book!)
If you’ve always wanted to make more of your own bread (and keep out the preservatives), check out this book!
