Batty for Bread

I've heard great things about a book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, and I finally got it at the library. I read it at night, and I was so excited that Amelie and I spent the next day baking bread! The book tells you how to make enough dough for about 4 loaves of bread, and then you can either refrigerate it for up to two weeks or bake it almost immediately. (The five minutes a day part does not include the initial dough-making or the rising, resting, or baking times.)

Since working with dough is NOT my skill set, it took us considerably longer than the book said, but we had a great time following the clear and reassuring instructions. I didn't have a big enough bowl, but you can see that our dough rose without a problem!

Shaping and baking the loaves was pretty easy, and I felt I was getting the hang of it by the time I tried the second loaf (although my kitchen got extremely floury!). We gave away the boule, but the baguette was incredible!

The best part is that I have the dough to make two more loaves in the fridge, getting better with age, according to the book. It includes recipes for about 100 different kinds and variations, from sandwich bread to brioche to pecan caramel rolls. I think this book is worth purchasing - I'm going to have a very hard time parting with it!

Who wants to come over and taste my new skill?