Artisan bread with just a few minutes of work

Nov. 7, 2008 – The race to simplify bread baking is over. Who won? The home cook.

Nov. 7, 2008 – The race to simplify bread baking is over. Who won? The home cook.

The idea that even time-starved, inexperienced bakers could make
artisan loaves first spread through the "no-knead bread" publicized in
The New York Times in 2006. That crusty, low-yeast boule was easy, but
required advance planning, spending more than 14 hours in the fridge.

Cook's Illustrated magazine later tinkered with the no-knead
breakthrough, producing a loaf that was more flavourful and virtually
foolproof.

All the while, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois were developing "Artisan
Bread in Five Minutes a Day" (St. Martin's Press, US$27.95). Their doughs
can be assembled in a flash, loaves-worth at a time, and stored for days
in the refrigerator to bake on-demand. They've built the concept into
an instructional website (artisanbreadinfive.com) and are working on a new cookbook on quick and easy whole-grain breads. | FULL STORY