Bread talk

I baked this past weekend.  A lot.  The total was 2 loaves of the master recipe from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (HBI5), 2 loaves avocado-guacamole bread from HBI5, 5 bagels and 4 soft pretzels from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (ABI5).  I also made a sandwich loaf from the master recipe in HBI5 on Friday.  Yes.  5 loaves and 9 miniatures.  A whole lot of baking.

My successes:  The bagels!  The pretzels!  I have been wanting to make bagels since I got the book over a year ago.  I was scared, though.  Boiling pot?  Sounds tricky.  Guess what?  Not tricky at all.  Actually, super easy.  Both the pretzels and bagels were well received and they both use the same dough.  The difference is what you add to the water in the pot when you boil them.  The bagels take baking soda and sugar whereas the pretzels take cream of tartar and baking soda.  The resting time is shorter than for the big loaves so they are faster to get in the oven which means they are faster to get out of the oven too.  We ate both the bagels and the pretzels warm - yum!  The only thing I really found tricky was rolling the dough in long ropes to form the pretzels.  I did it with difficulty and they turned out fine.  I made some more pretzels after school on Monday for the girls and made the pretzels into sticks instead of twisting them.  So much easier and the exact same taste.  Another word to the wise:  my edition of ABI5 had a significant error in the bagel recipe.  A quick check of the official website told me that the oven temperature should be 450 instead 400.  I also searched the site for soft pretzels and found that although the authors say the cooking time is 15 minutes, it really takes about 30 minutes.  Check the errata before you attempt any of these recipes.

Mixed results:  the avocado-guacamole bread.  If you have been a reader of this blog for any length of time, you know that I love Mexican food.  Accordingly I had high hopes for this bread.  It has whole wheat and white flours with avocado, tomato and garlic.  The taste profile is fantastic!  I baked up the two loaves and took them to a party where the bread got great reviews.  I was a little disappointed, though.  My dough seemed overly wet even though I followed the recipe to the letter.  Accordingly my loaves were a little flat.  Next time I make the dough, I will add additional flour to see if that helps.  But the taste is there so I will definitely make this bread again.

The other mixed result I had was the HBI5 master recipe.  I was really excited to make this because it is a whole grain bread.  My loaves turned out very dense and too wheat-y for my taste.  Don't get me wrong - I like wheat bread.  In fact, when I buy bread, I almost always choose the wheat.  This dough looked great, smelled wonderful and rose exactly as it should.  When I cut into it, though, the crumb was dense.  I think that I was the issue here.  I don't think my oven was up to temperature - I had forgotten that 450 on my oven really isn't 450 degrees.  I have to set it to 475 to have my oven thermometer register 450.  Duly noted.  I will try this again at the correct temperature and hope that it's more to my taste.

Failure:  The master recipe in HBI5 as a sandwich loaf.  It was tiny and I kind of guessed it would be based on the loaf pan size that the authors call for.  The taste is nutty and nice, but it's not great for sandwiches and only ok for toast.  I'll try it again, using a bigger pan and maybe it will work out.  There are a couple other loaf recipes in HBI5 that I want to try too.

All in all, I love both books.  Both ABI5 and HBI5 have made baking bread doable for me.  The fact that I have tubs of dough in my refrigerator and can bake a loaf as it is wanted is amazing.  I love that HBI5 has many more whole grain recipes and interesting ones at that (banana bread for french toast, anyone?).  It also has a whole chapter full of gluten-free recipes - that alone should be a selling point for many people.  The recipes in ABI5 were revolutionary to me and the ones in HBI5 only add fuel to my baking fire.  And, especially, I love that it is easy for me to bake bread.  Easy, people.  So easy that I made blueberry bagels without a recipe telling me exactly what to do. 

Uh huh.  That's what I am talking about.

Comments

[julia]

okay. bagels. this weekend. for realz.

i would say that even though the recipes in ABI5 aren't necessarily the best bread recipes i've ever used, the method makes bread baking during the week a reality and that, in itself, is amazing.

and i can always do different, more involved, recipes on the weekends if i want.

[beth]

i've made the bagels too and they were a big hit (and much easier than they sound). they are chewy and crisp and nothing beats them warm out of the oven. for a great and easy sandwich loaf try the one on the back of the bag of king arthur whole wheat flour (w/maple syrup which makes it a litlle less sweet than honey). great photos and inspiration...bake on!

[Gina :]

I love pretzels...the hot, sticky, salty sort - good for dipping. You must have had quite an operation underway to turn out all of that in a weekend. I'm impressed!

[Mama Urchin]

yum, just yum

[Erin H.]

Great Job! I belong in the Google Group Healthy Bread in Five - we are baking our way through the book - your breads look delish! If the master loaf if too wheaty, might I suggest you use White Whole Wheat (King Arthur carries a brand you can find in most stores) - it's not so overpowering. That is what I have been using for most of the recipes for Hbin5. For sandwich bread, I highly recommend the 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich loaf - very soft crumb, and if you have a loaf pan with high sides, you can get slices that look like store bought bread. Next up for me with that book are bagels, and I think this weekend will be it! :)

[Pam - captured by our cameras]

You may have just persuaded me to try the bagel recipe. The boiling pot has me a little freaked out too.

[charlotte]

Your new banner looks GREAT!
AND WOW...you been breadin! I can't believe you did ALL of this is such little time.
I can almost smell them.
Thanks for all the corrections to the recipes...if I get brave I'll try those pretzels...YUM.
Thanks for sharing.
Char

[Nancy]

My only attempt at bagels (14 years ago...yikes!) was a dismal failure--I think enough time has passed that I'm willing to try again!

I have HBI5 over here but have yet to crack it open. I am still in search of the 'perfect' 100% Whole Wheat bread & I was hoping this was it...I'm realizing there may be no such thing, but going to give their Master Recipe a try.

I've also wanted to try King Arther's White Whole Wheat flour (I think it might be made with a kind of Russian winter wheat that is only starting become popular in the U.S.). I've eaten pasta made with this wheat and it's identical to traditional white flour pasta.

[Krista - Poppyprint]

You've almost got me convinced to try bread. Laurraine at PatchworkPottery has been blogging about ABi5 and I actually got to taste her cinnamon rolls which were divine. My issue is that if I bake a loaf of delicious bread, I eat the whole darned thing!!!

[jess]

Wonderful!
I made myself a pasty yesterday with the bagel dough and it was superior in all ways to anything I have had in the way of pasties.
I Heart Baking.

[Lise]

I'm so glad you reviewed that bagel recipe; I'd forgotten it was in there. I've got to get back in the bread habit. Your post inspires me. This weekend, for sure. I can't wait to try the bagels!

[christina]

Homemade bread must be in the air! I too have been baking bread..I've used the main recipe from The Tassajara bread book and the one from The river Cottage Family cookbook,both produced delicious loaves of bread. It seems every other blog I read talks of bread baking, so cool!

And those bagels...yum~!

I made donuts a couple weekends ago too so easy and so so good!

[Kristin]

Thanks for the review! I don't own either book and I already make bread, but I'm really intrieged by their method. I would guess your unhappiness with the whole grain bread had more to do with the proportions of wet to dry ingredients, type of wheat flour you used, or something like that. But I'm not an expert, so I could be totally wrong! :)

[Heather]

So funny, this is the third blog that I have read today that talks about these books. They are both two of my favorites, and you are incredibly accomplished with all that you have created. Looks delicious

[Melissa]

I just picked up HBI5 from my library yesterday, and can't wait to experiment this weekend! Your bagels and pretzels look delicious!!

[Wendy]

Looks yummy--especially the bagels. I checked the first book out of the library, but was intimidated and didn't try anything. I've been inspired to give it a second look.

[beki]

This would be sooo dangerous for me. I can see myself eating an entire loaf. We are a bread loving family, so I may have to practice some self restraint and give this a go. After having a broken oven for a year, I keep forgetting that I can actually bake things again.

[Jennifer]

Yum, they all look fantastic. I made bagels once back when we only had one child. They were delicious, I will have to try them again.

[molly]

if i could make good bagels and soft pretzels at home, it would save me a lot of money. yum. i need to revisit my copy of ABI5

[peanut]

Yum on the bagels and pretzels.

I have that book but I'd forgotten about all the other stuff in it. We regularly make pizza, pitas and bread (round or baguette) but I need to expand my baking. I'm mixing up a bowl tonight for pizza on Saturday - maybe we'll have pretzels on Friday :)

[katie]

everything looks so good! I have been dying to make those soft pretzels. i was afraid i would ruin them, but maybe i will give them a try now. I am getting hungry looking at all the bread! yum!

[Caroline]

I love to make pretzels! I use a recipe from a very old Martha Stewart Good Things book. It's really easy to follow but with lots of pots to clean :) So much fun!

[Beth Ellen]

I just got "artisan bread in 5" this week and I've baked the whole first batch and have a whole grain batch ready to play with tomorrow! Great book--makes baking fresh bread so easy. I have always been a bread baker, but it has never been so easy to fit it into my busy life (with 3 teens) until now!

[geek+nerd]

Everything looks amazing, and I enjoy that you talk about the successes as well as failures here. I've been itching to try my hand a bread-baking for awhile now, and both of these books are on my wish list. I think you just added more fuel to that fire!

[PippaPatchwork]

I am so impressed with all your breads! I usually can't pull off more than one loaf per weekend, and even then I've been slacking.

I'm so glad I've discovered your blog!

[leslie]

okay... getting up the nerve to make bagels. :)

[Kim]

You are amazing! I wish I had someone like you around. I browsed the aisle and found bakers flour but to me, baking bread is a thought in my mind and will not actually come to fruition.

[Kelly]

If you're looking for a great sandwich bread, try the soft whole-wheat loaf in HBI5. It's a bit more complicated than the master recipe (enriched with eggs, sweetened with honey), but it's a favorite with my kids. I'm curious to hear about your next attempts with the master. I've finally gotten it down, but I skip the seeds because I like the flour dusting from ABI5 (now that master recipe is great IMHO). So funny that I've been blogging about these books too!
ofttraveledpath.blogspot.com

[Dianereafsnyder]

Can I come over for a bagel? I love all your posts....they are very inspiring. Thank you.

[Valerie]

Those pictures of bagels are making me hungry! I've given up bread for the time being - trying to lose the middle aged spread - but mmmm, bagels .... I'm having a Homer Simpson moment.

[Shannon]

I made the sticky buns from the ABi5 using the Brioche dough. OMG! They were fabulous, light and melt in your mouth. My family raved!And the Brioche on its own was great too.
Made the master recipe from HBi5 yesterday. Not as pleased. Like you, my bread was a little dense and the flavor seemed off. But it could have been my whole wheat flour. It wasn't super fresh. So I think I will give it another shot. I think this time I will substitute the white whole wheat.

[Irmhild]

mmh... makes me hungry...

[TammyR]

Okay, I've got to make my own bread now! Those bagels look sooo good!

[luciana]

Hello, every now and then I visit your bog and always enjoy what I see/read. Wow, those breads look amazing! We do a lot of bread baking at home using sourdough culture. You got me curious about both books. Gotta check them out. Enjoy your bread!

[Shelley McBride]

Gosh - all of these loaves are beautiful!

[Kristina]

Thanks for the great 'review'! The results look absulutely delicious!! I've got the book but I've only tried one or two recipes so far and varied them a little...I really need to try out more, especially the bagels! Seeing you try all of those recipes really motivates me :))

[Lise]

I did it! I can't believe it, but I made bagels! Thanks for the inspiration. Mine are here:
http://inthepurplehouse.blogspot.com/2010/02/time-to-make-bagels.html

[Stefani]

Okay, I'm officially going to break down and do it. I've had that book for ages and have been to chicken to try the bagels.
I'm on it!

[Kelly]

Those bagels!!!

[Jolene]

Hi Erin, your recent posts are so inspiring - I'm de-lurking to say thank you sharing about HBI5M. I can't wait try baking bread at home!

[Deanna]

Hello Erin, I just came back and re-read this after finding the HBI5 master recipe too dense and wheaty... did you try a higher over temperature? Any advice? Thanks!
(my post to this effect: http://deannam.blogspot.com/2010/02/wheat-bread-five-minute-style.html )

[Erin]

I haven't tried the recipe again, but I think when I do, I will try it with white whole wheat flour.  Good luck!

[Deanna]

Thanks so much, and thanks for your suggestion about the honey whole wheat sandwich loaf!

[Elina]

WOW! This looks interesting.