Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day contains a wealth of delicious bread recipes and makes artisan home baking seem not only approachable, but easy. All the tricks I learned over months of baking are gathered together in this book. The authors teach you, for instance, that you don’t need to make fresh dough every day to have fresh bread every day, that you don’t need to proof your yeast, and that you don’t always have to knead your dough. These aren’t new ideas, but while I had to read many baking books to learn these helpful tips, “Artisan Baking in Five Minutes a Day” condenses them all into one highly accessible text. I will admit that having a solid background of baking experience helped me make the recipes I tried from this book, and that at times I kneaded the dough a bit or proofed my yeast - old habits die hard - but even when I didn’t give in to the temptation to knead or proof, the resulting breads were remarkably satisfying. I especially enjoyed the “Tips and Techniques” chapter, which explains moisture content and how to successfully modify doughs. It also tackles problems associated with underbaking or overbaking your loaves, giving you a helpful breakdown of signs to look for and how to improve your baking as a result. Though photos do not accompany the majority of the recipes, a handful of color photos are included in the middle of the book along with how-to photos in the “Master Recipe” section. The 5 minutes a day part stems from the fact that the authors often have you mix a big batch of various kinds of doughs, then give you instructions for making different breads from the initial batch throughout the week. I thought this technique was successful, with the exception of the Raisin Bread, which I felt would have been improved if it were based on a sweet, rather than a buttermilk, dough. But that’s a matter of personal preference, as is my wish that the authors hadn’t included quite so many “accompaniment” recipes, such as bean dips or soups to eat with certain breads. I would have preferred it if even more scrumptious bread recipes were featured on those pages instead. Yet, overall this book is an excellent addition to any library. I highly recommend the “Foccacia with Onion and Rosemary” and the “Spinach Feta Bread.”

Chapters include: Introduction; Ingredients; Equipment; Tips and Techniques; The Master Recipe; Peasant Loaves; Flatbreads and Pizzas; and Enriched Breads and Pastries.