Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day or Splendid Tables How to Eat Supper

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

Author: Jeff Hertzberg

There's nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread to fill a kitchen with warmth, eager appetites, and endless praise for the baker who took on such a time-consuming task. Now, you can fill your kitchen with the irresistible aromas of a French bakery every day with just five minutes of active preparation time, and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will show you how.
           
Coauthors Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François prove that bread baking can be easier than a trip to the bakery. Their method is quick and simple, bringing forth scrumptious perfection in each loaf. Delectable creations will emerge straight from your own oven as warm, indulgent masterpieces that you can finally make for yourself. In exchange for a mere five minutes of your time, your breads will rival those of the finest bakers in the world.
           
With nearly 100 recipes to put this ingenious technique to use, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will open the eyes of any potential baker who has sworn off homemade bread as simply too much work. Crusty baguettes, mouth-watering pizzas, hearty sandwich loaves, and even buttery pastries can easily become part of your own personal menu, and this innovative book will teach you everything you need to know.

Publishers Weekly

While the phrase "artisan bread" typically evokes images of labor-intensive sessions and top-notch ingredients, for authors Hertzberg and François it means five minutes. An intriguing concept-high-quality, fresh bread in less time than it takes to boil water. The authors' promises of no kneading, no starter, no proofing yeast and no need for a bread machine is based on the concept of mixed and risen high-moisture dough stored in the fridge for up to two weeks (dough is cut into pieces and popped in the oven for fresh loaves as desired). Note: for those tracking minutes, the five-minutes doesn't include the 20-minute resting time for dough or 30 minutes for baking. After concise, introductory chapters on ingredients, equipment, and tips and techniques, readers are presented with the master recipe, a free-form loaf of French boule that is the model for all breads in the book. Three main chapters-"Peasant Loaves," "Flatbreads and Pizzas" and "Enriched Breads and Pastries"-are filled with tempting selections and focus on ethnic breads and pastries including Couronne from France; Limpa from Scandinavia; Ksara from Morocco; Broa from Portugal; and Chocolate-Raisin Babka from the Ukraine, but the basics (Oatmeal Bread, Bagels, White Bread) are all here, too. A smattering of companion recipes such as Tuscan White Bean Dip and Portuguese Fish Stew are peppered throughout. While experienced bakers and true gourmands will skip this one, those looking for an innovative approach to making bread just might find it in these recipes. (Nov.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Judith Sutton - Library Journal

Hertzberg, a health-care consultant, was determined to develop an easy way to make artisan-style bread at home. By chance, he met Francois, a pastry chef and cooking teacher, and together they developed "the secret" of this book-high-moisture doughs that can easily be mixed in large batches (most of the master recipes make enough for four loaves), then stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, ready for shaping and baking a loaf at a time. Kneading and allowing for a long rising time before baking aren't required. The authors include recipes for classic French breads, peasant loaves such as Portuguese Corn Bread, and a range of flatbreads, as well as some enriched breads and sweet pastries. There are also savory recipes made from bread, such as Panzanella, and accompaniments like Tuscan White Bean Dip. The authors' style is straightforward and unintimidating, and their book is sure to make many new bread-baking converts. For all baking collections.

Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show

Author: Lynne Rossetto Kasper

Just when you thought the last thing the world needed was another book on weeknight cooking, along comes an entirely fresh take on the subject. As they do on their weekly show, host Lynne Rossetto Kasper and producer Sally Swift approach their topic with attitude and originality, making The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper one of the most engaging cookbooks of this or any other year.

As loyal listeners know, Lynne and Sally share an unrelenting curiosity about everything to do with food. Their show, The Splendid Table, looks at the role food plays in our lives—inspiring us, making us laugh, nourishing us, and opening us up to the world around us. Now they have compiled all the most trenchant tips, never-fail recipes, and everyday culinary know-how from the program in How to Eat Supper, a kitchen companion unlike any other.

This is no mere cookbook. Like the show, this book goes far beyond the recipe, introducing the people and stories that are shaping America’s changing sense of food. We don’t eat, shop, or cook as we used to. Our relationship with food has intensified, become more controversial, richer, more pleasurable, and sometimes more puzzling. How to Eat Supper gives voice to rarely heard perspectives on food—from the quirky to the political, from the grassroots to the scholarly, from the highbrow to the humble—and shows the essential role breaking bread together plays in our world.

How to Eat Supper takes you through a plethora of inviting recipes simple enough to ensure success even if you’ve never cooked before. And if you are experienced in the kitchen, you’ll findchallenging new concepts and dishes to spark your imagination.

Publishers Weekly

A joint effort between Kasper, public radio host of The Splendid Table , and her producer and fellow foodie, Swift, this superb book should grace the shelves of even the most infrequent of cooks. Full of tantalizing, fast and easy-to-assemble meals, this collection also focuses on the ideas behind the techniques: what to look for as the food cooks, what kind of pot ensures success, and where substitutions will work. Helpful information such as why buying imported Italian pasta and why salting pasta water are important help the less experienced extract flavor from basic ingredients. Recipes center on quick and nutritious dinner options, including Dressing-in-a-Bowl Supper Salad, North Shore Shrimp Scampi, and Lamb Chops with Crossover Spice Crust. The authors also provide valuable references such as a tasting guide to salad greens, advice for imparting flavor to frozen shrimp and suggestions for using pasta water in sauces. Given the show's popularity, the accessibility of the recipes and the authors' practical and useful advice, this excellent book is sure to become a kitchen staple. (Apr.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Judith Sutton - Library Journal

The Splendid Table is the name of Kasper's highly acclaimed first cookbook, her weekly newspaper column, and the radio show she has hosted since 1995; Swift is her producer and "partner in [the show's] creation." Their book, which grew out of a popular e-newsletter they started in 2002, Weeknight Kitchens, presents dozens of simple but imaginative recipes. Kasper is an authority on Italian cooking, but the recipes gathered here, ranging from Thai Cantaloupe Salad with Chile to Filipino-Style Chicken Adobo, were inspired by a variety of cuisines. Many of them include variations, and sidebars titled "Cook to Cook" provide helpful information on all sorts of topics. There are also intriguing digressions on various culinary matters and recommendations for favorite cookbooks. Informative, entertaining, and filled with appealing recipes, this is highly recommended.