Review: Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Summary: From the authors of the groundbreaking, hugely popular Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day comes a new cookbook filled with quick and easy recipes for healthy bread. Their first book was called “stupendous,” “genius,” and “the holy grail of bread making.” Now, in their much-anticipated second book, Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoë François have taken their super-fast method and adapted it for the health-conscious baker, focusing on whole grains and other healthier ingredients.

The method is still quick and simple, producing professional-quality results with each warm, fragrant, hearty loaf. In just five minutes a day of active preparation time, you can create delectable, healthy treats such as 100% Whole Wheat Bread, Whole Grain Garlic Knots with Olive Oil and Parsley, Black-and-White Braided Pumpernickel and Rye Loaf, Black Pepper Focaccia, Pumpkin Pie Brioche, Chocolate Tangerine Bars, and a variety of gluten-free breads. About a dozen of the recipes are 100% whole grain.

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day will show you that there is time enough for home-baked bread, and that it can be part of a healthy diet. Calling all bread lovers: Whether you are looking for more whole grains, watching your weight, trying to reduce your cholesterol, or just care about what goes into your body, this book is a must-have. Visit www.HealthyBreadInFive.com for more information. -- Thomas Dunne Books

Remember how I said that I love cookbooks? Well, I have another one that I can't rave enough about. It's called HEALTHY BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY: 100 NEW RECIPES FEATURING WHOLE GRAINS, FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND GLUTEN-FREE INGREDIENTS by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois. Prior to this cookbook, I never even tried to make homemade bread. It's all Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and French Loaf for this family. But now that I've discovered this cookbook, I have made bread for my family almost every day!

I love this cookbook so much! There are 100 bread recipes in it, and almost all of them appeal to me. So far, I have only made the 100% Whole Wheat Bread Plain and Simple loaf; but I intend to try a lot more. I have to admit that my first attempt wasn't quite right. For some reason, the bread just didn't rise like it should have. It still looked and tasted good, but it was just a little bit flat. One thing I really appreciated about this book is that it has a trouble-shooting section. I think it's terrific that the book includes something like this, and it made me feel "okay" for not having perfect bread on my first try. My second attempt making The Master Recipe turned out much better.

My son is truly obsessed with this "mommy homemade" bread. He has eaten an entire loaf in three days. I can't even believe it (but I'm loving it) since he's never really liked wheat bread before. I'm just happy that he's not allergic to it! He enjoyed eating the 100% Whole Wheat Bread Plain and Simple, but he also loves the less wheat-y Master Recipe. The Master Recipe is made with whole wheat and some unbleached white flour.

Believe it or not, my kids only eat homemade/fresh bread. They eat bread or toast every morning for breakfast, so I end up buying baguettes about three times a week. Often times it goes stale before they can even eat it all. Their fresh bread habit costs us about $10 a week. I love that each bread recipe in HEALTHY BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES costs around $.40 a loaf! Plus, I don't have to go to the store every few days. Just think of how many cookbooks I can buy with the savings!

I loved this cookbook so much that I've decided that I have to have the first one -- ARTISAN BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY. While Booking Son can't get enough of the whole wheat bread, Booking Daughter wants her bread a little less "wheat-y" (although she really likes the Master Recipe). My husband is actually the same way, so this prior cookbook might have some potentially "better" recipes for them!

Besides being extremely easy to make (no kneading required), I love that you can make the dough ahead of time and just refrigerate it up to 10 days or so. When my son wants hot, fresh bread, I can just pull the dough out of the frig, sit it on the counter, let it rise and bake it. It is so easy I can't believe it! If you don't believe me, check out this video! It really does work just like this:



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Thanks to FSB Associates for sending me a review copy of this book.