I love fresh, hot-out-of-the-oven, home baked bread and I bet it is a pretty safe bet that you do too. If you are like me, though, you probably aren’t very fond of the kneading part. I have some things to assist me with the kneading part like my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook and my bread machine but I still didn’t make bread very often.

A couple of years ago, I saw a recipe somewhere on line that sounded too good to be true. I was telling my friend Kelly’s mom about it and she said, “Oh, I have that cookbook.” Of course, I immediately asked to borrow it and devoured it from cover to cover.

A Surprising New Way to Make Home Baked Bread

I made my first batch, which was less than stellar, but I learned to perfect my technique. I made bread of some sort almost every day for several weeks. I did eventually get over the phase but it is still my favorite way to make bread.

So what am I talking about? It is the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. It claims to be the “discovery that revolutionizes home baking” and I wholeheartedly agree. What’s so special about it? There’s NO KNEADING involved. Home baked bread with no kneading!

This is a somewhat oversimplified description but basically you mix all the ingredients together (you can do this by hand or let your mixer or food processor help you), let it rise in a covered container then put it in the fridge. You can use it right away after it rises but it is easier to handle after it is chilled. You make a large batch and take pieces of it as you need it to make bread or rolls or pizza or….. You can store it in the fridge for up to two weeks for most recipes (there are several variations) and the longer you keep it, the more of a sourdough flavor it develops.

The hardest part for me was getting the right consistency. The recipes are very exact, down to telling you what brand of flour was used to develop the recipe, but things like humidity can make a difference. My first attempt was way too wet but my second was much better.

5 Minutes a Day?

If you are wondering about the five minutes a day part, it refers to how long it takes you to get the dough out of the fridge every day and shape it. Are you intrigued? Check out their books in the links below.

Pint It and Save for Later

Do you bake bread? Have you tried this method?