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

Thank you. The bread is from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes/day

Essentially you mix up a large batch of dough (water, yeast, salt, flour), let it rise at room temperature, then put the container in the fridge. When you want bread, you pull of a chunk, shape it, let it rise some more, then bake. The brilliance is that you put in some effort up front, but then the daily labor is literally 5 minutes, although the time between deciding you want bread, and the bread coming out of the oven is several hours. The actual work is just a few minutes and you feel like a pro, like you really got your life dialed in. No special tools, but a pizza peel really helps. The instructions cover about four pages in the book, but once you "get it", you just won't need them. And you don't need to knead the dough at all. The bread is really very very good bread. Amazon has the original version of the book from several used book sellers for under $8 including shipping. Worth every penny because it describes how to make modest adjustments to get substantially different types of bread (ciabatta, flat breads, pizza, peasant loaves, and heartier loaves with varied flours). I would bet the library has a copy, too, so free to borrow.

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I realized I didn't say what the vinegar was for ... it's to make poor girl pickles - just salt, sugar, and vinegar plus whatever chunks of vegetables you have (cucumber, carrots, cabbage), in a jar, in the fridge. Not super exciting unless you add some spices, but you can do things like cut very fine shreds of cabbage or carrots and then do a quick soak in vinegar with sugar and salt, then use it as a small garnish on tacos or in a sandwich to really kick up the flavor for pennies and just a few minutes of effort.

I am fortunate to have a teenage son who will take long walks with me and humor me on meal planning. I've driven all over my state and it has soooo many tiny towns really far from anywhere, and often the only source of food is a convenience store, sometimes a Walgreen's. Prices are obviously a lot higher, but the question became, or the problem to solve became ... if this was your only source for groceries, what would you buy, in what order, and why, and then what do you cook, particularly if you really don't know how and are starting with the bare essentials. Even the worst small gas station stores almost always have limes and bananas, plus dry rice and beans, pasta and sauce, and eggs and cheese in the refrigerated section. Many have a few onions, tortillas, cilantro and jalapenos and maybe a few ratty tomatoes. So that became the beginning of the training/planning, especially since my older daughter says literally NO ONE she knows (except herself) in their 20s can cook, and they are miserable and broke and super stressed out about it. Just really struggling to pull their food together.

Cookbooks! I read so many food blogs, but it's never quite as nice as reading a cookbook, even if it's more practical.

Some I enjoyed this year:

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day - My bread-baking bible

Top with Cinnamon - This girl is 18 and is better at cooking/styling/photography/writing than I will ever be

Joy the Baker's Homemade Decadance - Basically the food blog queen

Sunday Suppers - This one is just beautiful

Or if you're lazy like me, Artisan Bread in 5

OO Is this the Boule recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day?

Edit: fixed book link

Jeff Hertzberg. Here’s the link to The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

This is my go to recipe. It's based on the 5 Minute Artisan Bread recipe. It's a stupid simple recipe that always makes amazing bread.

I like to bake them fresh loaves of bread. It's extremely cheap, everyone loves fresh bread, and then you also know how to bake bread.

That linked book's master recipe makes 4 loaves a batch and is idiot proof, no kneading or guesswork. They look exactly like the picture on the cover and are delicious. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.