Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
585347
The title is a little misleading, the five minutes is shaping the bread - it doesn't include resting and baking, but the bread is delicious!  What sold me on the book is the short video to show just how simple it is.  I learn best by watching, so the video was helfpul to understand the process. I've been baking bread for 35 years and was glad to find a way to make bread without the all the work, but this bread has the taste that my bread could never have - fabulous.  I have only tried the "white" bread recipe, but am looking forward to trying more of them.  One of the downsides is that the batter takes up a bit of space in the fridge and one batch only makes 4 very small loves.  All in all you can't find this flavorful bread anywhere in my neighborgood.
2449337
I have now purchased 5 Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  This is absolutely the best bread book out.  I have given this book out for gifts with a loaf of fresh bread to my bread making friends.  Everybody just raves about how easy the recipes are and especially how easy it is to make the basic doughs.  Buy the book and you will not only make the best artisan bread, but the best bagels, the best pizza dough and the best pastry in five minutes a day!
2450546
I love using this for super fast bread or rolls. From start to finish in under two hours. Now you can have fresh baked bread or rolls every night of the week.
3461910
ILife changing: I make excellent bread, challah, delicious mashed potatoes, cookies,cakes..everything! I use it at least three times a week
952251
This is the first bread machine my husband and I have ever owned, so while I can't compare it to other machines, I can say that the West Bend has absolutely delighted us from its first use.  We are not experienced bakers, so this machine must be very forgiving because it has turned out terrific loaves of bread, time after time, without a single ugly-looking or off-tasting mistake.

The machine really does complete the entire bread-making process in 45 minutes, which is terrific because I can put the ingredients in the machine, turn it on, and by the time I finish cooking the rest of the meal, the bread is done!  The loaf is easy to remove from the pan, and clean-up has been a snap.  The machine goes through only one rise cycle and requires an entire packet of quick-rise yeast, which does give the bread a slightly "yeastier" taste and aroma than other breads.  But we still find the bread delicious and are not at all bothered by the slight yeastiness.  To us, it just tastes hearty and flavorful.

As others have said, the baked loaf is a very cute oval shape (not a weird, tall cylinder, like full-sized machines apparently make) and is perfect for two people.  To be honest, it's really more than enough bread for two; we slice it into about 5 or 6 slices (3/4-inch wide), and usually save 2 of those slices for later, to have as an after-dinner treat with some sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top.  For comparison, if you eat at Outback or Lone Star Steakhouse, the West Bend loaf is taller and produces a few more slices than the brown bread loaf they bring you as a free appetizer at those restaurants.  Those who think the West Bend loaf is too small for a two-person accompaniment to dinner are probably in the habit of eating very large portions.  (Technically, ONE 3/4-inch slice of this bread is ONE serving, so if 3 slices aren't enough for you, it's really not the fault of the machine.)

I give this product 5 stars because it's a quality, reliable machine at a great price; it has unfailingly produced great loaves of bread with nice shapes, perfect crusts, and soft, yummy interiors every time, despite our inexperience with bread-baking; and it has eliminated the 3-4 hour wait normally required for home-baked bread.  We love it and would buy another in a heartbeat if ours ever gives out.
3438547
After having an issue with some store-bought bread ... what I've begun to refer to as Frankenbread, I decided to look into alternatives to the obviously preservative-loaded commercial breads available at the market.  I was on Amazon researching bread machines and ended up with a $200 one in my shopping cart.  However, I remembered that everyone that I have ever seen with a bread machine quits using it after a short time and it ends up put away in a cabinet.  I noticed this book in the "people who bought this, bought that" section.  After reading the many reviews, I decided it was worth a try in lieu of the $200 bread machine.
I have been using the recipes and the techniques described in the book to make bread each day for the last 2 months or so.  Two of us, with occasional visiting bread-eaters consume a small loaf each day.  With practice, I have become adept at both mixing the ingredients of my favorite recipe and getting ready for baking.  I have made so many mistakes, like forgetting it while proofing in the oven, dough too wet or too dry, etc., but I always end up with a loaf of bread that is much, much better than a commercial bread.  And since I am using mostly organic ingredients, I have to think it is much healthier.  I really don't spend much more than 5 minutes per day and always have delicious, fresh, healthy bread.
2737491
Paul Hollywood has written this book with so much encouragement and clear instructions that I really do feel I can try anything in it.  Following his instructions I dared to make a sour dough starter; five days in and it is functioning as described.  I've made bread before but decided to go ahead and start with his basic white bread and I have to say that it is excellent.  Again the directions were clear so it was easy to follow.  The recipe makes a single, suitably sized loaf; in the past I have tried recipes that made loaves that were just too big for a loaf pan and too small for two.  I also like that the directions are for doing the work by hand rather than assuming the reader has access to expensive appliances.  Too often I have found authors just assume that the reader has things like stand mixers and food processors which just discourages them.
1842433
I would like to give Artisan Breads Every Day a 4.5 star review, but, alas, Amazon doesn't give that option.  In brief, I give the book 5 stars for the superb breads that come out of these recipes and techniques, but a 4 for the organization of recipes and instructions.

The best first -- so far, I have made two different doughs (basic lean white dough and the 50% whole wheat dough) for a total of four loaves of bread and the neo-Neapolitan pizza dough.  The resulting loaves and pizzas were fantastic.  Hearty, earthy, great open-hole crumb, thin-but-crispy crust, great flavor.  Everything I'd been looking to create at home but had never quite managed.

For about a year and a half, I'd been working through the recipes and techniques of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  I baked from that book regularly, several times a week, and the breads had great flavor and that delicious mouthfeel from a "custard crumb."  The only thing that disappointed me was I never quite got that "holey" lattice-work crumb the book's authors promised me.

With Peter Reinhart's book I have finally achieved bread-baking nirvana!  His technique requires more hands-on work than the AB5 technique, but I welcomed this, as there is nothing more satisfying to a baker than to have one's hands working dough.  Yet, Reinhart's stretch-and-fold technique is really simple and requires only a moderate amount of work, not the heavy-lifting multiple kneadings of my earlier bread-baking days.  Stretch-and-fold really seems to structure the dough better than AB5's mix-and-let-rise technique, and you can feel it under your hands.

That being said, now some slight criticisms about the organization of the book.  Although I enjoy all the backstory Reinhart provides about the technique and the dissection of each step, I found it more than a little frustrating to have to flip back and forth constantly to different parts of the as I was working on the recipes themselves.  I suppose that after a while, the technique will become second nature, but at first all this flipping and referencing different chapters was tedious and confusing.  Then there was the problem of vagueness with at least one of the dough recipes.  The 50% whole wheat dough gave the instruction after the ingredient list to follow the earlier ciabatta recipe.  There were no other instructions, such as how long to bake, at what temp, what was the best bread form to make with this dough (as in boule, batard, etc.).  Since the ciabatta dough was a white dough and not a whole wheat dough and since I didn't necessarily want a ciabatta loaf, this made for a bit of guessing.  Turned out that I baked the bread for too long and it got a little burnt on the bottom.  It was excellent, anyway, but, still, the time suggested for baking the ciabatta was way too long for this ww dough when baked as a batard.

So with that caveat so that a beginner might know what to expect, I highly recommend this book and Peter's technique for baking artisan breads.  The finished products are amazing and worth whatever extra effort you need to put into them.
3645509
This book is a work of art.  Excellent step by step instructions with pics.

My only recommendation is to not create your own starter by leaving water and flour on the counter.  Buy a real starter from Classic Sourdoughs.  I have 2 from them out of Italy and have been making excellent bread with this and the Tartine recipe for > 5 years.  I have a outdoor pizza oven and find his method with a dutch oven much more consistent and reliable.  Also, pick up a Fibrament baking stone and it will retain the heat in your home oven and produce excellent results.
1597582
Have enjoyed many lessons on how to make bread and as well hav bread making machines .

We love to caravan and once away from "the big smoke" the price of bread is silly.

Artisan bread is so simple even I can do it and my mates have no problems producing wonderful bread with very little effort.

it is so simple nothing can go wrong - no more cannon balls - no more scone mix rocks. Beautiful bread in maximum 15 mins per day.

I make up a dough that slumps and put it into a can to rise - first rise i take a handfull and shape it into a stick loaf - 40 minutes to rise then 25 mins at 220 c - what a loaf

the book is worth every cent - the bread is simple and just fabulous what more can i say

regards

peter Seaford Victoria Australia
337119
For those who enjoy making and eating bread this is a great machine. Easy set up and ability to add dry ingredients automatically at the appropriate time makes it ideal for those gourmet and artisan breads. Timer makes it a snap to have "just out of the oven" fresh bread at dinner time. Every chuck wagon should have been equipped with one of these. Makes 1, 1 1/2, and 2 lb. loaves.
3465661
I put the ingredients in before work, set the timer on it to delay a few hours, and then I have freshly baked bread as I walk in the door. I don't know why I ever ate bread from the store. It's so easy to use, and it includes tons of recipes for all kinds of breads. You can make slight adjustments, add cheeses or spices, and there are tons more recipes for this machine online. I could bake a different loaf of bread in this every day for a year and never use the same recipe. Dinner guests are always impressed when I bring out the "home-made" bread with the meal.
1498073
Now everyone has time to make great bread. Most breads take 3-4 hours, but your time is about 10 minutes. If you buy mixes, you can do it even quicker. Plus the machine is programmable, so you can wake to hot bread in the morning.

I'm a beginning breadmaker who favors whole grain breads. I expected a lot of trial and error to get them right, but I've had nothing but excellent breads with this machine. It's easy to use. The manuals provided (one on machine operation and one on bread baking techniques with recipes) are clear and helpful.

Programming cycles include standard, sweet breads, whole grains, French, instabread, dough, butter (for churning your own), dessert (for baked goods, such as cakes or pudding) and fast bake (one knead, one rise, one hour). On some cycles, the machine beeps for you to check the consistency and add soft ingredients, such as raisins.

I thought you had to be super-careful to measure everything just so, but I've been estimating and guessing a lot. I make recipes for the first time with multiple changes and substitutions. I even open the machine when you're not supposed to. One time I forgot the egg and added it on top with the dry ingredients. I've had breads under-rise and over-rise. In spite of all this, they always come out fine anyway.

The only thing I didn't like is the recipes. They are almost all white bread, with a few "whole grain" breads that are only 1/2 white. If you're a whole grain fanatic like I am, you'll need to find some other recipes or make substitutions.

I still don't know how to knead, punch down or bake bread, but I'm eating well. This machine is a lot of fun at a very reasonable price.
587683
I live in San Francisco, land of great breads.  Yes, you can buy better breads here than I can make from this book but they cost $7/loaf.  And I love the basic bread recipe.  My kids came for a visit and in 4 days they ate 3 loaves of it.  And bought the book afterwards.
1378704
Makes a wonderful loaf of bread. Easy to use and good looking on the counter. Wish the instruction manual listed the time schedule for each bake schedule like Breadman does, but excellent nonetheless.
794865
This book was a pleasure to read, and I loved the photos.  I am preparing my starter now, and hope to be making my own wonderful bread from it soon.  I purchased this book after visiting Tartine while in San Francisco. The bread was amazing. No, there aren't lots of bread recipes, but the premise is that once you learn the technique, you can develop on your own.  There are certainly enough recipes to get started on.
3721504
I wanted to find a way to make good bread for my family.  I am tired of my current options for store bought bread.  This book has given the real answer.  Once you mix up the initial batch, you can have good bread within an hour any day of the week.  An added bonus has been the sticky bun rolls, made from the same base bread.  My husband, who normally likes plain white bread, has raved about the bread.  We're sold.