Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes A Day - Really Just 5 Minutes!

In 2007 when Dr. Jeff Hertzberg and Chef Zoë François rocked the world with their book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking I waited a long time on the library list to get my hands on a copy so I could understand the secret. You see, I love bread. I love to make it, I love to smell it baking, I love to eat it, I love to share it, I even love kneading it.

I love it enough to prefer making it by hand rather than using my bread maker.

I was impressed by the first book and was therefore excited when the opportunity to receive, read and review 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 Zoë François came my way.

When the book arrived I decided the best way to honestly review it was to actually READ the book. A lot easier said than done with a cookbook, a BREAD cookbook, filled with recipes for breads that make you want to start baking immediately. Much like the first offering Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day begins with some lessons for the average person who has maybe never attempted to bake a loaf of bread from scratch before. (bread machines do not count) With chapters covering topics from why a person should choose to make their own whole grain breads, to detailed analysis of the ingredients, equipment and techniques necessary to create your own artisan bread a novice baker has all the information to dig in and get baking.

The recipes offered cover a wide range of bread flavors, types, and styles. (There are even some dessert like donuts and crescent rolls that I'm looking forward to making and eating as soon as my Not New Years Not Resolution has accomplished something positive - we'll call it a reward!) (And gluten free offerings too!) The directions for each recipe are clear and easy to follow including hints to help make a better loaf along the way. If all you ever make is the Master Recipe, offering your family a wonderful loaf of freshly baked whole grain bread made of ingredients you can trust this book is worth the investment.

I've posted a recipe that the authors wanted to share for Chocolate Espresso Whole Wheat Bread (YUM!) separately.


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About the Authors:

Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., coauthor of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients, is a physician with twenty years of experience in health care as a practitioner, consultant, and faculty member at the University of Minnesota Medical School. His interest in baking and preventive health sparked a quest to adapt the techniques of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for healthier ingredients.

Zoë François, coauthor of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients, is passionate about food that is real, healthy, and always delicious. She is a pastry chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America. In addition to teaching baking and pastry courses nationally, she consults to the food industry and is the creator of the recipe blog www.zoebakes.com. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two sons.

The authors answer bread questions at their Web site: www.healthybreadinfive.com.

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FCC Bru HaHa -
This is a review website and as a reviewer I am occasionally given things (for free) to try out so I can impart my opinion about them. This would be one of those times. In exchange for reading and reviewing this book I was sent a copy to keep as my own.

Chocolate Espresso Whole Wheat Bread

by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoë François,
Authors of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients


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"I was so pleased when the nutritional powers that be deemed dark chocolate and espresso 'good for you'. Considering what a large portion of my diet they occupy, I was relieved to know I no longer needed to feel guilty, not that I ever really had. So in an attempt to make you all a bit healthier and a lot happier I've come up with Chocolate Espresso Bread. Not too sweet but packed with flavor." --Zoë

Makes enough dough for at least two 2-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved. Use any leftover dough to make cupcakes.

2 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets
1 tablespoon kosher salt (increase or decrease to taste)
¼ cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup lukewarm brewed espresso or strong coffee
1¼ cups lukewarm water
4 large eggs
½ cup neutral-flavored oil
¾ cup honey
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) for brushing on top crust
Raw sugar for sprinkling on top

1. Mixing and storing the dough: Whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

2. Combine the liquid ingredients and the chopped chocolate and mix with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you're not using a machine.

3. The dough will be loose, but it will firm up when chilled. Don't try to use it without chilling at least 2 hours.

4. Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

5. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days. Beyond that, the dough stores well in the freezer for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. Freeze it in 2-pound portions. When using frozen dough, thaw it in the refrigerator for 24 hours before use, then allow the usual rest/rise time.

6. On baking day, grease an 8½× 4½-inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 2-pound (cantaloupe-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

7. Elongate the ball into an oval and place it into the loaf pan; your goal is to fill the pan about three-quarters full. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest and rise for 1 hour 45 minutes.

8. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350°F, with a rack placed in the center of the oven. If you're not using a stone in the oven, a 5-minute preheat is adequate. Steam is not needed.

9. Just before baking, Use a pastry brush to brush the loaf's top crust with egg wash, and then sprinkle with the raw sugar.

10. Bake near the center of the oven for approximately 45 to 50 minutes, until firm.

11. Remove the bread from the pan and allow it to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.

VARIATION: Cupcakes

1. On baking day, grease a muffin tin. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1½-pound (small cantaloupe-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a smooth ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

2. To form the cupcakes, divide the ball into 12 roughly equal portions (each about the size of a golf ball). Shape each one into a smooth ball as you did above. Place the buns in the prepared muffin tins. Allow to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 40 minutes.

3. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350°F, with a rack placed in the middle of the oven. If you're not using a stone in the oven, a 5-minute preheat is adequate.

4. Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with egg wash, and then sprinkle with the raw sugar. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cupcakes are richly browned and firm.

5. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and allow to cool on a rack before eating.

It's true, chocolate may have powerful health benefits: Moderation is the key, because chocolate is high in sugar and fat. But chocolate contains phytochemicals (beneficial plant chemicals) that may increase HDL (good) cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and decrease the likelihood of blood clots. Milk chocolate has less of these phytochemicals than dark chocolate because some of the cocoa is replaced by milk, and white chocolate doesn't have any at all.

Feeling better yet? Well, your coffee contains antioxidants. According to one study, Americans get their highest dose of antioxidants from coffee. It's not yet clear whether that translates into higher body stores of antioxidants, but it's opened up a whole new area of research, not to mention apparently justifying those mocha lattes (careful: sweetened or creamy coffee drinks are a major source of unnecessary calories).

The above is an excerpt from the book 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 Zoë François. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Copyright © 2009 Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoë François, authors of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients