Artisan Bread Taste Without the Work!

Zoë François 20 Comments

A frequently asked question is…”How do I get that sour characteristic of artisan bread without having to use a starter, which is way too high maintenance?”

The answer is easy with our bread method, just wait. I mean mix up your dough, let it rise, use some if you need to immediately and then let the rest of the batch sit in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Don’t feed it, just wait. After the 2nd day you will notice that the flavor is more complex and is starting to take on the characteristics in artisan bread that you crave: sourdough flavor, larger air holes, nice “custard” crumb and crisp tin crust. As it ages it improves, like all of us! The way I maintain that flavor in the next batch is to leave a piece from an “old” dough in the bucket and just dump the ingredients for a fresh batch right on top. Read More

Making Suvir’s Puff Pastry Samosas

Zoë François 3 Comments

light crisp samosas from Indian Home Cooking

I’ve been cooking from Suvir Saran’s acclaimed book Indian Home Cooking for years and now from his newest triumph American Masala. The pages are dog-eared and stained with turmeric and garam masala. His recipe for puff pastry samosas with green peas is one of the easiest and most satisfying appetizer/after school snacks I make. My kids devour them and yet they are sophisticated enough to serve to guests. Read More

Anne’s question about weighing flour!

Zoë François 9 Comments

Hi — your book made our Thanksgiving! My grandmother always made cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving and I had let the tradition go because they were so much work. But this year I saw the NYT article, ran out to buy the book, and we had cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving dinner to my sister’s and my daughter’s delight. Thanks so much.

Here’s my question: I went through a sourdough phase awhile back and got used to measuring flour with a scale. I’m excited about trying it again with your dough formulas. Is there an equivalent you’d suggest for weighing flour(s)? Different books seem to vary in what they consider the weight equivalent of a cup of flour. I’d appreciate any suggestions and again, thanks so much.

Anne Read More

Roasting “Sugar” Pumpkins for Bread

Zoë François 4 Comments

oatmeal pumpkin bread

It is nearly Thanksgiving and there are pumpkins in everyone’s shopping cart, generally in a can. If you want a real treat, that is easy and will have you wanting to skip the canned isle in the grocery store, try roasting your own pumpkin. Baking the pumpkin caramelizes the sugars and makes for a sweeter puree than boiling. You’ll want to start with a “pie” or “sugar” variety and avoid the BIG Jack-o-Lantern pumpkins which are great for carving but are too watery to eat their flesh. Once you have roasted your pumpkin you can use 1 cup for Oatmeal Pumpkin Bread on p. 100 of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, the rest is for your favorite pie recipe. Read More

1st Book Signing at Borders!

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book signing at Rosedale Borders


Today we had our first book signing at the Borders in Rosedale Center. It was a flurry of enthusiastic bakers and non-bakers alike coming by to chat about bread and sample our Italian peasant loaf. Everyone that stopped had a story of their own bread baking or wanted to share their grandmother’s recipe. We sold and signed the entire stock of books in just a couple of hours. It was fantastic! It would seem people really love to bake bread.