Customer Reviews

200 Fast and Easy Artisan Breads: No-Knead, One Bowl

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First off: I was very experienced in no-knead breads even before buying this book. I write a bread blog (breadland dot blogspot dot com) and have been experimenting with this method for almost a year, using many types of flours, shapes of breads, combinations of refrigeration, freezing, etc. You can find out a lot about no-knead breads online, which is great.

And take it from me: no-knead bread is INCREDIBLE! It was eye-opening to me, and believe me, I love to make breads the traditional way, kneading by hand if and when I have the time. But the airy, open texture, the hard, crisp crusts, the well-developed, almost sourdough flavour of no-knead bread was truly a revelation.

But I found I was looking for a book which would lay out a whole bunch of no-knead recipes, nice and easy, without having to search the Internet or make up my own formula, which might or might not work. This book does that.

I chose 200 Fast & Easy Artisan Breads over Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and another one called Baking Artisan Bread, by Ciril Hitz, which is the same no-knead idea, and also includes a video, because this book seemed to offer more genuine recipes, not just reworkings and different shapes of the same dough. Also, it's less expensive than a few of the alternatives, probably because it's a paperback, and that's okay with me.

There is still a time and place for kneaded breads (by hand or machine) in the cook's repertoire, but since I'm usually cooking in a hurry for my family of six, this technique and my big "dough bucket" have saved me tons of time - and with this book, I can keep saving time while flipping through recipes to discover new and exciting favourites.

I'm not sorry I bought this book: it covers the basics and lots more, including sourdough, sweet doughs, long-risen doughs and more. There is a nice variety of technique, some of which is more labour-intensive than you might associate with the term "no-knead." The author clearly knows her bread.

However, one thing I enjoy in a cookbook is a sense of the author's personality, and this book is almost totally lacking in that area. The recipes are laid out professionally, with tips and hints and nothing is LACKING, but it doesn't give the sense that the author really, truly loves bread, the way some bread books I have read really do (try Bread: A Bakers' Book, by Jeffrey Hamelman if you want that, but the recipes in there take FOREVER!).

I would perhaps have felt more impassioned if there more illustrations of how to form the different shapes of loaves, but in most cases, there's just a description. Particularly when she's talking about how to form the complex "epi de blé" loaf shape, a diagram would have been helpful, and even for the more ordinary shapes like boule, baguette or batard, this is one area I knew ahead of time that this book would be lacking.

(Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day contains many nice photos so you can see how you're doing throughout the process - however, the first edition also contained many errors, another reason I avoided buying that book, despite corrections at the authors' website.)

One slightly annoying touch is the repeated - ad nauseum - use of the word ARTISAN. Everything is artisan: the recipes, the "extras" at the end of the book. Find a new word, everybody: ARTISAN = DULL.

I also quickly got annoyed at the repeated reference - on every single recipe! - to the use of Canadian flour. I use Canadian flour; I know it's different. When I'm not feeling lazy, I compensate accordingly, end of story. A single reminder at the beginning of the book would probably suffice - not 200 reminders throughout the book; especially when there are two recipes side by side, it sometimes looks like she's just trying to fill up the pages. But maybe not; maybe they're just trying to be helpful.

Like I said, the book is nicely laid out, and I haven't found any flaws in the recipes, so it's really a very good introduction to no-knead baking, if a less-than-passionate one (the other books, particularly Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, read a bit like the authors have discovered a new religion and are eager to share it with the world!).

In short, despite colour illustrations (in the centre, not with the recipes) this is not a book to drool over. It is a no-nonsense book to open to the right page, read the recipe, mix the recipe, and boom - you're done. Easy bread, just as it says on the cover. So I don't regret buying this book, and you might not either, as long as you're clear about what you're looking for.

If you want photographs, diagrams, hand-holding, or just pure, foodie passion for bread, you're going to have to look elsewhere. If you want an inexpensive, helpful (less-expensive) guide to begin your journey into the fascinating (and delicious) world of no-knead breads, this may well be the book you "knead."

I've only taken this book out of the library but am I glad I did. The recipes are easy to do and come out smelling wonderful and taste great. The Oatmeal Honey bread I made is wonderful, I love oatmeal bread and this doesn't let me down. The rolls are good, hard crust just the way they should be, and the way I like them. I'm going to be trying many, many more of the recipes and if not careful, I'll be gaining weight. LOL. I like that everything is in one bowl, ingredients are easy to come by, and baking is a dream. Everyone I've let taste has agreed, this is a winner.

I LOVE this book. The breads are delicious... well that is everythng I've made is delicious. I've found it hard to move away from the first master recipe to make any of the others. I've been making bread machine bread for years, but was never satisfied with the flavor. With this book, I'll never be concerned about flavor again. The crusts are beautiful, the crumb is almost perfect.
The basic premise is that with enough water in the recipe, you don't need to kneed. I was dubious, but bought the danish dough whisk and made my first batch. I was amazed that after a couple of hours of rising, it was beautiful huge soft bowls of dough... I had to divide the dough in half to rise due to the size to the box I was rising the dough in. The dough is very soft and during the rest doesn't rise much, if any. However, once it hits the oven, it grows to twice it's size. I think it had alot to do with the pan of water you use in the stove during baking.
The instructions are very clear, every recipe is based off one of eleven master recipes. Once you make the master, you can then use half or a quarter of the dough to make the specific bread, the recipes for how to shape the breads or what to add and when are in the recipes that follow each master recipe.
I am looking forward to grilled pizzas this summer!

This book is great- it provides easy to follow delicious recipes for no-knead artisan breads! The dough can be made ahead of time-depending on the recipe the dough can keep in the refrigerator for up to 9 days. My family has really enjoyed the homemade breads and ask for it every day!
There are several basic recipes, and then from there the basic recipes are enhanced with additional ingredients, etc. to make up to 200 variations. If you love bread, you will want to get this book. The recipes are so EASY to make!

200 Fast and Easy Artisan Breads: No-Knead, One Bowl

I am a great cook. I am a fabulous baker. But making regular yeast bread is a challenge for me. I decided to take it on recently and got this book. I'm glad I did. After trying another "famous" no knead recipe that didn't work for me, this book's key recipe came out like a dream. I ended up with perfect, crusty, partially whole wheat, artisan loaves. I can't wait to try the other recipes in the book. My only complaint is that it asks for 1.5 TABLESPOONS of salt for the recipe. I put in a little less than one tablespoon and it was still saltier than I would have liked it. I have no idea why it calls for that much salt. Next time I might try one teaspoon or half a tablespoon. But this is a great book for both the beginner and experienced bread baker. It has tons of recipes and easy directions. I'd highly recommend it!

This is my favorite of the "no knead" books! The dough is not so wet that you can't shape it (like the recipes from similar other books) provided that you flour your hands and board. You can start using the dough after only a two hour rise, and I've just used a batch that has been in my refrigerator for over a week with great results!

Like another reviewer, I've found it difficult to move off the basic recipe. I've made loaves, rolls, pizza and even flatbreads from the same recipe. I did try a dough with chick pea flour and that was good too (a little more sticky dough and probably not my favorite, but still good). I think the rye bread is next to try.

Most of the time I don't even bother with the pan of hot water in the oven, and just shape my loaf on a cookie sheet and bake it on that. Still works out just great.

The pizza was outstanding...a thin, crispy crust. I thought I'd never like one more than the Sullivan Street recipe (My Bread...by Jim Lahey My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method), but I did! Paul

I found this book to be wonderful......I am a good cook but just now learning the ins & outs of bread baking. This book is clear and concise and really spells out each and every step without getting too drawn out and technical. Baking bread is an art form, very satisfying for the soul and the stomach and these artisan bread hit the spot. My family is begging me to make bread all the time now! Loved this book and would recommend it for novices and experienced bakers alike.

I have owned Judith Fertig's book on artisan baking for only a few weeks but I've baked my way through several of her recipes with outstanding results. My friends and neighbors are the happy recipients of loaves of fresh bread since each batch makes three. I teach cooking classes through our local Community College Adult Education Dept. and I am anxious to get permission from Judith to teach with this book as my text. BTW..the Danish dough whisk is a great piece of equipment and makes incorporating the dry ingredients as well as the '40 lashes' quite efficient.

Looking forward to more fresh bread, Judith!

All hail Judith! Aside from my own mother's, Judith's bread recipes are at the very yeast, the most straight-forward, easy-to-follow, and most rewarding bread baking I've ever implemented! For so long I went about my days, never knowing the true joy that a genuine, homebaked bread could bring. And now that I've unearthed the ease with which amazing bread can be produced, I just can't stop making it!

My only negative comment would be about the horrible feeling that overwhelms me as I ecstatically and orgasmically kvell over my breads in front my lovely girlfriend, who, sadly, is unable to eat wheat!

I was so surprised at how wonderful the bread turned out the very first time I made it. It was so easy to follow the directions and I couldn't believe that it came out so tasty. I just needed to work on transferring to the hot stone but got that down after a few tries. I can't wait to try more of the recipes!