I’m back with an update on my February DIY project! For this month, I decided I wanted to try my hand at making a loaf of bread from the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
I’m going to make a bold statement… this bread is Amazing! It turned out really well. (See picture above, that’s my loaf!) I brought it to my parents for our weekly Sunday dinner and the bread was nearly all eaten before dinner was even started! It was that good! And I didn’t fail like last month 
I made the basic Master Recipe, Boule (Artisan Free-Form Loaf). But since my husband and I like some texture to our bread, I replaced two cups of all-purpose flour for 2 cups whole wheat flour. It was very nice! The loaf I made was quite small, I’m not sure if it was supposed to be that small, but it was a perfect size for us.
The book says to use a pizza peel to transfer your dough onto the pizza stone in the oven, but since I don’t have one, I used parchment paper instead. It worked okay, but I think if I continue making this bread on a regular basis, I’ll invest in a pizza peel to get a better bottom crust and make life easier.
Here’s the link to the Master Recipe I used as well as a great tutorial found on ArtisanBreadinFive.com. So…do you think you’d give it a try? It’s so simple and delicious!
Here’s my list of 2011 projects if you missed them:
January: Make homemade pasta. I received a pasta maker attachment for my Kitchenaid a while ago and I’d love to try it out finally!
February: Learn to make 5 minute artisan bread. (Borrow book from library)
March: Create a headboard for our bed. I’ve been meaning to do this for years! The fabric is waiting in my drawer.
April: Sew pillow covers (with no buttons/zippers) to go with the new headboard
May: Make cupcakes from scratch (like the ones you can buy from a cake shop with all that icing! )
June: Make homemade Febreze (to test out on my husband’s soccer gear!)
July: Make homemade deodorant.
August: Make homemade vanilla extract (make for gifts)
September: Can some tomato sauce
October: Make homemade oatmeal. Have you got a good recipe for me to try?
November: Make homemade mayonnaise.
December: Make hard lotion bars for gifts
I was just noticing that you want to make homemade oatmeal. i have a great recipe I use in my small slow cooker. Cook it over night and have warm yummy oatmeal in the morning! I can email you the recipe if you want.
Just drop me an email and let me know!
I have to try this bread recipe! And, I need to make bread today anyway!
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What a great list! I should create something similar just to get my butt in gear for all of the projects I’ve been “meaning” to do. Can’t wait to hear how the homemade deodorant goes – I’m intrigued!
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I use my bamboo cutting board to transfer the boule and it works just fine!
Oatmeal- what we do in the morning is just dump some quick oats in a bowl, then boil the kettle. Add boiling water, then cover for a few minutes. Add milk and cinnamon and honey. We use the rest of the water to make coffee in the french press.
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I have read this book but have had the hardest time finding a 5 gallon container for the fridge to store to the dough in. What are you using? I foudn somehting online from the US but it was $$.
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Simply Frugal Reply:
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Sheri, I just used a big stainless steel mixing bowl I had and used plastic wrap to cover the top. Works fine I think!
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Sheri Reply:
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Thanks for your quick reply! I have a very large stainless bowl but it would take up a whole shelf in my fridge since it is very “wide” instead of “deep”. I will look around for a more compact bowl and give that a try. I’m happy to know that plastic wrap worked as a lid for storage!!! Thanks again for your help.
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