I recently got the book “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois out of the library, and decided to try it. I had tried making bread once before, but it was such a pain and was so time consuming, I didn’t think I would ever try it again. Once I heard about this book though, I knew I had to try it.
First off, there is no kneading, or anything else complicated. It took me less than 5 minutes to mix up the ingredients with a wooden spoon, and put it in the fridge overnight. The next day all I had to do was take some of the dough out of the fridge, let it sit for 40 min, and then cook it. It couldn’t have been easier.
One of the big questions is…was it any good? I was shocked. It tasted REALLY good. I was really excited! I loved having the bread, and to know that I have enough dough for 3 more loaves sitting in my fridge makes me happy!
The next question is - how does the cost compare with buying a loaf of bread at the store? Well, I can’t exactly compare it since this is more of a nice bread you’d get at a bread store instead of a loaf of white bread, but let’s try to compare them anyway. At the store, you can spend anywhere from $1.00 - $4.00 for a loaf of bread. With the ingredients used in this loaf, a plain regular loaf of bread cost me about $0.55 a loaf. Granted, the loaf is a little bit smaller than a regular loaf..but it tasted really great. Plus, you know exactly what is in it since you made it yourself. Which also means you can add additional ingredients if you like a special type of bread.
Also, that was just me buying the ingredients at my local grocery store. If I decide I’m going to start making bread more (which I probably will), I might get the yeast and flour at Costco, which I’m sure will save me a lot more money.
One of the things I really liked was the size of the bread. Every single time I buy a loaf of bread, I always end up wasting at least part of it. There is no way 2 of us can go through a whole loaf before it goes bad. Here, I have up to 2 weeks to make and the 4 loaves, and this way it works out perfectly.
I will note that depending on what you have in your house, you will need to buy a few items if you don’t bake often. You’ll need a pizza peel and a baking stone. I got both of them together for $15.00 and then 20% off at Bed Bath and Beyond, and it worked well for me.
So from an economical standpoint…is it better to make your own bread, or just buy it? I’d say there really isn’t too much of a difference, especially if you just buy what’s cheapest. But if you like being able to control exactly what is in your bread, and you enjoy making homemade items, then this book is really for you! I really can’t stress enough how easy it was. I look forward to trying a few of the other recipes before I return the book.
