How to Bake Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

I’ve always wanted to bake bread. However, I didn’t like getting messy and had little time for all the work.I considered buying a bread machine. After much research, I concluded that a good one was beyond my budget. Besides, I didn’t have counter space for yet another kitchen gadget.But guess what? The last couple of weeks, I’ve made two loaves of bread, four pizzas, a dozen dinner rolls, and gourmet muffins.You see, I discovered the book, “Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.” It’s the sequel to “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” by authors Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.Does it really only take five minutes a day? Yes, of you only count the time you’re actively working on the bread. The five minutes don’t include the time it takes for the bread to rise, rest, bake, and cool.

Here’s how it works:

Mix a batch of bread dough–no kneading required. It’s enough to yield four loaves of bread. Store the dough in your refrigerator.

Every time you want to make bread, take out the amount of dough you need, shape it then bake it.

It takes me about 10 minutes to mix my dough. Preparing the dough for baking takes only a couple of minutes. That works out to 4.5 minutes of hands-on work for every loaf of bread I bake.

It takes longer for other types of bread you need to make into certain shapes, like pizza, crescent rolls or wreaths.

I love to pull out some dough after lunch, shape it, let it rest, pop it in the oven, and have freshly baked bread when the kids walk through the door from school.

It reminds me of why I’ve always wanted to become a stay at home Mom: so my kids can come home to a house that smells heavenly, with somebody waiting for them, and something warm and delicious to fill their tummy.

You can learn more about “Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes” at Amazon.com or try out the master recipes at the authors’ website, artisanbreadinfive.com.

Lexi Rodrigo is a wife and mother of three children. She works from home as a copywriter, marketing consultant and Internet marketer. She loves to cook and bake, but doesn’t want to spend hours slaving in the kitchen. Check out her recipes at http://www.MyQuickDinnerRecipes.com 

***Image courtesy of Kaustav Bhattacharya on Flickr.com.***