Master Recipe: Review

This is a review of the Master Recipe in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day 

You might be wondering why the only picture is horribly granulated and not of the bread, but of the first rise.  These are good things to wonder. 

Well we STILL don't have any way to use Zach's nice camera and I can't seem to stop dropping my phone, making the camera worse... here we are. 

As to the object of the picture, that's because I live with my husband and father-in-law, bread hounds of discerning tastes.  I made 3 loaves from the Master Recipe, which makes 4 1-pound loaves. 

I made a 1-pound broule and baguette, then a 2-pound ciabatta.  I was completely skeptical that one recipe could create these separate flavors and textures.  Truth be told, it wasn't entirely successful, but it was passable.  The crumb was much better at morphing from one texture to another based on rise time, baking temperature, and what the dough rose on (flour, corn meal, etc).  Of the three, the ciabatta was the furthest from the real thing, but they were all delicious.

The main problem we all had with this bread?  Way too salty.  I used the called-for amount the first time, and reduced it by a teaspoon for the second batch (pictured above). 

I'm looking forward to trying the more complicated recipes. 

**I didn't get anything for writing this review.  I bought the book myself, and this is only my opinion about the Master Recipe.