Artisan Bread from Your Bread Machine

A bread machine will make only the bread you enable it to make; sub-standard ingredients and quick, over-yeasted fermentation can only ever produce a less than exceptional loaf.

But if you use your bread machine differently, respecting the basic principles of artisan baking -- understanding fermentation; the need to knead; the importance of proving; shaping; and how to get the best bake for a perfect loaf - then your bread machine will deliver fantastic results.

Let professional baker Manuel Monade show you how to use your bread machine to produce awesome breads you can be proud of. Recipes include a basic pain de mie for a sandwich loaf; granary; ciabatta; blue-cheese-and-hazelnut bread; sourdough; pumpernickel; and spelt.

About the Author

Manuel Monade moved to the UK in 1987, from Paris, where he was studying archaeology and art history at La Sorbonne. In London, he first qualified as a chef before baking in various West End restaurants in the 1980s and 1990s. He joined the original team at St John Restaurant in Smithfield, where head chef and owner Fergus Henderson insisted on having real artisan bread freshly baked in-house for each service. Dan Lepard, the main baker, introduced Manuel to breadmaking. When Dan left, Manuel took over the small bakery and never returned to working as a chef again. Manuel returned to France to train at l'Institut National de la Boulangerie Patisserie in Rouen before returning to work in London. For many years he worked with Matt Jones at Flourpower City Bakery, before becoming a teacher at Bread Ahead baking school.