On the rebound from the low-carb fad, artisan bread is winning some new fans
By Jolene Ketzenberger
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January 9, 2008

Is it the aroma? The crisp crust? The hearty texture? Whatever the appeal, bread -- especially the fresh-baked artisan variety -- has shaken its bad reputation from the low-carb diet days and regained its popularity.

Indeed, retail sales of artisan breads have been on the rise, so to speak, and that growing consumer interest extends to home bakers as well. More than 10 new bread books will be released this year, including such titles as "The Weekend Baker" (W.W. Norton, $24.95) and "Bread Machine Easy" (Hamlyn, $17.95), books that speak to the continued appeal of fresh-baked bread despite consumers' hectic lives.

Authors Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois tapped into that trend with their "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" (Thomas Dunne Books, $17.95), which generated considerable buzz when it came out in November.

All the interest doesn't surprise Donna Eckler and Donna Johnson, a pair of Greenfield residents who have become known for their all-natural artisan baked goods.

The Bread Ladies Artisan Bakery and Cafe, located at 5 American Legion Place in Greenfield, has become a popular destination for those with a taste for fresh-baked eight-grain, pumpernickel rye and jalapeño Parmesan loaves (among many others). Their products are also available at Lazy Daze Coffeehouse, 10 S. Johnson Ave., in Irvington.

But when the two started baking more than a dozen years ago, they were simply driven by a desire to bake fresh bread for their families.

"We were always looking for something different, a challenge," said Johnson. "Donna said one day, 'Let's bake some bread.' We thought it was so pretty, we took a picture of it."

Eckler and Johnson encourage anyone with an interest in baking to give artisan bread a try. They even offer classes that walk novices through the basic techniques. But they acknowledge that some may be discouraged by "the intimidation factor."

Some cookbooks, Johnson said, overdramatize the bread-baking process.

"They mystify bread," she said. "I want to demystify bread."

Artisan bread, said Eckler and Johnson, is simply bread that is made by hand.

"Most people, when they think of artisan bread, they think of the crusted hearth breads," said Eckler. "Artisan is just basically a hands-on style. It's not necessarily that it's baked in a brick oven or on stone. It's craftsmanship."

Neither Eckler nor Johnson had any professional culinary training, though both had always liked to cook and bake for their families. Home cooks like them needn't be intimidated, they said; in the not-so-distant past, baking bread was simply a part of daily life. Eckler and Johnson stressed that American farmhouse breads are just as authentic as their European counterparts, even though they may not have distinctive names like ciabatta, baguette or foccacia.

"It doesn't mean that what Americans make is wrong," said Johnson. "Ours is American heritage bread-baking. We do what our grandparents did."

Getting started is as simple as buying a few ingredients. And if your first efforts don't prove successful, said Eckler, "it's only flour and yeast and salt."

But a good recipe goes a long way toward ensuring success, said Johnson, who recommends the white-bread recipe in "The Joy of Cooking" (Scribner, $35).

That cookbook, she said, "walks you through absolutely everything. It's about a $50 investment, but it will teach you to cook for the rest of your life."

Eckler and Johnson also recommend the "King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion" (Countryman Press, $35), recently named to the James Beard Foundation's list of 20 essential cookbooks.

Aside from a good recipe, said the Bread Ladies, a willingness to give artisan baking a try is all you need. "You just have to dive in," said Johnson.