American Breads
From WikiDemocracy
Garlic and Herb Sun Bread (Tarte Soleil)
by Sarah Jampel King Arthur Baking School
Inspired by the French tarte soleil, this shareable, tearable centerpiece bread looks impressive but is very easy to pull off. The durum flour imparts a beautiful golden color and gives the bread its crisp-yet-light texture. The filling is a creamy, savory mixture of cream cheese, Parmesan, quick-roasted garlic and herbs de Provence (or the spice or herb blend of your choice). It doesn’t need a dipping sauce, but garlic oil, pesto, or even warm marinara wouldn’t hurt.
Fast and Slow Sesame White Bread Recipe | Bread Baking
by Donna Currie 9/8/18 serious eats
This recipe is all about technique. The ingredients are very simple, and very similar to my basic, everyday bread recipe that I use when I don't want to think too hard about ingredients.
My original plan was to come up with a recipe for a fast loaf that still had good flavor. Since a short rise usually results in less flavor, I fudged a bit by using honey and sprinkling sesame seeds on top. While a great idea, it didn't work out as planned. The first time I attempted my quick bread, I completely forgot about it. About 90 minutes later, I remembered. Oops. It wasn't a fast bread that day but sure was an easy method and nice loaf of bread. I made the bread again and stuck with the timetable. With a timer right next to me, I managed to make the bread on schedule.
The Science of Baking Bread (and How to Do It Right)
by Max Bernstein 10/8/19 serious eats
If you haven't read our previous posts, first check out our recipe for a basic bread loaf. Earlier, we discussed how to mix dough with confidence and purpose. Then, we let our dough rise, learned how to fold with intention, and talked about fermentation. We'll be using a lot of the vocabulary from our previous posts throughout this article, so if things sound fuzzy, don't hesitate to look back at the whole series of breadmaking techniques.
But today is baking day, which means we're going to discuss how to bake that basic, workhorse loaf into a gorgeous, chewy-crunchy-aromatically-hypnotizing marvel.
Long Loaves Recipe | Bread Baking
by Donna Currie 11/4/25 serious eats
These are softer loaves. Still substantial, but also a bit airy. They're perfect for sandwiches—soft enough to bite into without breaking teeth or gouging the roof of your mouth with sharp crusty shards, but hearty enough to stand up to whatever fillings you choose. Or, you could slice them and serve them with your favorite pasta dish.
Since these loaves are so airy, it's best to slash them about 20 minutes into the rise. You can slash them later if you're really confident, but it's a little tricky since the loaves are so soft by then. The soft dough also makes these tend to stick to the plastic wrap you use to cover them. A little flour sprinkled on top will solve that problem.
Absolutely No-Knead Crusty-Chewy Bread
More than three decades later, that small kitchen and staff has grown to King Arthur Baking’s large, fully equipped Test Kitchen. Today, Test Kitchen Manager Sarah Jampel, Senior Recipe Developer Molly Marzalek-Kelly, Recipe Developer David Turner, Recipe Tester Lydia Fournier, Recipe Editor Kye Ameden, and Test Kitchen Coordinator Lee Clark make up the small but mighty team who, among them, produce hundreds of recipes a year, developing, baking, tweaking, baking … and baking again; some recipes are tested upward of 100 times.
Bread is too dense and crumbly
by Chelsea W. 8/24 Milk Street Forum
Hi there! I have been on a bread journey for some time now, and my loaves no longer can be used for self-defense, however, they are still denser and more crumbly than I would like. Ideally, my finished product is soft, pillows, stretchy, etc. I have adjusted the amounts of wet and dry, tried many different temperatures and moisture levels for proofing...I am just at a loss. The loaves slice, but unless you toast it, the slices just kind of fall apart. My current recipe/process is:
Almond Croissant Milk Bread
Almond croissant meets milk bread in this irresistible enriched loaf. Streaked with frangipane and encrusted with sugared nuts, this loaf trades the shattering flakiness of a croissant for the fluffy, tender, feathery qualities of milk bread. The dough is rolled out, spread with frangipane and toasted almonds, then rolled into logs and braided, producing a beautiful shape and infusing the bread with almond-croissant flavor. To take the mash-up even further, make almond croissant milk bread French toast (!!!) with the leftovers.
15 Thanksgiving Rolls, Biscuits, and Breads, Because It's Not Always About Potatoes
by Rabi Abonour 18/11/24 serious eats
Bread isn't the flashiest part of Thanksgiving dinner—when I'm trying to fit turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and a thousand other dishes into my stomach, extra carbs just feel like wasted space. But bread is a vital part of the meal—how else will you soak up every drop of gravy or make leftover sandwiches on Friday? We've pulled together a bunch of recipes to help you fill up your bread basket with buttery dinner rolls, nutty cornbread, pillowy angel biscuits, or one of our other favorite breads.
Rustic Sourdough Bread
This chewy loaf of sourdough bread has rich, deep, flavor with mild tang. Since it includes commercial yeast as well as starter, you're guaranteed a good, strong rise — even if your starter isn't quite up to snuff. Whether you're new to baking sourdough bread or you're looking for a reliable and relatively quick sourdough bread recipe, you'll want to give this a try.
Fast Buttery Buns Recipe | Bread Baking
by Donna Currie 30/8/18 serious eats
The problem with trying to make bread quickly is that you sacrifice flavor. A long, slow rise does magical things to dough, resulting in a bread that can be the star of a meal.
Then there are times when you just need some bread. Buns to hold your barbecue pork sandwich. Dinner rolls to sop up some spectacular gravy. In those cases, the bread is destined to be the supporting actor, no matter what. So it doesn't matter that it's not an artisan-inspired loaf with a fancy foreign name.
No-Knead Crusty White Bread
The most basic of all no-knead crusty bread recipes, this is a wonderful way to get into yeast-bread baking. The easy stir-together dough rests in your refrigerator, developing flavor all the time, till you're ready to bake. About 90 minutes before you want to serve bread, grab a handful of dough, shape it, let it rise, then bake for 30 minutes. The result? Incredible, artisan-style crusty bread, worthy of its 2016 Recipe of the Year title.
Our 19 Best Crusty Sourdough Bread Recipes
If you have a jar of fresh sourdough starter, a world of crusty, chewy sourdough loaves await. Not sure where to start? This collection of 19 recipes is filled with bread for every occasion. Looking for a low-effort, beginner-friendly recipe? Our Easy Everyday Sourdough Bread delivers: no feeding the starter, no kneading, no shaping. Have some time to spare and want a super flavorful loaf? Pain de Campagne (Country Bread) calls for two longer rests over the course of 24 hours, which allows the flavors to fully deepen and develop. Need a little insurance when your starter is weak? Our Sourdough Baguettes call for a bit of instant yeast to boost the oven spring. Grab your starter and get baking!
Classic Baguettes
These crunchy baguettes feature a chewy interior riddled with holes, and a crisp, deep-golden crust. While it's a challenge to make "real" baguettes at home, this version is probably as close to an artisan bakery version as you're going to find. The ingredients in baguettes are pure simplicity: flour, water, salt, and yeast. It's the baker's technique that turns an average baguette into an all-star. Don't expect perfection the first time out, but the more you practice your baguette-baking techniques, the better the baguette you'll make.
No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread
by Leah Colins 4/2/26 serious eats
By mid-February—when my optimistic, vegetable-forward New Year's resolutions have fully collapsed under the weight of darkness, school pickup logistics, and yet another runny nose—I reliably enter what I've come to call my homesteader era. It's brief. It's dramatic. And it mainly involves me putting on an impractical, ruffled apron that I would never be caught wearing professionally, rolling up my sleeves, and deciding that today is the day I bake my own bread.
Classic Sandwich Bread
Made with all of the ingredients that make homemade white bread superior to storebought — butter, milk, and high-quality flour — this sandwich bread recipe is our version of a classic, perfected. The soft and tender interior makes this loaf ideal for sandwiches, toast, or even French toast. It's a timeless recipe you'll come back to time and time again.
Babcia Bread (Polish Grandmother Sweet Bread)
by Donna Currie 1/6/23 serious eats
"Babcia" means grandmother in Polish, and this is a bread that my husband's grandmother would make for family gatherings. It was one item that Grandma made that my husband particularly liked when he was growing up, but until recently we thought the recipe was lost forever.
What we didn't know was that many years back, when Grandma had visited her son (my husband's uncle), he translated and transcribed some of her recipes. Uncle belonged to a Polish social club that was putting together a club cookbook, and he submitted Grandma's recipes to the project.
16 Quick Bread Recipes to Make on Repeat
by Rabi Abonour and The Serious Eats Team 17/12/24 serious eats
Getting into breadmaking is a serious endeavor—recipes are often multi-hour processes and require a bunch of measuring, kneading, and waiting for dough to rise. I love eating bread, but baking it is just a little beyond my patience. Quick breads, on the other hand, are much more approachable. Made without yeast, they typically require nothing more than mixing the ingredients and throwing everything into the oven. The category is broad—it encompasses everything from classics like banana bread and Irish soda bread to muffins, scones, and biscuits. If you're looking for baking projects that are easy enough for a weeknight, check out our 16 favorite quick bread recipes.
Extra-Tangy Sourdough Bread
This bread, with its mellow tang, is perfect for those who like their sourdough bread noticeably sour, but not mouth-puckeringly so. The signature sourdough flavor comes from a combination of lactic and acetic acids, created as the dough rises and ferments. Refrigerating the dough encourages the production of more acetic acid, which is the tangier of the two. Thus, this bread with its refrigerated starter has the ideal balance of sour flavor. For the crustiest, brownest crust, add steam or use a baking shell (see "tips," below, for detailed instructions).
Mom's Delicious Homemade Bread
"This is my Mom's recipe. It is so good, very light and fluffy with a crispy crust on the bottom. Very simple too. Can be used to make rolls, or loaves. You can easily double it. You can also add 1c. raisins and/or slivered almonds, orange/lemon zest and vanilla extract to a loaf for a festive holiday bread. The options are endless!"
Our Daily Bread in a Crock - Weekly Make and Bake Rustic Bread
"Make up a large batch of rustic artisanal bread dough, store it and then bake a loaf each day you need fresh bread, amazing but true! This is a hodge podge of old fashioned English and French rustic bread recipes; the bread dough is made up ahead of time and stored (in the old days) in an earthenware crock or bowl, with a lid. You tear a piece of the dough off as and when you want to bake a loaf of bread. Easy! I use this style of bread dough regularly in the B and B, so I can always have fresh bread or bread rolls on hand for breakfast. You can add other types of flour to the basic white batch, as long as the ratio remains the same - you can mix rye or wholewheat flour with the white, or add herbs, onions, seeds, fruit and other flavorings. The dough can be used as soon as the initial proving has finished, but it will keep in a cool place or a fridge for a week or two - I do not recommend longer than 2 weeks however. The dough can be used for free form bread loaves, in bread tins, as rolls or other shapes. I have kept this technique and recipe to myself for a while, but I have decided to share it on Zaar now, mainly as my daughter keeps asking for the basic dough recipe! I notice that this type of long-term or long-life bread dough has made a revival in a new book called “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”; this recipe however, is a very old technique and method, dough was always made up for the week and then kept in the cold room or pantry for daily baking. My grandmother who lived in a 600 year old cottage in Northern England, used to have a stone slab in the Pantry where she kept her crock and dough, I remember sticking my finger in it!! This amount makes about 4 to 5 loaves of bread, depending on the weight and shape of the bread that you bake."
Everyday Bread
by The Big Book of Bread KING ARTHUR
This whole wheat sandwich bread has all the heartiness of whole wheat flour but without any density or bitterness. It’s tender and yielding, flavorful and versatile; slice it up for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or grilled cheese, or simply smear a piece with butter. We think you’ll go through a loaf so fast, you’ll be baking it every day.
English Muffin Toasting Bread
Crackly on the outside, tender and craggy on the inside — this English Muffin Toasting Bread makes the best toast. It’s got that signature nooks-and-crannies texture that begs for melted butter and a slather of jam. No kneading, no fuss — just mix it up, toss it in a pan, and let the oven do the rest.
Easy Bread Machine Bread
King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour is perfect for bread machines. Its relatively high protein level (11.7%), and the quality of that protein, allows you to use it in recipes calling for either bread flour or all-purpose flour. This recipe makes a reliably high-rising loaf, with soft, springy texture and nicely balanced flavor.
5 Minute Artisan Bread
"This is the basic 'Boule' bread mix from the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. I've mainly posted this recipe so that I don't have to hook out the book every time. The dough is stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, taking out a bit each day as you need it, forming it and baking it. A forum I belong to love this bread, which is what inspired me to get the book. Most of them cook it in a Remoska, which is a gadget that I find invaluable. Remoska's are from Checkoslavakia, and I believe they've just come to the States. In the UK they're available from Strongly recommend getting the book, if you like this bread. They have lots of different kinds of bread which you make in this way (also sweet ones), plus ideas on how to ring the changes, recipes to use up the stale bread, etc. PS Someone said they were having difficulty getting hold of the book, so I tried to post an Amazon link for it here. But it just comes out as html gobbledey gook! If anyone knows how to do it, please let me know. Otherwise, try Amazon, guys :-) Very, very worth getting the book."
The Simplest White Bread Ever Recipe | Bread Baking
by Donna Currie 22/12/25 serious eats
I've seen this type of bread sold as a "Farmhouse Loaf," so if you want to name it when you serve it, that would be an appropriate moniker. This bread is simple, unfussy, and rustic, but it's also very tasty. And it proves that bread doesn't have to be difficult or intimidating.
One key to making a good loaf of bread is developing the gluten which forms the network that holds in the lovely bubbles that allow the bread to rise. Gluten develops as you knead, but it also develops over time, which is why no-knead bread works. This bread straddles those two worlds, with the gluten developing without much labor, but it also allows you to feel the dough and work with it a little bit, rather than emphasizing the hands-off philosophy of the no-knead method.
45 Go-To Recipes for Homemade Bread
Making bread from scratch just got simple. These recipes PROOF that it can be easy and flavorful. Get ready to RISE up and conquer the possible.
Breadmaking 101: All About Proofing and Fermentation
by Max Bernstein 10/10/19 serious eats
Hello bakers! And welcome back to Breadmaking 101. If this is your first time coming across the column, check out our introductory post where you'll get the big picture on what we're working on and meet the four stages of bread-making: mixing, proofing and shaping, baking, and, of course, eating and storing bread.
In our previous post, we talked all about mixing the workhorse loaf, and gave ourselves a primer on the chemistry at work when we take flour, water, salt, and yeast, and combine them to make dough.
Pretzel Focaccia
by Molly Marzalek-Kelly KING ARTHUR
Both pretzel and focaccia fans will rejoice at this recipe mashup! Thick and chewy (while also light and crispy), this flatbread — part pretzel, part focaccia — features the rich flavor of olive oil. After being brushed with a baking soda/water mixture for deep-dark color, the bread is baked and finished with coarse salt and brushed with melted butter. Serve it with your favorite dipping sauce. (I see you, honey mustard! Or maybe a cheesy beer sauce is more your speed.) Slice the bread for sandwiches, or snack on it plain — the choice is yours.
Almond Croissant Milk Bread
Almond croissant meets milk bread in this irresistible enriched loaf. Streaked with frangipane and encrusted with sugared nuts, this loaf trades the shattering flakiness of a croissant for the fluffy, tender, feathery qualities of milk bread. The dough is rolled out, spread with frangipane and toasted almonds, then rolled into logs and braided, producing a beautiful shape and infusing the bread with almond-croissant flavor. To take the mash-up even further, make almond croissant milk bread French toast (!!!) with the leftovers.
Pain de Campagne (Country Bread)
This recipe comes to us from Maura Brickman, a serious home baker in Connecticut who doesn't let her bread's schedule rule her life (even though she bakes daily). Using unfed sourdough starter, minimal kneading, long fermentation, and baking in a hot Dutch oven are some of the techniques Maura employs to create bakery-quality loaf after bakery-quality loaf. Once you read through and bake this recipe yourself, you'll no doubt discover exactly how to adapt it to your own schedule — which means you may very well find yourself baking this country bread weekly (or even daily!).
Easy and Fast Bread With Baking Powder
I used this dough to make a pepperoni and cream cheese roll!! Pretty excited! As someone with a degree in pastry arts I was very pleased with this elasticity of this dough!
I Tested 10 Loaf Pans and Found 5 Worthy of Your Bread, Cakes, and Meatloaf
by Meghan Splawn 4/12/25 serious eats
A quality loaf pan is about as useful in a home kitchen as a sturdy sheet pan—which is to say, you need one. Loaf pans can be used to make a variety of baked foods, including simple quick breads, pound cake, and even classic meatloaf. You can make mini casseroles, like shepherd's pie or lasagna, in a loaf pan, too. Mine even sees occasional use for organizing produce in a packed fridge during holiday or party prep. Though I'm a professionally trained baker, I got most of my loaf pans from thrift stores. This made it faster to send an extra banana bread loaf home with a friend (no need to worry if it came out easily), but it also left me wondering why some loaves came out better (i.e., taller, more tender) than others.
Peasant Bread
by Alexandra Stafford KING ARTHUR
This no-knead bread recipe, which comes from Alexandra Stafford's cookbook "Bread Toast Crumbs," is the foundation for an endless array of variations. It's simple to assemble, bakes into two small or one substantial loaf, and will easily become your favorite everyday bread.
Simple Crusty White Bread Recipe
by Max Bernstein 26/9/25 serious eats
Hi everyone, and welcome to the bread-baking club. Think of this as a safe space, committed to talking about—and demystifying—your breads and doughs. It's a vast world with a whole lot of potential for experimentation, but the root of the problem is this: Yeast, mysterious and giving, seems to scare the crap out of people.
This kneads to end! (Please don't stop reading. I had to, just this once.) But in all seriousness, why should it be so scary? People started making bread a long time ago, before computers, bicycles, and shrink-wrapping existed. Our grandparents knew how to make it, and theirs too. Bread is one of humanity's oldest crafted foods, after all, and making great bread for yourself isn't just possible, it's often relaxing and delicious...plus it just so happens to keep your apartment nice and toasty come wintertime.*
James Beard's Basic Home-Style Bread
""Beard on Bread" was one of the very first cookbooks I ever purchased. I found his recipes to be quite reliable. This recipe uses less yeast than you might think is needed - the slower rise helps develop the taste of the bread. Beard describes this as a quite light bread, rather fine in texture and much enjoyed when fresh with a generous spreading of butter and preserves. Also popular for sandwiches and toast. Please note the amount of salt - Beard tended to salt a bit heavily, but I am posting as he wrote it. Posting this in response to a request."
Easy Batter Bread
"Posted in reply to a message board request. This is the recipe I used (over 40 years ago) when I made my first loaf of yeast bread. Its very simple to make, and produces a good, basic white bread for sandwiches and/or toast. If memory serves, the recipe was from the side of the Hecker's Unbleached Flour sack. Prep Time does not include the 1 to 2 hour rising time."
Want Bakery-Quality Bread at Home? Start With These 20 Pastry Chef-Approved Recipes
by Mimi Young 25/11/25 serious eats
My favorite memory of working as the executive pastry chef at a hotel restaurant in downtown San Francisco is of opening the door to the pastry department and feeling the blast of warm, yeasty, toasty, faintly sweet air envelope my entire body with the endorphin-boosting aroma of freshly baked bread. For a woman who dedicated her life to carbs, this was heaven! So even though I'm no longer greeted with racks and racks of fresh bread every morning, I still want to recreate that experience at home.
Rustic Sourdough Bread
This chewy loaf of sourdough bread has rich, deep, flavor with mild tang. Since it includes commercial yeast as well as starter, you're guaranteed a good, strong rise — even if your starter isn't quite up to snuff. Whether you're new to baking sourdough bread or you're looking for a reliable and relatively quick sourdough bread recipe, you'll want to give this a try.
The Bread (Ree Drummond/ Pioneer Woman)
"This bread is everything Ree says and MORE! Ree says this about THE Bread "Whenever I have a friend or family member over for dinner, they will ask the following question: “Are you making The Bread?” And I always smile and say: “Yes. I am making The Bread.” I smile because it’s a foregone conclusion that I will be making The Bread. I smile because The Bread is so darn delicious and no one who tastes it can believe it contains only two ingredients. I smile because it’s probably the easiest, simplest, effortless thing I make. I smile. Because butter is involved. " You can find her actual recipe and pictures at: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/09/the-bread/ Some of Ree's comments are in (parentheses) in the Directions below."
Our Favorite Big-Batch Sandwich Bread
Tender, moist sandwich bread is hard to resist. We love the way this big-batch recipe is shaped, with two tall pull-apart loaves in each of three pans.
Homemade Bread
"A recipe I have made since I was three with my mom and brother. Great for kids, because they will like to punch down the dough and can even shape it into teddy bears, like we did!"
Easy Yeast Bread With Variations
"Found online in response to a request and now posted by request. The blurb that accompanied it read as follows: "The following came from a pamphlet of the same title I picked up in the baking supplies aisle of a Krogers in either Kalamazoo or Battle Creek about 25 years ago. I've used every variation and facet of the instructions and had nothing but success! My faves are the rye breads. Unlimited variety from these basic recipes!" I have not tried this recipe so times and servings are a guess-timate. A lot of directions but then... a LOT of variations to try."
Bunny Bread | Bread Baking
by Donna Currie 10/8/18 serious eats
First, let me tell you that no actual bunnies were hurt in the making of this bread. None at all. A lot of flour got thrown around, though.
Bunny-shaped bread sounded like a simple, yet brilliant idea. What could be so hard? Well, a lot of things. The first year I made it, I was very pleased with the shape of the bunny when it went into the oven, but apparently the oven was possessed. While a bunny went in, it wasn't a bunny that came out.
