Our Best Bread Recipes (2024)

F&W's fantastic recipes for homemade breads and biscuits include savory rosemary-potato focaccia rolls, sweet cinnamon banana bread and more.

01of 19

Halvah-Stuffed Challah

Our Best Bread Recipes (1)

Blogger Molly Yeh fills this braided bread with a mix of halvah (the confection made with crushed sesame seeds and honey) and tahini. Yeh recommends using an extra-smooth, pourable tahini (Whole Foods' 365 brand is a good bet), but if your tahini is cakey and thick, she advises mixing it with warm water until spreadable.

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02of 19

Homemade Bagels

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The trick to these crisp, chewy bagels is the poolish, a fermentation starter (also known as a mother dough) made with bread flour, yeast and water. It is quickly assembled the night before the bagels are made.

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03of 19

Irish Brown Bread

Our Best Bread Recipes (3)

Even though this bread is dense, hearty and complex-tasting, it requires no yeast and therefore no rising time. Cathal Armstrong says he likes it best "fresh from the oven and with lots of Kerrygold butter."

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04of 19

Pull-Apart Cheesy Onion Bread

Our Best Bread Recipes (4)

This recipe is as fun to eat as monkey bread (little balls of yeast dough that are baked in a pan together, then pulled apart at the table) but a lot less time-consuming to make.

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05of 19

Jessamyn's Sephardic Challah

Jessamyn Waldman, founder of Hot Bread Kitchen, grew up in Canada eating challah, the Jewish Sabbath bread. Unlike the eggy challahs of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe, this version comes from the Sephardic Jews of the Mediterranean, who flavored their challahs with caraway and anise. Many challahs are braided, but this one is twisted into a round, turban-shaped loaf.

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06of 19

Honey Spelt Bread

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Lionel Vatinet sweetens his bread with local honey, which may benefit the immune system and help to combat allergies.

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07of 19

Crusty White Bread

Our Best Bread Recipes (7)

To make a chunky bread, fold in 2 1/2 cups toasted sunflower seeds, 5 cups soaked and drained dried currants or 6 cups walnut halves in Step 3, after folding in the salt water.

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08of 19

German-Style Pretzels

Our Best Bread Recipes (8)

These chewy pretzels from chef Hans Röckenwagner develop a shiny, professional-looking crust as they bake.

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09of 19

Rye Berry Bread

Our Best Bread Recipes (9)

Thinly sliced, toasted or not, this dense, hearty whole-grain bread is wonderful topped with smoked salmon, sour cream and chopped onions, or with bitter orange marmalade. Allow time for the sponge to sit overnight.

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Chocolate Brioche with Sichuan Peppercorns

Our Best Bread Recipes (10)

Gontran Cherrier, who has an eponymous bakery in Paris's 18th arrondisem*nt, spent several years in the pastry kitchen at elite Paris restaurants like L'Arpège and Lucas Carton. So when he creates a bread, he often thinks about pairing it with a dish. He made this light chocolate brioche with foie gras terrine in mind; the Sichuan peppercorns add a spicy, aromatic kick that's good with rich foods. The brioche is also delicious with strawberry jam or quince paste.

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11of 19

Strawberry-Pecan Quick Bread

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As this loaf bakes in the oven, the texture of chewy dried strawberries softens slightly. Buy your dried strawberries at a specialty food shop or health food store that rotates its stock frequently to make sure that they're plump and moist.

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12of 19

Yogurt-Zucchini Bread with Walnuts

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This moist, nutty bread is a terrific way to use up late-summer zucchini. The walnuts in the bread are super-heart-healthy, and the yogurt adds moisture without any fat.

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13of 19

Raisin Rye Bread

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Lionel Vatinet developed this hearty bread—a good source of fiber—to satisfy his Eastern European customers.

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14of 19

Persian Flatbread

Our Best Bread Recipes (14)

Nan-e barbari is a classic Persian flatbread that gets crisp and golden in the oven, thanks to roomal, a flour paste that's spread over the bread before it's baked. Jessamyn Rodriguez likes to serve it with feta and olives.

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15of 19

Focaccia with Caramelized Onions, Pear and Blue Cheese

Our Best Bread Recipes (15)

In a class at Point Reyes's culinary center, students learn to top focaccia with pears and blue cheese.

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16of 19

Monkey Bread with Honey-Bourbon Sauce

Our Best Bread Recipes (16)

Michelle Gayer of Salty Tart bakery in Minneapolis smothers her monkey bread with honey-laced brown butter before baking then serves the pull-apart bread with a cream cheese–based dipping sauce that's spiked with bourbon.

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17of 19

Focaccia with Roasted Squash

Our Best Bread Recipes (17)

Michelle Gayer tops her sensational focaccia with sweet, tender strips of roasted butternut squash scattered with thyme and drizzled with honey.

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18of 19

Irish Soda Bread

Our Best Bread Recipes (18)

This soda bread has no eggs, no butter, no sugar, and no raisins—just baking soda, flour, buttermilk, and salt. Enjoy it with a swoop of good Irish butter.

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19of 19

Birote (Guadalajaran Sourdough Bread)

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Birote (pronounced bee-row-teh) is a crunchy, darkly baked sourdough bread said to have a flavor unique to the environment of Guadalajara, but if you grab your favorite beer and some limes, you'll come pretty close!

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Our Best Bread Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the most delicious bread in the world? ›

World's best breads: the list of winners
  • Butter garlic naan (India)
  • Nan-e barbari (Iran)
  • Pan de yuca (Colombia)
  • Focaccia di Recco col formaggio (Italy)
  • Baguette (France)
  • Naan (India)
  • Piadina Romagnola (Italy)
  • Tarte flambée (France)
Oct 4, 2023

What makes the tastiest bread? ›

12 tips for making perfect bread
  1. Use the right yeast. ...
  2. Store your yeast properly. ...
  3. Treat salt with care. ...
  4. Take your time. ...
  5. Try different flours. ...
  6. Consider vitamin C. ...
  7. Practice makes perfect. ...
  8. Don't prove for too long.

Can you leave yeast bread to rise overnight? ›

Yes! If a recipe calls for proofing bread dough overnight in the refrigerator, it can be proofed on the counter at a warmer temperature for a shorter period. Rather than placing the dough in the refrigerator overnight, leave it covered on the counter for 1 to 4 hours until it's ready to bake.

Why do they call it peasant bread? ›

Peasant bread is a loaf that is baked with the skill of a craftsman, the love of an artist, and the storytelling of a writer. In the past, peasant bread was made with what was available to the farmers who were considered poor. These farmers managed the whole process of growing wheat, milling flour, and baking bread.

What is the healthiest bread to eat? ›

Here are our top 7 choices for wholesome, nutrient-dense breads.
  1. Sprouted whole grain. Sprouted bread is made from whole grains that have started to sprout from exposure to heat and moisture. ...
  2. Sourdough. ...
  3. 100% whole wheat. ...
  4. Oat bread. ...
  5. Flax bread. ...
  6. 100% sprouted rye bread. ...
  7. Healthy gluten-free bread.

What is the number one selling bread in the United States? ›

The type of top-selling bread in each market varies from country to country. In the US, it tends to be whole-wheat or multigrain bread, closely followed by white bread.

What is the secret to good bread? ›

A general rule of thumb when bread baking is to keep your yeast, salt and sugar separate from each other when adding to your mixing bowl. The sugar and salt can both kill the yeast which will reduce the effectiveness of the yeast if they come into contact at the early stages of bread baking.

Why does bakery bread taste better? ›

Processing: The bread-making process used by large-scale commercial bakeries is often different than the process used by small artisanal bakeries. This can affect the flavor and texture of the bread. Ingredients: Grocery store bread may contain lower-quality ingredients or fillers that can affect the taste.

How do you make bread taste like a bakery? ›

If you're looking to ramp up the taste of your favorite bread recipe, we recommend adding a bit of fat. A fat like butter, olive oil or coconut oil in small quantities will help your bread achieve a higher rise and it will also boost its flavor by tenfold.

Is it bad to let yeast rise for too long? ›

“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape. Learn more about this fix in our blog on saving overproofed dough.

Is it better to rise dough in the fridge or room temperature? ›

When you put your dough in the fridge it slows the yeast activity down. It takes ten times longer for dough to rise in the fridge than it does at room temperature. This means you can put your dough in the fridge overnight or whilst you are at work and come back to it when you are ready.

Is it bad to let bread rise too long? ›

Very overproofed dough just gets sloppy to work with and won't hold its form as well, and makes denser bread. It's delicious and probably especially nutritious. Dough would have to be sitting around for a very long time to become “unsafe”…

What is a farmhouse bread? ›

(ˈfɑːmˌhaʊs ləʊf ) or farmhouse. noun. British. a large white loaf, baked in a tin, with slightly curved sides and top. Organic bread is available as either traditional farmhouse tin loaf or white batch loaf.

What do the French call a loaf of bread? ›

Baguette. When it comes to types of bread, a baguette is quintessentially French. The forming of the loaf is key to making a proper baguette and usually requires a special proofing pan and cloth. The result is a long, skinny loaf with a chewy texture and a firm bite in the crust.

What is the old name for bread? ›

The Old English word for bread was hlaf (hlaifs in Gothic: modern English loaf), which appears to be the oldest Teutonic name.

What is the best tasting bread for sandwiches? ›

The Safe Bet: Traditional Breads for Sandwiches
  • White Bread. Classic white bread is milled and mild, with a soft texture and a thin crust. ...
  • Rye. ...
  • Ciabatta. ...
  • Italian. ...
  • French baguette. ...
  • Brioche. ...
  • Sourdough. ...
  • Challah.

What is the most expensive type of bread in the world? ›

The reason for the success of La Pan Piña Bakery is due to a unique and most exclusive product: its bread made with gold. The most expensive bread in the world – it sells for around €3,700 per kilo – which will now also be produced in Casares.

Why is French bread so delicious? ›

In France, bakers pay careful attention to where their flour is made and which grains are used in the milling process. The result is usually softer, heartier, and tastier bread than can be found in other parts of the world. French flour tends to be made with a lower ash content than the flour from other countries.

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