Bread Recipes

I’ve got all the bread recipes you need, from traditional loaves to braids, stuffed sweet wreaths, challah, biscuits, and so much more.

Don’t be intimidated by baking with yeast, it’s really quite forgiving and just takes a bit of practice! Over the past several years I’ve gone from a total bread novice to finding bread baking quite therapeutic. And I’m a total sucker for sweet twisty breads, like delicious challah and babkas.

Not sure where to start?? Here are a few of my absolute go-to recipes:

You can see a full list of bread recipes in my recipe index or browse visually here. Or pore through the archives below…

Paul Hollywood’s Chocolate Cherry Bread

March 20, 2021

I’m obsessed with this pink, shaggy mess! Ever since seeing Paul Hollywood make his chocolate cherry bread with Mary Berry on Great British Bake-Off Masterclass, I knew I needed it in my life.

I *have* thrown in the towel on trying to make my loaf look beautiful and neat, though. That shaggy mess becomes this golden, messy monster, and despite making it like 10 times at this point, nothing I do changes that.

But it is DELICIOUS and so its “informal” nature (to use a Mary Berry term) can be forgiven.

What elevates this from a basic loaf of bread is the incorporation of dark sweet cherries and a lot of dark and white chocolate.

The dark chocolate and cherries pair wonderfully, and the white chocolate ends up kind of melting away into gooey sweet pockets of sweet that burst in your mouth. I’M OBSESSED.

I have always started this in my stand mixer, but have tried mixing in the chocolate and cherries both in the mixer and kneading in by hand. Personally the mixer is way better and less messy, so I recommend going that way.

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Super Easy Lemon Poppyseed Food Processor Biscuits

February 14, 2021

Guys, there are few things more magical than fluffy hot layered biscuits fresh out of the oven. But honestly…I’m often too lazy to want to spend time cutting or rubbing the butter into the flour. Which is why these food processor biscuits are my new EVERYTHING.

I mean, even on my laziest morning I can throw some stuff in a food processor, blitz it, pat it out, and throw it in the oven.

I love these perfumed with lemon zest and some poppyseeds, for a subtle flavor that pairs perfectly with honey or jam. But the flavors are totally flexible…try orange zest, cinnamon, chopped fresh rosemary, or anything else that strikes your fancy.

The one thing to know is that my dough is often a bit too wet if I use all the buttermilk called for, so maybe go a little easy at first to see if you need it all. But even if your dough gets too wet and sticky, you can add a bit of extra flour while you roll it out—problem solved.

And in less than 30 minutes, you’ll have hot, flaky, steamy biscuits just begging to be devoured!

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90-Second Keto “Bread” (No/Low Carb)

February 6, 2021

I KNOW. You’re probably thinking, “What is happening here? Who is this person??” Same. But here we are—90-second keto bread.

When I started looking for easy keto bread recipes, just to have a vehicle for my almond butter, I had trouble finding one that sounded good. A lot had cream cheese (not my thing, nor do I keep it around the house), or weird ingredients (lookin’ at you psyllium husk), or were overly complex. And then I found this gem.

Technically I guess it should be called like…5-minute keto bread since you have to get the ingredients out and stir them together. The 90 seconds is just the cooking time. But still.

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A Home Baker Trying Out Samin Nosrat’s Ligurian Focaccia

January 16, 2021

I’ve been fascinated with the idea of trying out this Ligurian focaccia recipe ever since I watched the first episode of Samin Nosrat’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat on Netflix.

I’d intended to just have it on in the background, but found myself mesmerized by the gorgeously-shot slow, close-ups of bubbling dough, shiny olive oil pooling in dimples, flaky salt showering over a pan. It hooked me good.

I’d been meaning to try out this recipe for months, but stalled and hemmed and hawed…something about figuring out the long first rise time and when the final product would be ready (for dinner time, ostensibly) seemed to trip me up. I wanted to actually ENJOY making this, not feel rushed or only half paying attention.

That seems silly in hindsight. But since I had some time over the winter break period to do whatever, whenever, I “scheduled” it for one of those chilly days between Christmas and New Year’s (though I celebrate neither of those) when the time kind of blurs together.

No one is really working, you’re not getting bombarded with emails, and you can just kind of…coast. Drink coffee until it’s time to drink gin. Watch the classic black-and-white “New Moon” for the umpteenth time. Maybe organize your closet. Lose a few hours reading. Wonder if it’s Tuesday or Friday.

And between doing those things you can do the few steps it takes to pretend you’re as awesome and knowledgeable as Samin Nosrat and throw together this Ligurian focaccia. You’ll mimic her gentle movements, the dreamy glug of olive oil and sprinkles of salt.

Or, honestly, you’ll rush each step but still make sure that it has plenty of time to rise (THIS IS CRITICAL), and still end up with an addictive crunchy, salty bread. Because I learned that this recipe is so simple that if you’re only half paying attention you can still end up in the same place. It takes patience in the rising, but the actual hands-on steps are so easy.

What makes Ligurian focaccia different? Many people consider Ligurian focaccia (focaccia liguria, or sometimes focaccia genovese which is where the dimples are used) to be the most traditional Italian focaccia type, though there are other regional types.

You’ll find it all of the country, sometimes by itself or with toppings, or as the basis for sandwiches as well. If you see “pizza bianca” listed on a menu, this is basically just focaccia (sometimes with a little cheese as well) so don’t be expecting a real pizza.

So let’s try this, shall we?? READ THE POST

Socca (Chickpea Flatbread) with Roasted Veggies & Goat Cheese

December 30, 2020

Be honest…if I say “chickpea flatbread”, does it give you immediate cravings?? I’m guessing that’s a NO. But it should. Socca has been on my radar for several months, but for whatever reason I kept putting off giving it a try.

Then last week I was starving, needed something super healthy, and had nothing in my fridge…I’d gotten back in town late Christmas Eve so everything was closed. I had some veggies clinging on for dear life in my fridge and that was it. So I decided that socca needed to happen immediately.

What is socca?

Socca (called farinata over the border in Italian Liguria) is a traditional Provençal flatbread and street food, somewhere between a pancake and a thick crepe. It’s crazy simple, made with chickpea flour and water, with a little salt and olive oil for flavor.

It’s naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free, and high in protein from the chickpea flour. Cooked under the broiler, it’s got a charred top and golden, crispy outside, with a soft creamy inside, perfect for topping with whatever your heart desires.

Personally I love garlicky roasted vegetables and soft, salty cheese, but you can top with eggs, fresh veggies, meat, or anything else, or just slice it up into wedges and eat hot and fresh.

It’s satisfying, one of those healthy recipes that still feels a little indulgent. And perhaps most importantly, socca is flexible…as long as you have chickpea flour on hand you can make it, and then just figure out what your refrigerator has to offer for toppings.

I use a small 5-inch cast iron skillet for a single portion of this socca breakfast skillet. You can double or triple it for a larger pan to feed more people, but it’s so easy and fast to make that I wouldn’t try to use it for leftovers. It’s definitely best fresh.READ THE POST

Flaky, Buttery No-Yeast Flatbreads (Using Yogurt)

November 14, 2020

I interrupt this Thanksgiving recipe programming to bring you something I’ve been kind of obsessed with for the past month. With working from home, I’ve been able to play around with some easy but unique recipes for lunch or things that require a little planning ahead for dinner, and these buttery, flaky no yeast flatbreads have been a basis for several delicious meals.

The fact is that Smitten Kitchen rarely leads me wrong. I so appreciate her recipes, the clarity and detail of the steps, the tweaking to make it perfect but still super easy. And these delicious no-yeast flatbreads are no exception.

On the one hand you’ll probably look at this yogurt flatbread recipe and go “wow, that’s a lot of steps”. BUT WAIT…I know it might look fiddly but I promise it’s not. It’s just that the steps are written to be very detailed so you never feel lost. These really are easy and don’t take much hands-on time.

Because I’m only cooking for one, I usually make a half batch, which is five flatbreads in total. And because I can rarely resist eating the first one out of the pan just by itself, tearing pieces off, that leaves me with two fresh and usually two as leftovers.

A couple things that come in handy (though certainly not required) are a scraper tool and a silicone basting brush. I’m also in love with my thin rolling pin, so much easier for this type of task than the traditional fat kind with the handles.

These no yeast flatbreads come together in three easy phases, over the course of a couple hours…but not much hands-on time. I literally do it in between conference calls, about 5 minutes to mix up the dough, and then about 10 to roll them out into the “snails”.READ THE POST

The Best Thanksgiving Recipes: 20+ Of My Family’s Favorites

November 8, 2020

Thanksgiving is a BIG deal in my family. And that includes the food…which is why I feel like I have some of the best Thanksgiving recipes around. You know, the tried-and-true ones that the family requests over and over.

See, I have a big extended family, and we spend the day before baking, cooking, and prepping. The morning of Thanksgiving is always insane—my mom’s up super early with the turkey, then leaves around 10:30 to get down to my grandma’s. I get up a little later, go for a run, finish up all the remaining dishes, and head down around noon.

We eat a huge lunch, then graze all afternoon and have leftovers for dinner. We play football, watch football, play cards, and talk. Chase the kids around.

When you’re cooking for a big crowd (anywhere from 25 to 50 in past years; usually around 25-30 these days), there are some realities in the kinds of dishes that make sense. Anything super time-intensive that doesn’t yield a lot of servings is automatically out.

So these are some of my favorite relatively easy Thanksgiving recipes that I’ve contributed over the years, and it’s all about the sides, breads, desserts, and cocktails. Turkey just…exists. Hope you enjoy and everyone has a safe, happy (American) Thanksgiving with family and friends!

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Addictive Peanut Butter & Jelly Babka

October 18, 2020

Y’ALL. Peanut butter and jelly babka. This is just such an all-time flavor combo, and I’m kind of obsessed with it right now to be honest (stay tuned for a boozy pb&j milkshake comin’ at ya…).

It’s no secret I’m into basically peanut butter anything, but there’s something so comforting about a classic pb&j…this peanut butter and jelly babka is basically a fancy, addictive pb&j sandwich from when you were a kid. It’s what you WISH your sandwich had been.

Don’t be put off by the seemingly-long list of instructions…I’ve been super detailed to help make everything go well, but while this needs plenty of time in rising and baking, the actual *hands-on* parts are not difficult or time-consuming at all.

There *will* be a point when you’re trying to twist the two cut parts together where everything is falling apart, jelly and peanut butter oozing everywhere, and you’re like WHAT HAVE I DONE??? But just push through, the mess doesn’t matter. It’ll be fine. Lick your fingers when you’re done.

One other note of importance, I found I only needed just over 2 1/2 cups of flour to get the right consistency, as I didn’t want to make the dough too dry and tight. Personally I often find babkas drier and denser than I prefer, so I wanted to keep this one light and soft.

So let’s dive in, shall we??READ THE POST

The Best Basic Soft Dinner Rolls

October 6, 2020

You know those holiday gatherings where you have amazing homemade turkey and side dishes and pies and just…so much food?? And then bread was a complete afterthought so someone grabbed a couple packages of rolls from the store?

These are not those rolls. These soft dinner rolls are easy and delicious, and need to become your go-to for any kind of dinner party or holiday gathering.

A really good soft dinner roll is a thing of beauty. Pillowy and a little chewy, they have that awesome texture when you rip them. They don’t try to take over on flavor, but are the best vehicle for piling on butter and honey. And who knew they were so easy to make?!

While these homemade yeast rolls are pretty basic, they can easily be flavored a bit if desired…some garlic, herbs, or honey are all good options. Go nuts!

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Snickerdoodle Banana Bread

August 7, 2020

I have accidentally been keeping this recipe secret waaaaay too long. I know, it’s not the deal we’ve made. So without further ado, I bring you this cinnamon sugar banana bread goodness…that’s right kids, today we’re talking snickerdoodle banana bread!

It’s a long-established fact that I am a sucker for a cinnamon-sugar combo. Seriously. I have a deep, abiding love affair with both cinnamon and almond extract, and I tend to add them to recipes with abandon if I feel it’s warranted.

So it was a no-brainer when I ran across this recipe, was definitely going to happen at some point. And “some point” was definitely going to be during the early days of quarantine.

The original recipe had way too much sugar for my taste, so the biggest change I made to the recipe was backing that off quite a bit. I really like the cinnamon to come through in this banana bread, and the sugar will tend to overpower it if you’re not careful.

With that change made, this bread is basically perfect…not too sweet, warm cinnamon shining through, a ripple of the cinnamon-sugar winding around, and with a really tender crumb.

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