Our Best Bread Recipes

By

Food & Wine Editors

Updated on March 30, 2021

Focaccia with Roasted Squash — Photo: Con Poulos

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

01 of 19

Halvah-Stuffed Challah

Halvah-Stuffed Challah — © Molly Yeh

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.

02 of 19

Homemade Bagels

Homemade Bagels

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.

03 of 19

Irish Brown Bread

Irish Brown Bread

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."

04 of 19

Pull-Apart Cheesy Onion Bread

Pull-Apart Cheesy Onion Bread

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.

05 of 19

Jessamyn's Sephardic Challah

Jessamyn's Sephardic Challah — © Zubin Schroff

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.

06 of 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.

07 of 19

Crusty White Bread

Crusty White Bread — © David Malosh

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.

08 of 19

German-Style Pretzels

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

09 of 19

Rye Berry Bread

Rye Berry Bread

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.

10 of 19

Chocolate Brioche with Sichuan Peppercorns

Chocolate Brioche with Sichuan Peppercorns

Gontran Cherrier, who has an eponymous bakery in Paris's 18th arrondisement, 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.

11 of 19

Strawberry-Pecan Quick Bread

Strawberry-Pecan Quick Bread — Â© Fredrika StjÃ¤rne

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.

12 of 19

Yogurt-Zucchini Bread with Walnuts

Yogurt-Zucchini Bread with Walnuts — © Frances Janisch

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.

13 of 19

Raisin Rye Bread

Raisin Rye Bread

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

14 of 19

Persian Flatbread

Persian Flatbread

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.

15 of 19

Focaccia with Caramelized Onions, Pear and Blue Cheese

Focaccia with Caramelized Onions, Pear and Blue Cheese

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

16 of 19

Monkey Bread with Honey-Bourbon Sauce

Monkey Bread with Honey-Bourbon Sauce — Christopher Testani

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.

17 of 19

Focaccia with Roasted Squash

Focaccia with Roasted Squash — Con Poulos

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

18 of 19

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread — Sarah Crowder

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.

19 of 19

Birote (Guadalajaran Sourdough Bread)

Birote Bread Recipe — Stephanie Lynn Warga

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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