17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (2024)

  • Bread

Yeasted breads may seem complicated, but these 17 recipes prove just how easy they can be.

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Updated March 17, 2020

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17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (1)

Bread. No food provides as much nourishment and comfort, particularly in trying times. Legendary chef Jacques Pepin has stated that, if he had a choice, his last meal on Earth would be "good bread and good butter," and we think it's hard to disagree. (Even for people who are gluten-free! Don't worry, we've got you covered!)

And while making quick breads, like scones, banana bread, and muffins, can provide all the satisfaction of producing homemade baked goods without need for much expertise or a huge investment of time, there's something particularly gratifying about the multi-stage labor of love that is making a yeasted bread—the proofing, the kneading, the rise (and, often, the other rise), the anticipation as the toasty smell of baking fills your kitchen. It's frequently a more complicated undertaking, to be sure, but it doesn't have to be difficult, and the rewards are well worth it.

(Especially if you find yourself with a lot of time at home on your hands!)

If you're new to baking yeast breads, you'll want to first read our primer on different varieties of yeast and their behaviors. Then start yourself off easy with a few no-knead bread recipes, like a roasted-garlic or olive-rosemary focaccia. After a little experimenting, you'll be all set to tackle a loaf of crusty white bread, a batch of buttery Parker House rolls, and even homemade bagels. Here are 17 yeast bread recipes to help you make your weekends a little warmer and cozier, and give you a nice sense of accomplishment besides.

  • Simple Crusty White Bread

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (2)

    This classic, all-purpose loaf is a natural starting point for your adventures in bread-making. It's made with just four ingredients—flour, water, salt, and yeast—which allows you to really focus on the technique. Instant, active dry, and fresh yeast all work here, but the amount that you need depends on the one you choose, so pay close attention to labels if you're out shopping.

    Get the recipe for Simple Crusty White Bread

  • Better No-Knead Bread

    Want to ease yourself slowly into the world of yeasted breads? This no-knead bread swaps out a lot of the work in favor of adding time. Rather than kneading the ingredients by hand or with a mixer, you'll simply let the dough sit for several days so it can develop gluten on its own, producing a chewy, fluffy loaf.

    Get the recipe for Better No-Knead Bread

  • 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (4)

    If you're interesting in making a loaf of whole wheat bread for sandwiches, this is the recipe you want. The trick to making 100% whole-wheat bread that's as light and fluffy as a white loaf is an autolyse, in which the flour is left to hydrate fully for about two and a half hours. After that, all you need is a food processor to knead the dough, and the result is a hearty, chewy loaf perfect for sandwiches.

    Get the recipe for 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

  • Yeasted Pumpkin Bread

    6:07

    Yeast-Raised Pumpkin Bread, Two Ways

    This is just your standard loaf of white bread, with pumpkin purée used in place of the water. The result is as beautiful as it is delicious to eat. Use it as you would white bread, but it's particularly delicious when used for grilled cheese sandwiches. Also, note that you don't have to make a loaf; you can use the recipe to make 12 dinner rolls instead.

    Get the recipe for Yeasted Pumpkin Bread

    Continue to 5 of 17 below.

  • Gluten-Free Potato Bread

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (5)

    Being gluten-intolerant doesn't mean you have to settle for poor imitations of bread. This homemade potato bread is 100% gluten-free, thanks to a blend of cornstarch, tapioca starch, white rice flour, brown rice flour, nonfat milk powder, potato flour, and xanthan gum. (The same blend can be used as a one-to-one substitute for all-purpose flour in any recipe you'd like.) Mashed cooked potatoes incorporated into the dough contribute extra flavor as well as ample hydration.

    Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Potato Bread

  • The Best Challah

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (6)

    Challah is a great bread to make at home—not only is it relatively easy, you can make it extra rich and tender by using more egg yolks than commercial bakers do. The trickiest part is arguably braiding the dough, but go slowly and follow our video guide, and you'll be fine. This recipe makes two loaves; we highly recommend saving the second to make a stellar challah French toast.

    Get the recipe for The Best Challah

  • Cemitas (Mexican Sesame Seed Sandwich Buns)

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (7)

    Whether you're making a Pueblan-style cemita, a Roosevelt Avenue–style version, or just a hamburger, a fresh bun is one of the best ways to improve your sandwich. And buns don't come much better than the egg-enriched, brioche-like cemita, with its sweet and savory flavor and dense yet light crumb that can stand up to as many toppings as you throw at it. Here, we substitute heavy cream for the traditional combination of milk and lard, streamlining the recipe.

    Get the recipe for Cemitas (Mexican Sesame Seed Sandwich Buns)

  • The Best Dinner Rolls (Fluffy, Crusty, and Chewy)

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (8)

    Calling something the best dinner roll is a strong statement, but if you like your rolls with a substantial crust worthy of gravy-soaked mashed potatoes come Thanksgiving, this is the recipe for you. Light and fluffy inside, these rolls get a crackly, crispy exterior thanks to an extra step of boiling the portioned dough, just as we would do for bagels.

    Get the recipe for The Best Dinner Rolls (Fluffy, Crusty, and Chewy)

    Continue to 9 of 17 below.

  • Parker House Rolls

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (9)

    I have a special place in my heart for soft, buttery Parker House rolls, and ours come out extra fluffy due to one surprise secret ingredient: instant mashed potato flakes. To make the dough, use milk that's warm but not hot—about 30 seconds in the microwave should do the trick.

    Get the recipe for Parker House Rolls

  • Soft Bread Salami Rolls

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (10)

    Vegetarians, look away—these may appear to be simple sandwich rolls, but they come with a couple decidedly un-vegetarian twists, making them great for piling with cold cuts or leftover roast beef. We brush the rolls with rendered beef fat, leaving them infused with a delicious meatiness, and we bake thin slices of salami into the bottom of each one for added flavor and crispy texture. Instant yeast—our preferred yeast for most recipes—is the easiest, quickest option here.

    Get the recipe for Soft Bread Salami Rolls

  • Yeast-Raised Angel Biscuits

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (11)

    Plan these light, tender, buttery biscuits for your next weekend brunch—they require overnight proofing, but will be ready to bake up first thing in the morning. Because they're leavened with yeast instead of baking powder, they feel a bit more like dinner rolls than classic biscuits, perfect for stuffing with butter and jelly or slices of fried ham. A bit of baking soda adds to their flavor and helps them brown better.

    Get the recipe for Yeast-Raised Angel Biscuits

  • Homemade Bagels

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (12)

    The best bagels tend to stay that way for a very short time—just an hour after they've come out of the oven, they've already lost much of their appeal. Our recipe, though, uses a Japanese technique called yukone to make bagels that stay crisp for days after baking. The technique involves precooking some of the flour and water into a gelatinized paste, which helps improve browning and moisture retention. If you're craving variation, try out our toasty cinnamon raisin bagels, or repurpose some of your bagel batch to make the ultimate grown-up after-school snack—homemade Bagel Bites.

    Get the recipe for Homemade Bagels

    Continue to 13 of 17 below.

  • Old-Fashioned, No-Knead English Muffins

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (13)

    For these hearty, fluffy English muffins, we let the dough rise twice, with the second rise lasting at least overnight, allowing them to develop perfect texture with minimal kneading. The long rises mean this isn't a quick recipe, but almost all of the time required is hands-off. We cook the muffins entirely on the stovetop—the high heat leaves them with crisp crusts and lots of those precious nooks and crannies.

    Get the recipe for Old-Fashioned, No-Knead English Muffins

  • Perfect Homemade Pita Bread

    6:09

    How to Make Homemade Pita Bread

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (14)

    Fluffy, chewy pita breads with real pockets, ready for splitting and filling with your own falafel and hummus, can be yours—and they're much easier than you'd think. The keys to getting the pitas to puff properly are rolling them thin (no more than a quarter inch) and setting them on a preheated baking stone or baking steel in a very hot oven to rapidly create steam.

    Get the recipe for Perfect Homemade Pita Bread

  • Easy No-Knead Olive-Rosemary Focaccia With Pistachios

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (15)

    Not only can you skip the kneading for this focaccia, you don't even need to stretch it out to fill the pan—the combination of a well-hydrated dough and a well-greased pan means you can count on gravity to do all the work. You can top focaccia pretty much however you'd like; here, we go with a mixture of briny olives, crunchy pistachios, and heady rosemary.

    Get the recipe for Easy No-Knead Olive-Rosemary Focaccia With Pistachios

  • Easy Roasted-Garlic Focaccia

    17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (16)

    This recipe puts a garlic-bread twist on our no-knead focaccia. To maximize the central flavor, we incorporate garlic two ways, pushing roasted cloves straight into the dough before baking and brushing the loaf with garlic butter after it comes out of the oven. If you find the base of the bread isn't quite crispy enough, just place the skillet on the stovetop for a few minutes to allow it to finish cooking.

    Get the recipe for Easy Roasted-Garlic Focaccia

    Continue to 17 of 17 below.

  • Roman-Style Pizza Pockets (Trapizzini)

    8:47

    Meet the Trapizzino, the Pizza–Sandwich Hybrid of Your Dreams

    Similar to focaccia, but way more fun, trapizzini are like a mashup of pizza bianca and a crispy sandwich roll. While the bread is good enough to be eaten all by itself, ideally you'll make a slit in each square and stuff it with something delicious, like meatballs or tender sautéd broccoli rabe. But they're also excellent vehicles for leftovers of any kind, from sliced roasted meat (with cheese!) to leftover stir-fried vegetables (with cheese!).

    Get the recipe for Roman-Style Pizza Pockets (Trapizzini)

17 Bread Recipes, From Focaccia and Challah to Dinner Rolls and Bagels (2024)

FAQs

Is focaccia better with bread flour or all purpose flour? ›

The Guardian recommends using equal parts bread flour and 00 flour to make a focaccia. Fine Dining Lovers notes that 00 (double zero) flour is as finely ground as flour can come, and the dough contains similar amounts of gluten to bread flour.

What makes focaccia bread different from other breads? ›

Focaccia is a type of Italian bread made with yeast and a strong, high-gluten flour (like bread flour) and baked in flat sheet pans. Unlike pizza dough, it's left to rise after being rolled out before going in the oven.

What makes it challah instead of normal bread? ›

Challah = Enriched Yeast Dough

At its root, challah is a very straightforward bread to make. The dough is enriched with eggs and oil, while a few tablespoons of sugar add some sweetness. It doesn't require any fussy techniques and can be made from start to finish in the space of an afternoon.

What are the hardest breads to make? ›

What Is the Most Difficult Bread to Make?
  1. Tomascastelazo · CC BY-SA 4.0. Sourdough bread. ...
  2. Baguette. Baguettes are difficult to make because they require a precise balance of ingredients and technique. ...
  3. Croissant. ...
  4. Challah. ...
  5. Brioche. ...
  6. Focaccia. ...
  7. Pumpernickel. ...
  8. Schekinov Alexey Victorovich · CC BY-SA 4.0.

What type of flour is best for focaccia? ›

Bread Flour – Using bread flour gives the focaccia a chewy texture; you can substitute all-purpose flour without ruining the recipe, but your bread will be significantly lighter and missing that characteristic texture. Salt – Gives flavor to the dough.

What is the healthiest flour for homemade bread? ›

The healthiest bread flour is 100% whole grain flour. Whole grain flour could be rye, barley, spelt, oat, or wheat flour - the key is that the flour is made from 100% whole grains. Whole grain breads provide essential nutrients that are lacking in bread made from white flour.

How unhealthy is focaccia bread? ›

A moderate consumption of focaccia bread can be healthy. It is because complex carbs in focaccia offer the body energy slowly and help control blood sugar levels. In addition, it gains an advantage if it contains whole wheat flour. It is also rich in vitamin, mineral, and fibre content.

Why don t you knead focaccia? ›

Because it creates the kind of focaccia that I like, light and fluffy instead of fine crumbed and cakey. Focaccia is all about olive oil, on the dough, in the dough, in the topping, and finally a little drizzle when it comes out off the oven nice and hot. It may SEEM like a lot but it's a big bread we're making here!

Why do Jews eat challah? ›

Challah Bread is Equally as Delicious as it is Symbolic

This commandment is called the hafrashat challah. Moreover, on some occasions a blessing is said over two loaves of bread, symbolizing the two portions of the manna that was distributed on Fridays to the children of Israel during their Exodus from Egypt.

What is the best flour for challah? ›

Myrna's original recipe calls for all-purpose flour, and you can substitute that here. But I find bread flour gives the challah a nice chew without making it tough, and also helps the braided loaf maintain its shape after baking. For some novice challah makers, that braid can seem like the hardest part.

What bread is closest to challah? ›

Challah and brioche bread are similar, but differ from each other in important ways. Both are ever so slightly sweet and enriched with eggs and fat, making them richer than other breads. But challah uses more eggs and less fat than brioche bread.

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

Can I use bread flour rather than all-purpose flour? ›

All-purpose flour is the most common flour called for in recipes, for both cooking and baking. But if you don't have any in the pantry, or can't find any in the store, there are other flours you can use in its place. Bread flour and cake flour—on their own or mixed together—can substitute for all-purpose.

Can I use all-purpose flour instead of self-rising flour? ›

All-purpose flour will work for just about all of your self-rising flour recipes, but for tender baked goods like biscuits, you might want to replicate a Southern-style self-rising flour.

Why is my focaccia not fluffy? ›

Why is my focaccia not fluffy or chewy? It could be the type of flour you used. The best flour to use to make focaccia bread is bread flour which gives you fluffy baked bread. Or, it could also be because you did not knead the dough enough for the gluten to form a structure which can result in flat or dense bread.

Do you use all-purpose flour or self-rising flour for bread? ›

If a recipe calls for flour and doesn't specify an exact kind, all-purpose is a safe bet. All-purpose flour can be used in a huge variety of foods including: Cookies, cakes, bread, biscuits … pretty much any baked good that requires flour!

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