From perfect sourdough to zesty cornbread to drool-worthy banana bread, these recipes will have you firing up your oven in 3...2...1...
So you tried sourdough and it didn’t work out for you. Or maybe it did, but you’re looking for a new glutinous challenge. We’ve got some ideas, from classic to sweet to a little out there. (Tomato bread—it’s a thing.)
We do have a sourdough recipe if you’re ready to get back on that horse. It’s a pretty easy one with directions included for a nearly foolproof starter, so we think you’ll be set up to succeed. Other classic loaves in the list include rye, an Irish soda bread, and maybe the most tender and delicious whole-wheat loaf ever.
For something a little different, try a flatbread, that staple of the Middle East and North Africa that is at least as versatile as pizza crust—and which actually does make a good pizza crust, come to think of it. Top it with veggies, make it a platform for minted lamb, or use it to scoop up your dinner Ethiopian style.
Bread isn’t just for the evening meal, of course. We’ve got several biscuit recipes, including the most buttery, flaky treats imaginable, courtesy of Northern California’s Manresa bakery. These biscuits were a favorite of Sunset staff, and flew off the test kitchen cooling racks when the recipe was being scaled down and adapted for home chefs.
We’ve got rolls and cornbread perfect as a side to just about any dish. And we’ve included a few sweet loaves as well, some of which just about double as dessert—like cranberry-orange bread with Grand Marnier glaze—and some of which are simply classic, like banana bread. Happy baking!
Make the West’s iconic bread from scratch using our easy, no-fail starter recipe.
A bread that’s 100 percent whole-grain can be dense and dry, but this one, by Lorrette Patzwald, who works with Ponsford’s Place in San Rafael, California, is a revelation—moist and springy, with amazing depth of flavor.
Leeks and crunchy walnuts flavor this hearty whole-wheat loaf.
This recipe produces a mild-tasting loaf with a tender crumb.
This recipe is neither oily nor dry, but perfectly moist.
Our fruit-studded, gently sweet classic bread includes plenty of butter, and baking powder as well as soda for a lighter texture.
Rich spice flavors shine in this tender, cakelike bread. You can store this bread airtight at room temperature up to three days or freeze up to three months.
Flavorful chai and colorful squash make this sweet quick bread a warming winter treat.
The most important ingredient: ripe, juicy tomatoes!
We like to experiment with different blends of zaatar, the Middle Eastern spice mix—one day Lebanese, the next Israeli, Jordanian, or Syrian.
The dough for these flatbreads can be made the night before serving.
You can’t have Ethiopian food without injera. And if you’re making injera, why not make Ethiopian food to go with?
Our speedy version of lahmajoun, the spicy lamb flatbread of Turkey and Armenia, disrupts the weeknight dinner routine in the best possible way.
“This recipe originated from a surplus of backyard ‘weeds’—overgrown herbs. It’s perfect for the summer, and goes well with a big salad.”
An essential dipping snack for any cookout.
“Don’t wait for your guests to sit down for these,” says chef Michael Chiarello. “You gotta make ’em and eat ’em.”
You may want to make extra, because leftovers are fantastic for lunch the next day.
Most of this can be done ahead, the meat and pita cook in minutes, and it’s easy to serve.
Make this for a crowd or eat it mid-Netflix binge in your coziest pair of pajama pants—we won’t judge. Try it with spicy jalapeño butter.
Chef Cindy Daniel learned how to make this moist cornbread from her mom while she was growing up in Louisiana.
Though this jalapeño-studded cornbread is on the sweeter side, when combined with the whipped lardo—a fluffy mix of butter and fresh lard—it’s a wonderful meet-up of porky and cakey.
This is a great cornbread for testing unusual cornmeals—or, for a denser bread, you can use all cornmeal instead of mixing it with flour.
Roasted chiles make everything better.
Doug Case calls this cakelike cornbread with blueberries “easy comfort food,” and we had to agree.
This cornbread is very good, or we would’ve given it a different name.
Show off your garden herbs with these buttery rolls. Show off your Hulk-like strength by tearing them to pieces.
These rolls are so good, we could eat a dozen. (And we have!)
Soft, cheerfully orange, and slightly sweet.
This dough is so easy to work with that we find ourselves making it over and over again, with slight variations.
The coconut milk added after the dough rises creates a thick pudding on the pan bottom—sort of a reverse frosting.
Mark Klever, the general manager at Belcampo Farms, learned to make these biscuits from his grandmother. He renders his own lard from Belcampo’s free-range pigs, and he bakes up a batch for his family nearly every week, just like his family used to do.
We suppose you could just make the sour-cream biscuits on their own…
Use a cast-iron pan for that old-timey frontier flavor.
These towering, extravagantly layered squares might remind you more of puff pastry or croissants than the often-humble quick bread.
When you can’t plan far enough in advance to make bread, make these biscuits instead.
You’ll want a bacon omelette with this one.
Break out the cream cheese!
This dense, moist bread tastes so chocolaty that you’d never guess it’s made with prune purée instead of butter.
Rich spice flavors shine in this tender, cakelike bread.
Pineapple guava, also called feijoa, is a fruit that adds a sweet-tart-floral flavor.
This bread is a versatile, easy-to-make crowd-pleaser.
Making your own candied orange peel is worth it!
We like to experiment with different blends of zaatar, the Middle Eastern spice mix—one day Lebanese, the next Israeli, Jordanian, or Syrian.
The dough for these flatbreads can be made the night before serving.
You can’t have Ethiopian food without injera. And if you’re making injera, why not make Ethiopian food to go with?
Our speedy version of lahmajoun, the spicy lamb flatbread of Turkey and Armenia, disrupts the weeknight dinner routine in the best possible way.
“This recipe originated from a surplus of backyard ‘weeds’—overgrown herbs. It’s perfect for the summer, and goes well with a big salad.”
“Don’t wait for your guests to sit down for these,” says chef Michael Chiarello. “You gotta make ’em and eat ’em.”
You may want to make extra, because leftovers are fantastic for lunch the next day.
Make this for a crowd or eat it mid-Netflix binge in your coziest pair of pajama pants—we won’t judge. Try it with spicy jalapeño butter.
Chef Cindy Daniel learned how to make this moist cornbread from her mom while she was growing up in Louisiana.
Though this jalapeño-studded cornbread is on the sweeter side, when combined with the whipped lardo—a fluffy mix of butter and fresh lard—it’s a wonderful meet-up of porky and cakey.
This is a great cornbread for testing unusual cornmeals—or, for a denser bread, you can use all cornmeal instead of mixing it with flour.
Doug Case calls this cakelike cornbread with blueberries “easy comfort food,” and we had to agree.
Show off your garden herbs with these buttery rolls. Show off your Hulk-like strength by tearing them to pieces.
These rolls are so good, we could eat a dozen. (And we have!)
This dough is so easy to work with that we find ourselves making it over and over again, with slight variations.
The coconut milk added after the dough rises creates a thick pudding on the pan bottom—sort of a reverse frosting.
Mark Klever, the general manager at Belcampo Farms, learned to make these biscuits from his grandmother. He renders his own lard from Belcampo’s free-range pigs, and he bakes up a batch for his family nearly every week, just like his family used to do.
We suppose you could just make the sour-cream biscuits on their own…
These towering, extravagantly layered squares might remind you more of puff pastry or croissants than the often-humble quick bread.
This dense, moist bread tastes so chocolaty that you’d never guess it’s made with prune purée instead of butter.
Rich spice flavors shine in this tender, cakelike bread.
Pineapple guava, also called feijoa, is a fruit that adds a sweet-tart-floral flavor.
This bread is a versatile, easy-to-make crowd-pleaser.