42 Homemade Bread Recipes That Are Completely Doable

Intimidated by yeast-risen bread? Worried you won’t get the measuring, mixing and kneading just right? Don’t be. These recipes make everything from freshly baked loaves to lighter-than-air rolls a cinch.

February 09, 2023

By: Food Network Kitchen

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Rise to the Occasion

We’ll be the first to admit that bread recipes with yeast take a bit of time and effort—between mixing and kneading, letting the dough rise and making sure that it’s proofed. But, they’re not tricky to make once you get the hang of things. Whether you’re a first-time baker looking for some simple dinner rolls or are ready to go all in with DIY sourdough (including your own starter), you’ll find all the recipes you need right here. We’ve got ideas for Parker house rolls, breakfast pastries, sandwich loaves and more—you’ll even find recipes worthy of your Easter and Thanksgiving bread baskets. So go ahead and pick your favorite. We promise you’ll be rewarded for your efforts—because nothing beats homemade bread, fresh from the oven.

Brioche

This rich, eggy bread is perfect for thick-sliced French toast, ultra-rich bread pudding or the ultimate grilled cheese. Plus, the smell of it baking will bring everyone to the kitchen. Luckily, this recipe makes two loaves, so there will be plenty for sharing.

Get the Recipe: Brioche

Parker House Rolls

Since their fabled start at Boston's Parker House Hotel in the late 1800s, Parker House Rolls have been a (frequently reproduced) dinnertime breadbasket staple. The soft, buttery rolls have a crispy, browned, egg-washed exterior and large flakes of kosher salt that nicely offset the bread's sweetness.

Get the Recipe: Parker House Rolls

Homemade Flatbread

Did you know that flatbread has the same amount of yeast as a classic bread recipe? It has been rolled out into a very thin disc before being baked or, as in this recipe, grilled. This recipe would make the perfect backyard barbecue accompaniment.

Get the Recipe: Homemade Flat Bread

No-Knead Peasant Bread

This is the ideal starter recipe for the timid bread baker. Composed of only five ingredients, this simple bread needs only to be mixed by hand and then folded a few times after it has risen.

Get the Recipe: No-Knead Peasant Bread

Cinnamon Buns

An excellent cinnamon bun recipe has the right proportion of "schmear" (it keeps the dough moist and tacky) and dough that's been mixed the ideal amount. Gale Gand advises that you stretch a small piece of dough and hold it up to the light — if you see webs (strands of gluten), your dough is ready. And her brown sugar, butter, honey and cinnamon glaze? It's just right.

Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Buns

Wonderful White Bread

Tyler Florence's sesame seed-studded white bread is the sort of classic loaf you'll make once and then want to repeat over and over again. School lunches and morning toast will never be the same.

Get the Recipe: Wonderful White Bread

Slow Cooker Bread

This bread is light and airy, like the soft inside of a loaf of French bread — and, there's no need to let it rise. You can go directly from making the dough to baking with no waiting around. Magic.

Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Bread

Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls

Surprise your family with freshly baked dinner rolls anytime. Just prepare and pre-bake the rolls 75 percent of the way through, and then freeze them. Pop the rolls in the oven and brush them with butter right before serving.

Get the Recipe: Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls

Neapolitan Swirl Bread

Indulgent buttery brioche gets a Neapolitan treatment. We divided the dough into three portions and kneaded in the flavors of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate, then stacked and rolled the portions to create a mesmerizing swirl with a trio of flavors in every bite. Enjoy it as is or with a slather of strawberry jam, or use it to make a delightfully different bread pudding.

Get the Recipe: Neapolitan Swirl Bread

Pita Bread

Ever wonder what the key is to making puffy pockets of warm pita bread? Make sure that each circle of dough you roll is completely smooth and free of creases; they'll prevent the pita from puffing up properly. Once it does, though, it'll rise quickly and naturally deflate, creating a pocket of air in the center.

Get the Recipe: Pita Bread

Sticky Buns

Not sure what differentiates sticky buns from cinnamon rolls? In a sticky bun recipe such as this, the glazed topping (Bobby Flay's has honey, orange juice and zest, and almonds) is poured into a baking pan and covered with the naked rolls of dough. When unmolded from the pan, the buns have a delightfully thick, tacky and super-sweet topping.

Get the Recipe: Sticky Buns

Brown Bread

Ree’s easy brown bread gets a subtle sweetness form honey and brown sugar — and its gorgeous color from a mix of whole wheat flour, coffee and molasses.

Get the Recipe: Brown Bread

Soft Pretzels

Brown sugar gives these pretzel rolls the touch of sweetness you'd expect from the comforting favorite. The golden brown, salt-kissed knots are best enjoyed with stone-ground mustard.

Get the Recipe: Soft Pretzels

Rapid Rolls

Kelsey Nixon's popular rolls are, as their name suggests, the most-rapid yeasted bread recipe (ready in just an hour!), requiring just 20 minutes of rising time, thanks to triple the amount of yeast, and 25 minutes of baking time. But you'd never know it from the resulting soft, chewy rolls.

Get the Recipe: Rapid Rolls

Naan: Indian Oven-Baked Flatbread

This flatbread from the North of India is juxtaposition at its most beautiful: pillowy and elastic, with dark charred bubbles and a crispy bottom. It's usually made in a tandoor oven, a clay oven that can reach up to 900 degrees F. That's hard to replicate at home, but this stovetop version comes pretty close.

Get the Recipe: Naan

Pretzel Rolls

This cross between a dinner roll and a soft pretzel possesses the savory depth of a sourdough slice and the salty sweetness of the street-cart favorite. The coiled shape makes for nicely browned nooks and crannies — all the better for catching tongue-pleasing chunks of coarse sea salt.

Get the Recipe: Pretzel Rolls

Homemade French Baguettes

Channel the smell of a French boulangerie in your own kitchen with Kelsey Nixon's simple recipe. Pay special attention to the dough's moisture level before proofing the dough.

Get the Recipe: Homemade French Baguettes

Stovetop Bread

Baking bread doesn't mean the house has to bake too. This recipe lets you bake a loaf on top of the stove instead of in it, keeping your kitchen cool.

Get the Recipe: Stovetop Bread

No-Mess Cinnamon Bread

Homemade cinnamon-swirl bread that’s easy to make, comes together quick and leaves virtually no dirty dishes? What’s not to love about that?!

Get the Recipe: No-Mess Cinnamon Bread In A Bag

Croissants

Flaky, tender croissants are no small baking feat, requiring extremely careful working of the dough and frequent chilling. Gale Gand outlines the detail-oriented process in this recipe, producing the sort of results you'd expect to find in a Parisian boulangerie.

Get the Recipe: Croissants

Homemade Cinnamon-Raisin Bread

Skip the store-bought, processed variety you were raised on and make Giada De Laurentiis' homemade cinnamon-raisin bread instead. Filled with nutmeg and cinnamon and flecked with both raisins and walnuts, this brown-bread recipe isn't quite as sweet, which makes it ideal for topping with a bevy of spreads.

Get the Recipe: Homemade Cinnamon-Raisin Bread

Naan

A truly divine naan is crispy on the outside, a little bit charred with brown spots, soft on the inside and a little chewy and fluffy in parts. Like pizza, it is cooked for a very short time at an extremely high temperature. That’s why homemade naan often doesn’t come close to naan in a restaurant that is made in a tandoor--an earthen wood or coal-fired oven. Can you make good naan at home, and is it worth even trying? YES! You can do this either on a pizza stone/steel or in a heavy cast-iron skillet/griddle. The surface needs to be searing hot, and I like to give a final char directly on the flame. The result: heavenly naan.

Get the Recipe: Naan

Hazelnut Babka

A classic cinnamon-sugar babka gets an even sweeter, nutty edge when filled and topped with chopped hazelnuts.

Get the Recipe: Hazelnut Babka

Mini Brioche Rolls

To achieve the fluffy, airy rolls you'd find in a bakery, follow Ina's detailed dough-mixing instructions.

Get the Recipe: Mini Brioche Rolls

Honey White Bread

A touch of honey makes Ina Garten's white bread recipe even sweeter –– ideal for topping with various jams, butters or soft cheeses.

Get the Recipe: Honey White Bread

Almost-Famous Breadsticks

When you can’t go out to dinner, make these copycat breadsticks instead. Brushed with warm garlic butter and topped with a sprinkle of salt, they’re loaded with the all savory flavors you’re craving.

Get the Recipe: Almost-Famous Breadsticks

Toaster Oven Bread

A fun use for your countertop toaster oven — freshly baked bread. This loaf gets perfectly golden all over and is suprisingly simple to make.

Get the Recipe: Toaster Oven Bread

Mushroom Buns

We concentrated the mushroom flavor in these savory buns by cooking the vegetables down with shallots and herbs into a paste known in French as duxelles. These buns require a bit of extra work but are still easy to make, perfect for a special brunch or dinner.

Get the Recipe: Mushroom Buns

Focaccia Bread

There's nothing more satisfying than making bread from scratch and this easy recipe is just the thing to keep little ones busy for a bit. Your kids will have fun helping you measure, stir and knead. And, we're pretty sure they'll be glad to taste test the finished bread, too!

Get the Recipe: Kids Can Bake: Focaccia Bread

Frosted Twists

Sprinkles prove an unusual addition to these twists, which are similar to cinnamon rolls but sturdier and with crispier edges that give them a nice caramelized flavor.

Get the Recipe: Frosted Twists

Cinnamon Bun Babka

Tyler brilliantly combines two favorite sweet yeasted breads in this recipe. The tacky brown sugar, cinnamon, raisin and walnut filling rolled between the cylinders of dough merges the two treats, while a sugary orange-zest glaze seals in moisture and adds to its dessert-like feel.

Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Bun Babka

Ricotta and Tomato Pizzas

Pizza dough is a great place for a yeast-dough beginner. It's a simple, easy recipe with a spectacular payoff — homemade pizza! This recipe calls for freshly mashed tomatoes, and dollops of ricotta and basil, but customize it to your taste, pantry stock and creativity.

Get the Recipe: Ricotta and Tomato Pizzas

Cinnamon-Spiced Doughnuts

Dusted with cinnamon sugar on the outside and spiced with just a hint of nutmeg on the inside, Gale's square-shaped doughnuts are the perfect treat to accompany your morning coffee.

Get the Recipe: Cinnamon-Spiced Doughnuts

White Sandwich Bread

It doesn’t get much easier than this. Ree turns 5 basic ingredients (yeast, butter, sugar, salt and flour) into fluffy loaves of homemade bread in just a few simple steps.

Get the Recipe: White Sandwich Bread

No-Knead Cloverleaf Rolls

The beauty of this big-batch recipe is that the dough can be stored in your refrigerator for up to 2 days. That makes it easy to have freshly-baked rolls a few nights in a row — without measuring and mixing each time.

Get the Recipe: No-Knead Cloverleaf Rolls

Fabulous Focaccia

Tyler's focaccia earns its high-praise moniker with 5-star reviews from Food Network fans. The dense bread is topped with a Mediterranean-inspired mixture of olives, garlic, onions, herbs and Parmesan cheese.

Get the Recipe: Fabulous Focaccia

Microwave Bread

Although it has no crust or color, this loaf of bread is light and airy, with surprisingly great texture reminiscent of Chinese steamed buns. Equally amazing — it takes only about 4 minutes to bake.

Get the Recipe: Microwave Bread

Potato Rolls

These are an addictive, all-American comfort food that'd be just as much at home at Thanksgiving dinner as at a 4th of July barbecue. Slightly sweet and perfectly doughy, these deserve their classic status.

Get the Recipe: Potato Rolls

Basic Sweet-Roll Dough

Whether it's cinnamon rolls, sticky buns or monkey bread you fancy, this basic dough is the only starter you need to know — just plan your glazes, schmears and dips accordingly.

Get the Recipe: Basic Sweet-Roll Dough

Multigrain Focaccia with Herbs and Garlic

The word "focaccia" comes from the Latin word for "hearth" — it was traditionally baked in the ashes of the fireplace. This particular focaccia is a savory, whole-grain version, topped with garlic, thyme and rosemary.

Get the Recipe: Multi-Grain Focaccia with Herbs and Garlic

Shokupan

Japanese milk bread is the ultimate white sandwich-style bread: super-soft and fluffy with just a hint of sweetness. This version uses a cooked and cooled roux starter called a yukone to help achieve its pillowy, moist texture. Don’t be put off by the number of steps—the process is pretty straightforward and the result is worth the effort. If you’d like a finished loaf with straight sides, use a pullman loaf pan; otherwise, a regular loaf pan works fine.

Get the Recipe: Shokupan

Four-Flavor Focaccia with Burrata

Inspired by the flavors of pizza quattro stagioni, this elegant focaccia represents a different season in each of its quadrants: peas and artichokes for spring, tomatoes and basil for summer, mushrooms and squash for fall and pancetta and olives for winter. Topped with warm, creamy burrata, it is the perfect appetizer for any season.

Get the Recipe: Four-Flavor Focaccia with Burrata

On Tonight

42 Homemade Bread Recipes That Are Completely Doable

Rise to the Occasion

Brioche

Parker House Rolls

Homemade Flatbread

No-Knead Peasant Bread

Cinnamon Buns

Wonderful White Bread

Slow Cooker Bread

Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls

Neapolitan Swirl Bread

Pita Bread

Sticky Buns

Brown Bread

Soft Pretzels

Rapid Rolls

Naan: Indian Oven-Baked Flatbread

Pretzel Rolls

Homemade French Baguettes

Stovetop Bread

No-Mess Cinnamon Bread

Croissants

Homemade Cinnamon-Raisin Bread

Naan

Hazelnut Babka

Mini Brioche Rolls

Honey White Bread

Almost-Famous Breadsticks

Toaster Oven Bread

Mushroom Buns

Focaccia Bread

Frosted Twists

Cinnamon Bun Babka

Ricotta and Tomato Pizzas

Cinnamon-Spiced Doughnuts

White Sandwich Bread

No-Knead Cloverleaf Rolls

Fabulous Focaccia

Microwave Bread

Potato Rolls

Basic Sweet-Roll Dough

Multigrain Focaccia with Herbs and Garlic

Shokupan

Four-Flavor Focaccia with Burrata

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