The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (2024)

Fresh, homemade bread can be the highlight of your dinner. Our recipes range from croissants (time-consuming but worth it!) to a warm-and-cheesy pepperoni pizza pull (easy and oh-so-delicious). Try homemade brioche, herb-sprinkled toast, fluffy biscuits or cloverleaf rolls at your next gathering.

01of 31

Classic Croissants

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (1)

Baking a proper croissant, with a shattery exterior and honeycombed interior, is a big endeavor. Having perfected this recipe, we can promise you three things: It will take time. Your house will smell like a boulangerie. And you will be so proud of the result.

View Recipe

02of 31

Toasted French Bread Sliced

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (2)

Looking for a super easy bread? It takes just minutes to prepare Toasted French Bread Slices. Warm olive oil, garlic and your choice of herbs, then brush over oven-toasted bread.

View Recipe

03of 31

Classic Brioche Loaf

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (3)

Brioche is a classic French bread made with oodles of butter and egg. It's soft, rich and luxurious. This recipe comes from Heritage Baking (Chronicle) by Ellen King, founder of Hewn bakery in Evanston, Illinois.

View Recipe

04of 31

Cinny Biscuits

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (4)

At The Bake Shop and Cafe in Cleveland, Shawnda Moye offers the Cinny, a warm cinnamon roll-meets-biscuit that somehow becomes more divine when paired with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee.

View Recipe

05of 31

Do-Anything Artisan Bread

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (5)

Cathy Drabkin, who operates a home bakery in Hays, Kansas, adapted this low-key dough from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Minnesotans Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François. The recipe is for an all-white dough shaped into round boules but you can create specialty loaves by adding whole-grain flours, seeds or fruit and shaping the loaves differently.

How One Ambitious Kansas Baker Turned Her Bread-Making Hobby Into a Home Business

View Recipe

06of 31

Blue-and-Gold Breakfast Cornbread

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (6)

This mildly sweet cornbread, served with yogurt and maple syrup, is a delicious alternative to pancakes or waffles. Look for blue cornmeal online or in well-stocked specialty markets.

View Recipe

07of 31

Popovers

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (7)

Pastry chef Emily Marks learned all the tricks to making popovers during her five years at The Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis, which closed during the pandemic in 2020. Serve them with the restaurant's signature honey butter or swap chopped fresh herbs, black pepper, or shredded cheese for the honey.

View Recipe

08of 31

Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (8)

Behold! We have found the holy grail of homemade bread. It's an appealingly soft, barely sweet, mostly whole wheat sandwich loaf. And the recipe is flexible and fuss-free-no kneading required! The recipe comes from The New Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Minneapolis residents Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.

View Recipe

09of 31

Cheddar-Jalapeno Pinwheels

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (9)

Baker Cathy Drabkin in Hays, Kansas, says cheesy anything is always a top seller. These jumbo rolls, adapted from her Do-Anything Artisan Bread recipe, taste scrumptious alone or in an egg sandwich.

View Recipe

10of 31

Cloverleaf Rolls

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (10)

These rich rolls with easy-to-handle dough won Best Bread of Show twice for state fair entrant Denise Turnbull of Monmouth, Illinois.

View Recipe

11of 31

Cheesy Chive Garlic Bread

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (11)

Every bit as good as regular homemade garlic, but with the added flavor and color of fresh chives: Prepare to be addicted.

View Recipe

12of 31

Focaccia

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (12)

This focaccia, a variation of Cathy Drabkin's Artisan Bread, adds olive oil to tenderize the dough, yielding a soft pillow that's a blank canvas for toppings like rosemary, red onion and sea salt.

View Recipe

13of 31

Buttermilk and Brown Sugar Cornbread

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (13)

Everyone needs a good cornbread recipe in the back pocket. This one, from Karen Bell, chef and owner of Bavette La Boucherie in Milwaukee, is a keeper.

View Recipe

14of 31

Pepperoni Pizza Pull

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (14)

This warm and cheesy pull-apart bread takes just a few minutes to make. Keep the ingredients on hand, and you'll always have a quick accompaniment for a soup supper with family and friends.

View Recipe

15of 31

Crescent Rolls

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (15)

This family recipe for buttery, tender rolls comes from Kenda Friend of Indianapolis. "I'm convinced my husband married me for access to these rolls," says Friend of her mother's recipe. "Mom is truly the queen of yeast rolls."

View Recipe

16of 31

Herbed Brioche Dinner Rolls

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (16)

Thyme and rosemary flavor these rich, buttery dinner rolls. The recipe, from the cookbook Heritage Baking (Chronicle, $29.95) by Illinois bakeshop owner Ellen King, yields 18 rolls (they freeze well).

View Recipe

17of 31

Buttermilk Biscuits

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (17)

The recipe for these flaky biscuits comes from Honey & Rye Bakehouse in Minneapolis. Try them with Mushroom Gravy.

View Recipe

18of 31

Chocolate Brioche Swirl Loaf

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (18)

Choose the uber-rich chocolate loaf, or try the sun-dried tomato pesto variation (it tastes like pizza!). The recipes come from Ellen King of Hewn bakery in Evanston, Illinois.

View Recipe

19of 31

Buttermilk-Sage Dinner Rolls

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (19)

In yeast breads such as these dinner rolls, buttermilk creates a soft, supple crumb, great sliceability and tangy aroma. Shake buttermilk vigorously; the good stuff can fall to the bottom of the carton.

View Recipe

20of 31

Whole Wheat Pretzel Rolls

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (20)

Soft pretzels' chewy, brown exterior comes from being boiled in an alkaline solution—the 1/4 cup baking soda in the water isn't a typo!

View Recipe

21of 31

Bacon-Cheddar-Chive Scones

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (21)

Melted cheese oozes out of these tender, flaky scones flecked with chives and bacon bits. Cheryl Christiansen of McPherson won best in quick breads with this scone at the Kansas State Fair.

Must-Try Recipes for Scones

View Recipe

22of 31

Classic Challah

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (22)

Minnesota cookbook author and blogger Molly Yeh often twists her challahs into simple spirals. This recipe—adapted from her cookbook Molly on the Range —makes four small loaves, perfect for freezing or sharing. (Slightly stale challah also makes dreamy French toast.)

View Recipe

23of 31

Garlic Bread

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (23)

Kansas City chef Howard Hanna doesn't over-complicate garlic bread. It's buttery, lightly herby and very addictive.

View Recipe

24of 31

Sweet Potato Biscuits

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (24)

Orange zest, nutmeg and smoked paprika add layers of flavor to these tender biscuits.

View Recipe

25of 31

War Eagle Mill Buttermilk Biscuits

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (25)

"My recipes are like my children. I'd hate to single one out as a favorite," says Zoe Caywood, who worked for many years as a miller at War Eagle Mill just east of Rogers, Arkansas. These biscuits are from one of Zoe's cookbooks. The recipe blends wheat and all-purpose flours for a fuller flavor than in traditional biscuits.

View Recipe

26of 31

Orange-Spice Challah Buns

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (26)

Melding her husband's Norwegian roots with her own Jewish heritage, blogger Molly Yeh's soft, slightly chewy rolls are ideal for brunch or even as a sweet complement to a holiday dinner.

View Recipe

27of 31

Scallion Pancake Challah

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (27)

Minnesota blogger Molly Yeh fills each of the three strands of her challah with chopped green onion, sesame oil and red pepper flakes. The result is a braided loaf that quite literally weaves together both sides of her ancestry-Jewish and Chinese. The recipe comes from Molly's book Molly on the Range (Rodale, $32.50).

View Recipe

28of 31

Brioche Hamburger Buns

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (28)

It's impossible to beat a burger served on a soft, pillowy brioche bun. This recipe (from Hewn bakery in Evanston, Illinois) makes a big batch, so you can keep a stash in the freezer for several meals.

View Recipe

29of 31

Sweet Potato Rolls

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (29)

Bits of sweet potato fleck these moist dinner rolls from Sandra Schifferle of Lansing, Kansas. She puts Kansas wheat to good use in this recipe. For a quick prep, microwave your sweet potato, then cool and mash the veggie for the rolls.

View Recipe

30of 31

Cornmeal Biscuits

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (30)

Cornmeal adds crunch, and basil adds flavor to these biscuits. They make a tasty accompaniment to any soup.

View Recipe

31of 31

Cream Biscuits

The Secrets to Baking Mouthwatering Breads, Rolls and Biscuits (31)

There is something rather miraculous about stirring together two ingredients (yes, two ingredients!) and getting delicious homemade biscuits.

View Recipe