Breakfast Bread Recipe Serious Eats

At Serious Eats, we’re a team of self-proclaimed food nerds who are ever-curious about the “why” behind cooking. The staff has worked in restaurants, test kitchens, bakeries, and other notable publications, bringing extensive culinary and editorial expertise to the table.

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

Fennel Fig Quick Bread Recipe

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.

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.

When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site.Stella Parks is a CIA-trained baking nerd and pastry wizard, dubbed one of America's Best New Pastry Chefs by Food & Wine. She was the pastry editor at Serious Eats from 2016 to 2019.

Zucchini Bread Recipe

I adore everything about whole wheat bread, from its hearty texture and graham-like flavor to the general aura of virtue that comes with making anything from whole grains.

When ordering out, it's my favorite side for sopping up runny yolks on a breakfast plate, my ultimate sandwich bread. And assuming there's plenty of butter and jam, the perfect accompaniment to a simple mug of coffee.

Whole wheat bread has an unfortunate reputation for turning out heavy and dense at home. It can have a texture that's prone to tearing or crumbling apart, especially when sliced thin for sandwiches.

Vegan: Breakfast Garlic Toast Recipe

These attributes are often identified as an inescapable reality of 100% whole wheat formulas, as the inclusion of wheat bran and germ can interfere with proper gluten development, resulting in a poorly risen, too-tender loaf that lacks the structure and chewiness of a classic white bread.

As a result, an overwhelming number of recipes for whole wheat bread will actually include a good deal of white bread flour, often 50%. This improves a standard loaf's chewiness and rise, but it also dilutes the characteristic flavor and nutrition of whole wheat.

That doesn't mean it's impossible to make a fluffy, well-structured whole wheat loaf that's high-rising and chewy. It just means you'll need a slightly different approach than the one you see in run-of-the-mill recipes—one that involves a bit more time, power, and water.

Perfect Quick And Easy French Toast Recipe

The first key step for my whole wheat bread is to start with an autolyse. With this technique, bakers combine the flour and water up front and then allow the mixture to rest for some length of time before kneading.

This waiting period kicks off the enzymatic breakdown of starch, while giving the gliadin and glutenin proteins in the flour time to hydrate and mingle, forming gluten.

An autolyse can be helpful for many types of bread, especially in a commercial setting, but it's particularly useful at home for doughs that struggle to achieve sufficient gluten development in the first place, like whole wheat bread.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Recipe

The timing of an autolyse will vary from recipe to recipe, with some as short as a few minutes and others lasting overnight, but after testing a dozen or more intervals for this loaf, I was happiest with a two-and-a-half-hour autolyse (you can see some of my testing shotson Instagram). There's definitely some wiggle room if you need to buy a bit of time or move things along, but substantial deviations can lead to suboptimal results.

Even with an autolyse, gluten development can be difficult in a 100% whole wheat dough. Whenever I'm faced with a challenging dough that needs a lot of structure (likesuperchewy bagels, for example), I break out my food processor.

When it comes to intensive gluten development, food processors can do near miraculous work. After adding some brown sugar, salt, and yeast, the food processor is able to take my 100% whole wheat dough from a gnarly blob to a strong and satiny dough in just 75 seconds, without any risk of oxidation or overheating of the dough and with little risk of overheating or burning out the machine’s motor (which is more common with certain brands of small but colorful stand mixers with plastic gears).

Forget Stale Bread: How To Oven Dry Bread For Faster, More Flavorful Thanksgiving Stuffing

After processing, the dough will have enough gluten development to pull a small piece into a translucent sheet or, in baker-speak, a windowpane. With a 100% whole wheat dough, this level of gluten development can be very difficult to achieve by hand or even in a stand mixer.

Which is to say the food processor isn't an optional shortcut for this dough but a vital tool. For this recipe, I used both the 14-cup Cuisinart at our test kitchen and my 16-cup Breville Sous Chef without incident, but for smaller machines, it will be necessary to process the dough in stages (see ourfood processor equipment reviewfor more info on our recommended models).

Whole wheat dough typically requires more hydration than white bread due to the wheat bran's absorbency. But when I gave the dough all the water it needed up-front with the autolyse, it was too sticky and wet for my food processor.

Simple Crusty White Bread Recipe

I was able to sidestep the problem by reserving a small portion of water to incorporate after developing the gluten. Adding the water in two stages allowed for ample hydration during the autolyse, producing a dough with enough structure for the food processor to handle, while creating a soft and elastic dough that bakes up chewy, moist, and light.

Along with this second addition of water, I also add a splash of oil. This likewise keeps the dough from turning sticky early on, but its inclusion improves the flavor, texture, and shelf life of the finished loaf. Clear, neutral oils like safflower work well, or you can add another layer of nutty flavor with options like toasted pumpkin seed oil or toasted pecan oil.

After adding the water and oil, the dough is processed until smooth and then transferred to a lightly greased bowl for the first rise. At this stage, it should feel sticky, wet, and elastic, very unlike a typical whole wheat dough.

Thanksgiving Bread, Roll, And Biscuit Recipes To Sop It All Up

As with any bread, timing the first rise will depend on the dough and environment, as room temperature can range from well below 65°F (18°C) to above 85°F (29°C), depending on the season. But in an approximately 70°F (21°C) environment, expect things to take about two hours. Or, if desired, the dough can be refrigerated to substantially slow things down.

However the timing works out, when the dough has roughly doubled in volume, turn it out onto a clean surface that's been lightly dusted with whole wheat flour.

I form the loaf by folding the dough in thirds, using the heel of my hand to seal the dough against itself to form a tight roll. From there, I transfer it to a well-greased one-pound loaf pan (this tapered style will measure nine-by-five inches at the top and eight-by-four inches at the bottom).

Classic Banana Bread Recipe

I loosely cover the dough with plastic and proof until it's well risen and light but resilient, able to slowly spring back from a gentle poke. If the dough feels dense and firm and resists taking an impression when poked with a finger, I let it continue to rise.

As with the first rise, this process will move faster or slower depending on environmental conditions, but expect about 75 minutes at 70°F. Keep a close eye on the dough at this stage, checking it frequently to avoid overproofing (letting it puff up so much that it starts to lose structure).

After the second rise, bake the loaf until it's well risen and golden brown, giving up a

Quick Bread Recipes