To the uninitiated, the humble sourdough friselle (“free-ze-leh”)—a sort of Italian-style rusk—might look like a common bagel, split in half and toasted. But these crunchy rings embody the sentiment of the Mediterranean, a symbol of creativity in utilizing everyday ingredients to create lasting culinary staples. When in Italy, I remember having them most often topped with a mixture of tomato, basil, herbs, salt, pepper, and a glug of olive oil—still my favorite way to eat them. Thanks to their extra-crisp texture that absorbs liquid without going too soggy, they really are the perfect bruschetta base. They can also be broken up and scattered over a fresh salad, not unlike panzanella or fattoush. Or you can take a sweeter path and top them with ricotta cheese and a drizzle of honey.

Baking is the final step in breadmaking, transforming flour, water, and other ingredients into sourdough bread. The oven’s heat causes the dough to expand and change, forming a sturdy structure with a crisp crust. Caramelization and the Maillard reaction give the crust its golden-brown color, aroma, and flavor. To bake a successful loaf of sourdough bread, it’s important to set the stage for encouraging the best oven spring (rise) and crust color. In a professional bakery, bakers use ovens that inject steam into a sealed oven at the press of a button. Unfortunately, we don’t have such luxuries at home. Fret not. In this guide to baking bread dough, I’ll discuss a few of my effective oven-baking techniques, how to score dough properly before you put it into the oven, and tips on determining when that loaf is fully baked. Let’s get baking.

Light and airy with soft-ish crust and a fun shape. With a crust that’s thin and slightly soft and a flavor profile that’s a touch salty and briny, these are hard to put down once you take a bite. The flour I use brings ample flavor (more on this in a minute), and while they look simply like twisted baguettes, I like to think of these sourdough filoncini as low-pressure baguettes. The dough is so much fun to handle—twisting and rolling and pinching—without any stress that you’re not shaping them “correctly.” They’re fun and different, not something you’d find at your local bakery, and the flavor and texture is just as extraordinary. Sometimes baking in the kitchen can become too serious, especially if you’ve been at it a while and expectations start to creep in.

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Go back to basics with Mike McEnearney's sourdough 101 masterclass at the comfort of your own home.

Ready In: 2hrs 20mins

"Plain white, simple sourdough bread. A great starter recipe to use if you are new to sourdough baking. The dough cycle of the bread machine can be used to prepare the dough, if you like. Prep time does not include proofing time for starter." Ready In: 3hrs 50mins

This subtly sweet granola is made with an ingredient you may not have considered incorporating into your mix before: sourdough starter. Make your life easy by using either fed or discard starter. Because the starter binds the oats, nuts, and seeds, you can cut back on the amount of sugar, honey, or syrup, which otherwise functions as the edible “glue” that holds the granola together. As an added bonus, the inclusion of sourdough starter ensures light and crispy clusters in every bite. PREP 15 mins BAKE 25 to 30 mins TOTAL 40 mins

Who doesn't love English muffins? Homemade sourdough muffins seem even more scrumptious, and some of the taste-testers here had to admit that these crusty, chewy, tangy gems were some of the best they'd ever eaten. PREP 25 mins BAKE 20 to 34 mins TOTAL 2 hrs 45 mins

This recipe comes to us from Maura Brickman, a serious home baker in Connecticut who doesn't let her bread's schedule rule her life (even though she bakes daily). Using unfed sourdough starter, minimal kneading, long fermentation, and baking in a hot Dutch oven are some of the techniques Maura employs to create bakery-quality loaf after bakery-quality loaf. Once you read through and bake this recipe yourself, you'll no doubt discover exactly how to adapt it to your own schedule — which means you may very well find yourself baking this country bread weekly (or even daily!). PREP 20 mins BAKE 40 to 45 mins TOTAL 21 hrs 5 mins

There’s no rolling pin required for these deliciously crispy sourdough discard crackers! Simply combine discard with melted butter, salt, and your favorite seasonings or seeds and you’re ready to bake. The seasoning is up to you — we’ve found that a small amount of seasoning (try 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, or 1 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika) goes a long way. This recipe was one of our Bake of the Week features for March 2024. PREP 5 mins BAKE 50 mins to 1 hr TOTAL 1 hr 5 mins

The most basic of all no-knead loaves, this is a wonderful way to get into yeast-bread baking. The easy stir-together dough rests in your refrigerator, developing flavor all the time, till you're ready to bake. About 90 minutes before you want to serve bread, grab a handful of dough, shape it, let it rise, then bake for 30 minutes. The result? Incredible, crusty artisan-style bread, worthy of its 2016 Recipe of the Year title. Our thanks to Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François, whose wonderful book, "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day," is the inspiration for this recipe. PREP 5 mins BAKE 30 to 40 mins TOTAL 5 hrs 35 mins.

When you think of sourdough bread, you probably envision a crusty, chewy, artisan-style loaf. But this bread, made with levain (an overnight starter based on sourdough starter) is a richly flavored, soft-textured sandwich loaf, perfect for all of your favorite sandwich fillings, including fresh tomatoes. (See "tips" below for details on how to make the best tomato sandwich.) PREP 25 mins BAKE 30 to 35 mins TOTAL 16 hrs

Take a bite of this crusty-chewy bread: its rich flavor builds as you savor its perfect tang. The soft interior and open crumb make it perfect for both sandwiches and toast. PREP 30 mins BAKE 40 to 45 mins TOTAL 17 hrs 50 mins

Crisp and light, with a crackly brown crust, these baguettes are super-easy to make. PREP 15 mins. BAKE 25 to 30 mins. TOTAL 4 hrs 45 mins.

Here's the perfect solution to your discarded sourdough dilemma. The rosemary, while optional, complements the tang of the sourdough perfectly. We're obsessed with these crackers, especially when dipped into some healthy hummus. PREP 25 mins. BAKE 20 to 25 mins. TOTAL 1 hr 25 mins.

You’re feeding your sourdough starter and you reluctantly have to discard two-thirds of it during the process. Enjoy that, do you? Absolutely not! Here’s one of the best things ever to do with that discard starter. In just 10 to 15 minutes, start to finish, you can turn unfed starter into these wildly delicious sourdough crumpets. PREP 3 mins. BAKE 8 mins. TOTAL 11 mins.

A crown of buttery cinnamon crumbs nicely balances the tang of sourdough in this unique take on a classic crumb coffee cake. PREP 30 mins. BAKE 45 to 50 mins. TOTAL 1 hr 15 mins.

It's hard to forget a meal at Mindy Segal's restaurant, Hot Chocolate, in Chicago. For us, the thick squares of soft yet chewy sourdough focaccia were so memorable that we had to create our own version. The restaurant serves its focaccia with honey-sweetened ricotta, but it's just as tasty served plain. PREP 30 mins. BAKE 20 to 25 mins. TOTAL 19 hrs 40 mins.

This delicious sourdough bread is wonderfully tangy — and totally forgiving. There’s no feeding your starter, no kneading the dough, and no shaping the loaf. All you do is mix, wait, scoop the soft dough into a bread pan, wait a bit more, and bake up one of the best sourdough sandwich loaves you’ve ever sampled. With its moist, nicely spongy crumb and crispy crust, the loaf is super-easy to slice, making it handy for both sandwiches and toast. PREP 10 mins. BAKE 45 to 55 mins. TOTAL 20 hrs 25 mins.

This versatile sourdough loaf can be made with your choice of whole grains or grain blends. A generous topping of seeds adds crunch and flavor. See "tips," below, for a six-grain honey version of this loaf. PREP 25 mins. BAKE 38 to 55 mins. TOTAL 3 hrs 33 mins.

Chewy with sourdough undertones and crunchy Everything Bagel Topping, these bagel-inspired rolls are a versatile addition to any baker’s repertoire. Whether for sandwiches, appetizers, or a dinner bread basket, they’re a flavorful upgrade from an ordinary roll. PREP 20 mins. BAKE 28 to 32 mins. TOTAL 4 hrs 5 mins.

Is het al bijna weekend?’ hoor ik je al denken. Met dit lekkere en eenvoudige recept tover je snel een heerlijk hartig desem breekbrood op tafel. Zo verwen je je gasten echt op de vrijdagmiddagborrel of ‘s avonds bij een kampvuur (niet doorvertellen). En is het geen weekend? Niet getreurd…. er is altijd een reden om een borrelplank tevoorschijn te toveren, niet? Met de warme lente en zomerdagen in het verschiet delen we een lekker hartig borrel breekbrood met je. De heerlijke smaken van de rozemarijn, zongedroogde tomaten en oude kaas zorgen voor een echt wauw moment! VOORBEREIDINGSTIJD: 5 min. BEREIDINGSTIJD: 20 min. RIJSTIJD: 8 uur. TOTALE TIJD: 8 uur 25 min.

Lekkerder in de zomer dan borrelen bestaat er niet toch? En hoe doe je dat beter dan met een heerlijke punt van dit knapperige kaas-ui brood? Wat is jouw favoriete drankje bij de borrel? Die lekkere krokante kaaslaag in combinatie met het zoete van de glazig gebakken ui. Je bakt hem eenvoudig binnen een paar uur! Geen gedoe, zo lekker uit de Dutch-oven! BEREIDINGSTIJD: 15 min. RIJSTIJD: 3 uur 45 min. TOTALE TIJD: 4 uur.

We hebben besloten om even uit onze comfortzone te stappen. En dat heeft voor weer een heel bijzonder recept gezorgd. Namelijk een heerlijk lavendel en pecannoten desembrood met een vleugje honing. Zalig toch? VOORBEREIDINGSTIJD: 2 min. BEREIDINGSTIJD: 20 min. RIJSTIJD: 20 uur. TOTALE TIJD: 20 uur 21 min.

Gek op zaden en pitten in je brood? Dan is het meergranen desembrood in pan recept echt iets voor jou! Want met dit recept tover jij een rijk en smaakvol brood op tafel. Wedden dat het niet bij een keer bakken blijft? Als je dit brood hebt geproefd bak je hem net als mij vast en zeker vaker. BEREIDINGSTIJD 15 min. RIJSTIJD 20 uur TOTALE TIJD: 20 uur 15 min.

Pain de campagne, Frans voor boerenlandbrood, is een van de meest klassieke broden uit de Franse boulangerie. En dankzij het hoge waterpercentage, de lange rijstijd en pure ingrediënten is het een uniek en smaakvol brood. Brood op zijn best en echt zoals het bedoeld was. Naar mijn mening en die van vele anderen het lekkerste dat er bestaat. BEREIDINGSTIJD 40 min. RIJSTIJD. 14 uur 30 min. TOTALE TIJD: 15 uur 10 min.

For this recipe, I have used a stiff starter or a Lievito Madre, as they call it in Italy. I gave life to a new starter just for that purpose, and I will write about that process in another blog post in the future. That doesn’t mean that you have to do the same. You can mix a stiff starter with your existing sourdough starter. I will, of course, give some instructions about that.

Taiwanese bakery buns are known for their wide range of fillings, and this sourdough focaccia, topped with sweet-salty sausage, caramelized corn, scallions, and signature Kewpie mayonnaise replicates a “fully loaded” bakery bun. Our thanks to blogger Joy Huang for sharing this recipe with us. PREP 30 mins BAKE 15 to 20 mins TOTAL 1 day

A (very) short introduction to the Maillard reaction in baking. While we pause to consider which side of the great “King Arthur Facebook Pizza” debate we fall on, let’s also take this opportunity to chat about what’s going on in this photo. Rather than argue whether this pizza is burnt or not (don’t ask us, we’re Switzerland), what we can — and should — discuss is how what’s happening here, on a chemical level at least, plays an essential part in baking success. What’s happening here is called the Maillard reaction.

Pain au Levain: the master recipe Let’s start with the current list of recipe ingredients; this will be the control for our two new versions.

Want to ramp up the sour? Increase the acids.

Your first step: building and maintaining a healthy starter.

A guide to different varieties and when to use them. Over the next few weeks, we're celebrating rye flour and all the baking possibilities it offers, from complex flavor to surprising versatility. Join us each week as we explore just why you should be baking with rye.

This recipe comes to us from Maura Brickman, a serious home baker in Connecticut who doesn't let her bread's schedule rule her life (even though she bakes daily). Using unfed sourdough starter, minimal kneading, long fermentation, and baking in a hot Dutch oven are some of the techniques Maura employs to create bakery-quality loaf after bakery-quality loaf. Once you read through and bake this recipe yourself, you'll no doubt discover exactly how to adapt it to your own schedule — which means you may very well find yourself baking this bread weekly (or even daily!). PREP: 20 mins. BAKE: 40 to 45 mins. TOTAL: 21 hrs 5 mins