Items10The creator’s order
  1. 1No-knead breadNo-knead breadThe easiest proper loaf there is: flour, water, salt and a little yeast stirred together, then left alone for most of a day. The method came from Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York and reached home kitchens through The New York Times in 2006. What it teaches is the idea at the heart…0
  2. 2FocacciaFocacciaA wet, bubbly dough in an oiled pan, and the friendliest way to get used to sticky dough. King Arthur Baking's Big and Bubbly Focaccia, its 2025 Recipe of the Year, builds strength with four bowl folds 15 minutes apart instead of kneading. Those folds are the same stretch-and-fold sets sourdough…0
  3. 3Sandwich breadSandwich breadA white sandwich loaf baked in a pan This is where you learn to knead. A plain white dough takes about 6 to 8 minutes by hand to become a smooth ball, long enough to feel it change from shaggy to springy under your palms. The pan then makes shaping low-stakes: roll the dough into a log, let it…0
  4. 4Whole wheat breadWhole wheat breadA whole wheat sandwich loaf Once white flour behaves, swap in whole wheat flour and notice how differently it acts. Whole wheat dough never turns as smooth and supple as white, and the temptation is to keep adding flour while kneading. Resist it: the more flour you add, the heavier and drier the…0
  5. 5Bread rollBread rollSoft dinner rolls, shaped by hand Dividing one dough into a dozen or so pieces and rounding each into a taut ball is the best shaping practice a beginner can get, because you repeat the same movement many times in one session. Cupping the dough and dragging it against an unfloured countertop…0
  6. 6ChallahChallahBraiding is the fun lesson here, and a three-strand braid is no harder than braiding hair. Challah is the soft, eggy bread traditionally baked on Fridays for Shabbat dinner, and a typical recipe sweetens it with honey and enriches it with eggs and oil. Rolling even strands teaches you to handle…0
  7. 7BagelBagelBagels feel like a project but break into clear, satisfying steps, and two of them matter for sourdough. The first is the cold rest: shape them the night before, refrigerate them, and bake in the morning. That overnight chill is the same trick many sourdough bakers use to fit baking around the rest…0
  8. 8CiabattaCiabattaCiabatta is the first loaf here built on a preferment. Flour, water and a little yeast are stirred together and left for 12 to 16 hours as a biga, a starter that builds flavor before the main dough is mixed. Making a preferment and judging when it is bubbly and ready is the nearest yeasted…0
  9. 9BaguetteBaguetteBaguettes made with an overnight poolish The baguette draws on everything learned so far and adds two new skills: scoring and steam. A poolish of flour, water and yeast rests for about 14 hours, then the dough is shaped into long, even loaves, slashed three to five times and baked with boiling…0
  10. 10Boule (bread)Boule (bread)A yeasted boule with an overnight preferment The final rehearsal: a round loaf shaped tightly, risen in a floured basket or towel-lined bowl, slashed and baked in a lidded pot. In place of a sourdough starter, a flour-and-water preferment made with just a pinch of instant yeast rests overnight,…0