20 Yeast Bread Recipes for Beginners

If you're new to bread baking, this is a great beginner bread recipe to start with. It's easy to follow and uses many ingredients that you probably already stock in your pantry. You'll wind up with a nice, soft white bread loaf that's perfect for toasting.

Healthy whole wheat bread makes a basic tuna or egg salad sandwich taste even more delicious. This single-loaf recipe is gently sweetened with honey to bring out the wholesome whole wheat flavor.

Freshly-baked potato bread is an excellent use for leftover mashed potatoes. Thick and moist, it's fantastic at soaking up hearty sauces and makes a great grilled cheese sandwich bread. This beginner-friendly recipe produces two large loaves and freezes well if you want to make it ahead.

Add some Parisian flair to your dinner table with this easy baguette recipe. You may be surprised that you don't need any fancy ingredients or equipment to bake up a pair of long, crusty French loaves in your own kitchen—they're just like those you would get from the bakery.

Tender, soft sandwich bread with the nutty flavor of oats is a nostalgic family favorite. Adding a small amount of whole wheat flour to regular all-purpose flour adds appealing color and flavor to this nutritious loaf.

Fresh bread studded with walnuts and cranberries and a divinely crunchy crust is a true delight. While it requires time for rising, you don't have to knead the dough, making this a good beginner bread.

Ciabatta bread has a reputation for being difficult to make, but it can actually be easy when you follow these steps. This Italian bread is delicious served with good-quality olive oil, sliced tomatoes, basil, and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Amish milk bread is a great recipe for beginners. This sweet white bread has a fantastically moist, soft texture that makes it perfect for French toast and bread puddings or your morning breakfast toast. The recipe yields two quick and easy loaves that freeze well.

What's better than homemade rolls straight from the oven? Bake up half a dozen light, fluffy, buttery rolls with this easy recipe. They go great with pulled pork, meatballs, roast chicken, or soup.

Fougasse is a delicious French flatbread with a wonderfully yeasty flavor similar to Italian focaccia. You need zero baking experience to make it for a tasty shareable appetizer. You could top it with red onions as suggested here, or simply sprinkle the dough with chopped fresh rosemary before baking.

Beer bread is one of the easiest yeast breads you can bake. Soft, fluffy, and infused with a light beer flavor throughout, thanks to a full cup of warm beer in the batter, it makes an enjoyable bread for game day parties, or a dipping bread for chilis and hearty stews.

English muffin bread is a perfect recipe for beginner bakers since it is a yeast bread that doesn't require any kneading or special equipment. It's easier to make than individual English muffins but still has the same nooks and crannies. Serve with butter or jam or as the base for an eggs benedict.

Anadama is a classic New England bread that's great for sandwiches and soup. This traditional recipe includes molasses and yellow cornmeal, which lends this hearty, egg-free loaf its dark, nutty, slightly sweet crumb.

Yeasted breads don't all end up as loaves. For a fun snack or appetizer, turn dough into perfectly delicious homemade soft pretzels. These copycat Auntie Anne's pretzels are soft and yeasty with a crisp, salty exterior just like the original.

Wow your family and friends with this bakery-style chocolate cherry bread. It is easy to make by hand or with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and the not-too-sweet yeast dough offers great balance for chopped fresh cherries and semi-sweet chocolate morsels.

Orange and anise give this no-knead Swedish rye bread a wonderful, warming flavor. Fragrant with fennel, orange zest, caraway, and dark molasses, it smells fabulous while baking, and makes a comforting breakfast bread you could serve on holiday mornings.

Turmeric-basil rye bread is so tasty for enjoying with spaghetti and meatballs, it may become your family's favorite everyday loaf. It's as easy to make as any beginner white bread recipe, with just a few, clever variations to boost its flavor and nutrition.

Sweet, dense honey wheat bread is a wonderful recipe for newbie bakers to try. It's as easy as any white bread—you'll just need a little patience, while the dough rises twice. The healthful recipe uses all-purpose flour along with whole wheat to create a perfect balance of grains. Honey adds sweetness and also moisture to the crumb.

Hearty and crusty pumpernickel bread is a cold-weather staple. Though the dough takes extra rising time, the recipe needs no more hands-on effort than a basic yeast bread and the recipe is easy to follow. It produces two large, dark loaves that you can use for making sandwiches or slicing thinly for canapes.

Savory, colorful pumpkin bread is a delicious autumn treat. It is easy to make in the bread machine with canned pumpkin puree and a few basic baking ingredients. Enjoy it for breakfast, toasted and topped with cream cheese or marmalade.