50+ Heartwarming Breads for Chilly Weather

October 23, 2019
Jennifer Causey
Win the hearts—and appetites—of friends and family with fresh-baked biscuits, rolls, and loaves of bread. With flavors that are sure to be heartwarming, fresh, and completely delicious, these homemade breads rival those of even the best bakery. Your home will smell fantastic and your guests will certainly thank you. 
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Parker House Rolls

Photo: Antonis Achilles; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos and Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland
Parker House Rolls Recipe

Buttery, yeasty heaven you can enjoy at brunch, dinner, or whenever. 

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No-Knead Lightly Rye Bread

Photo: Caitlin Bensel, Prop Styling: , Food Styling: 
No-Knead Lightly Rye Bread Recipe

Ready to try your hand at bread baking? This simple, no-knead bread is the perfect recipe to start with. The easy-to-follow recipe yields a delightfully chewy, crisp-crusted, bakery-style boule and is an excellent yeasted bread for a novice bread maker to build confidence (and impress guests) with. Small additions of whole-wheat and rye flours give the loaf a great depth of flavor and chew without affecting the bread’s ability to rise. Beyond being simple to make, this no-knead loaf is ready to enjoy in a fraction of the time required to make many traditional yeasted breads. A touch of molasses not only adds a little flavor, but it speeds up the yeast growth, as does using warm water in the dough. Allowing a 4-hour proof time gives the yeast enough opportunity to grow and time to develop flavor. This bread is fantastic warm from the oven, would be marvelous served alongside soup, and absolutely sings when lightly toasted and served at breakfast. We love it with a simple smear of butter, as well as with slightly more dynamic spreads like this savory Pear, Olive, and Walnut Chutney. 

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Classic Banana Bread

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Anna Theoktisto  
Classic Banana Bread Recipe

Our easy banana bread recipe is hands down the best. This easy recipe yields everything you want from a great banana bread: toasty sweetness, impeccable moistness, and a crispy top worth swooning over. Enjoy this go-to quick bread as a quick breakfast or a sweet afternoon snack; and for a real treat, try a warm slice slathered with softened cream cheese. 

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Easy Everything Dinner Rolls

Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Tami Hardeman
Easy Everything Dinner Rolls Recipe

To make your own everything bagel seasoning mix for this recipe, combine 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, 1 tablespoon dried minced onion, 2 teaspoons dried minced garlic, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt in a small bowl.

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Savory Sage and Thyme Brioche Loaves

Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Blakeslee Giles; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
Savory Sage and Thyme Brioche Loaves Recipe

With just enough black pepper to make it spicy and herbs and duck fat to add richness, this bread is the epitome of savory and delicious. Duck fat can be found at specialty stores, but you can substitute chicken or turkey fat as well. Make sure to purchase active dry yeast (as opposed to rapid rise) for this recipe. We love the idea of a slice or two smothered in gravy, using this bread for a upgraded turkey sandwich, or using it to make a grilled cheese that's out-of-this-world.

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Rosemary-Asiago Whole-Wheat Pull-Apart Rolls

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas
Rosemary-Asiago Whole-Wheat Pull-Apart Rolls Recipe

Bake these light and tender whole-grain rolls ahead and freeze up to 1 month, or make the dough ahead and bake on the day: Punch down the risen dough to form a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill 8 hours or overnight. Return to a bowl and let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours before shaping.

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Cloverleaf Rolls

Photo: Brian Woodcock; Styling: Paige Hicks
Cloverleaf Rolls Recipe
From the Kitchen of Cheryl Slocum, Senior Food Editor. "The smell of freshly risen dough always takes me back to my mom's rolls."

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Buttermilk Spoonbread with Spaghetti Squash

Photo: Robbie Caponetto
Buttermilk Spoonbread with Spaghetti Squash Recipe
Inspired by her grandmother's cornbread dressing and her mother's resourcefulness, Christensen added spaghetti squash to cornbread to create this custardy side. Note: Do not use sweet cornbread with this recipe.

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Golden Raisin and Honey Challah

Photo: Sheri Giblin; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling: Amy Stone
Golden Raisin and Honey Challah Recipe

This traditionally Jewish bread requires 2 rising times, but the rich anf fluffy result is definitely worth it. Toast it, top it with jam, or use leftovers in French toast. You can also use dark raisins, dried cranberries, or omit the raisins completely, if desired. Divide the dough into 3 pieces for easier braiding. 

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Jalapeño Biscuits

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Mindi Shapiro
Jalapeño Biscuits Recipe
These 6-ingredient biscuits get a spicy kick from jalapeno pepper.

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Whole-Grain Spelt and Cornmeal Biscuits

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas
Whole-Grain Spelt and Cornmeal Biscuits Recipe

Gently pat the dough flat instead of rolling with a rolling pin. Patting preserves all the pockets of fat needed for flaky biscuits, whereas rolling pancakes them into small, dense pucks. Cut the biscuits into squares to avoid any leftover scraps. Spelt flour adds a deep nutty flavor, but you can use white whole-wheat flour if you can't find spelt.

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Honey Whole-Wheat Pull-Apart Rolls

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas
Honey Whole-Wheat Pull-Apart Rolls Recipe

Bake these light and tender whole-grain rolls ahead and freeze up to 1 month, or make the dough ahead and bake on the day: Punch down the risen dough to form a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill 8 hours or overnight. Return to a bowl and let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours before shaping.

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Herbed Biscuits

Jennifer Causey
Herbed Biscuits Recipe

Two key techniques make these whole-grain biscuits light and fluffy: smashing the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers, and folding the dough to create layers.

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Rosemary Focaccia with Stewed Grapes and Olives

Photographer: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lauren Smith Ford; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos 
Rosemary Focaccia with Stewed Grapes and Olives Recipe

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Angel Biscuits

Photo: Alison Miksch; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham
Angel Biscuits Recipe
Nestle these yeast biscuits snug together in the pan and they'll rise even higher when baked. You don't have to use all the dough at once--refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days.
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Buttered Sweet Potato Knot Rolls

Photography: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell
Buttered Sweet Potato Knot Rolls Recipe
Add subtle sweetness to dinner rolls by stirring canned mashed sweet potato into the yeast mixture.

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Fresh Thyme Popovers

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro
Fresh Thyme Popovers Recipe
No meal is complete without fresh-from-the-oven bread. From sweet rolls to savory biscuits, we have easy bread recipes to suit every menu.Fresh thyme is the key to this fragrant, savory bread, which pairs perfectly with beef tenderloin. To get the fluffiest popovers, be sure that your milk and eggs are room temperature and do not open the oven door while baking.

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Orange Bubble Bread

Randy Mayor; Jan Gautro
Orange Bubble Bread Recipe
Reminiscent of sweet orange rolls, this easy pull-apart bread won raves in our Test Kitchens and is a great choice for a holiday breakfast or brunch.
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Potato Rolls

Photo: Karry Hosford
Potato Rolls Recipe
Adding potato to the dough creates light texture and makes these rolls ideal for serving with a holiday meal or to use for miniature sandwiches at a holiday open house.

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Buttery Dinner Rolls

Buttery Dinner Rolls Recipe
Make this your “go-to’ roll recipe whenever you’re having company. The dough is very easy to work with, and the recipe has a number of flavor variations.

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Pecan Sticky Buns

Photo: Michael Paul
Pecan Sticky Buns Recipe
Ooey-gooey sticky buns topped with pecan halves are a fun, festive treat during the holiday season. We've included instructions for "making it" (using frozen bread dough) or "faking it" (using brown-and-serve rolls).
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Flaky Dinner Rolls

Flaky Dinner Rolls Recipe
These beautiful homemade dinner rolls are perfect for both first-time bakers and seasoned cooks. Reviewer Cookinnotwritin raves, "I've never made anything with yeast before in my life, but these made me feel like a pro! I made them for Thanksgiving last year, and I thought they looked so pretty."

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Nana's Rosemary Biscuits with Cranberries

Photo: Brian Woodcock; Styling: Paige Hicks
Nana's Rosemary Biscuits with Cranberries Recipe
When punching out dough rounds, avoid twisting the biscuit cutter, which will seal the edges and interfere with rising.

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Cranberry-Sweet Potato Quick Bread

HOWARD L. PUCKETT
Cranberry-Sweet Potato Quick Bread Recipe
This quick bread melds the seasonal flavors of cranberry and sweet potato into an irresistible treat. Just mix the batter, spoon into a loaf ban, and bake. It's a great way to use up leftover cranberries, orange juice, and canned sweet potato, too.
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Mini Fruit and Sunflower Loaves

Mini Fruit and Sunflower Loaves Recipe
These mini-loaves make great Christmas gifts. Reviewer Cookingactivist raves, "This bread is outstanding. Sweet and mapley. More moist and sinful tasting than one would think from a light quick bread."

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Seeded Multigrain Bread

Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Lindsey Lower
Seeded Multigrain Bread Recipe
For a weeknight loaf, mix up the flour and yeast in step 1 at night; make the dough the next morning, and proof it in the refrigerator all day. After work, shape and bake the bread as directed in steps 4 through 6.

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Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Rachael Burrow
Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins Recipe
For a milder muffin, remove the seeds from the jalapeños before dicing.
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Whole-Grain Corn Bread

Photo: Brian Woodcock; Styling: Paige Hicks
Whole-Grain Corn Bread Recipe
Medium to fine-ground cornmeal works well for this corn bread, but you can substitute a coarser grind if you prefer a heftier texture.

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Easy Butter Rolls

Photo: Alison Miksch; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller
Easy Butter Rolls Recipe
These tasty rolls are a great and easy make-ahead option for the holidays.

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Sweet Challah

Sweet Challah Recipe
Challah is a traditional Jewish yeast bread served on the Sabbath, holidays, and other ceremonial occasions. Its light and airy texture makes challah perfect for any holiday celebration table. "My family also made this for part of our Thanksgiving dinner," writes reviewer Kariobrion. "It was wonderful and actually looked just like the photo—that NEVER happens!"
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Orange, Honey, and Thyme Biscuits

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower/Claire Spollen
Orange, Honey, and Thyme Biscuits Recipe
Bake biscuits up to a day ahead, and keep in a sealed zip-top plastic bag.

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Pumpkin-Date Loaf with Cream Cheese Swirl

Becky Luigart-Stayner; Jan Gautro
Pumpkin-Date Loaf with Cream Cheese Swirl Recipe
Try this top-rated twist on classic pumpkin bread. The dates add extra sweetness; if you prefer, substitute raisins or leave the dates out altogether. Reviewer Meussen was so enamored with this bread, she and her husband ate the whole loaf in less than 12 hours. She writes, "If you haven't tried this bread, you haven't lived."

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