Best Bread Recipes for Beginners

Breaking bread is a timeless adage to symbolize coming together for a friendly meal. It’s an important part of relationships and relaxation, but baking bread can feel like another animal.

Making bread doesn’t have to be difficult, and while it can be a time-consuming art form in some cases, it can also be fun, relaxing, and simple!

We’ve rounded up some of the best tips and recipes. Our ideas will make you feel ready to tackle any type of bread and leave your family and friends in awe. 

Everyone should bake bread

Taking time to craft and bake bread has become a trend over the last few years, and we’re happy to know it’s not going anywhere.

There’s just something incredibly satisfying about molding your own dough, watching it rise over time, and cutting through the perfectly crisp crust and into the soft center. It’s a wonderful way to relax that can remind you about all of the simple and enjoyable things in life.

We don’t just bake bread because it’s fun, it’s also delicious and healthy. Sadly, many store-bought breads contain preservatives, difficult-to-name ingredients, and extra sugars that you just don’t need. Making your own can ensure you’re putting exactly what you want into your body. Not to mention, the taste of homemade bread is hard to beat!

Tips for diving into dough

One of the biggest tips for baking bread is carefully looking at all ingredients and measurements. While we love recipes that let you eyeball the measurements, if you’re new to bread, it’s best to follow the recipe as closely as you can. Make sure you see what type of flour and yeast is being called for, and do some research before many any substitutions.

Second, don’t overwork your bread. You’ll generally want to knead it somewhere between 5 and 15 minutes. After that, you’ll let it rest for a bit. Some recipes will tell you to repeat the process, but once it’s ready to go into the oven, you’ll want to keep touching to a minimum.

Finally, it’s all about practice. Bread is hard to master the first go-around, and that’s okay. Learning is part of the fun! Most of the time, the mistake is in the texture, not the flavor, leaving your bread still tasting delicious! Even if it’s not perfect, everyone will still want a bite of your fresh-baked bread. 

Recipes to get you rolling

Arrowhead Mills specializes in delicious and healthy flours, so we know a thing or two about baking and bread. Whether you’re looking for something sweet or savory, gluten-free or gluten-full, we’ve got you covered!

Double Chocolate Oat Banana Bread: This delicious dessert or breakfast bread is made with our Organic Oat Flour. It’s a quick recipe that can easily be tossed together and thrown in the oven.

Amaranth Bread: Made with our Amaranth Flakes and Whole Wheat Flour, this bread is perfect to accompany savory dishes or served with butter. It uses only dates and honey as sweeteners, making it a bread you can feel good about.

Gluten-Free Cranberry Bread: This bread is perfect for breakfast or as a snack. Simply replace the all-purpose flour with our Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour for a delicious take on the classic.

We’ve got tons of other delicious bread recipes, so take a peek and find something new to try today!

About Abby Grifno

Abby is a health and wellness writer based out of Washington, DC. As a teacher, she believes health and knowledge go hand-in-hand with helping individuals make the best decisions for their health goals. Through her fact-based research and writing, Abby strives to make nutrition and wellness engaging, accessible, and fun!