Brunch
939 recipes found
Crisp Quinoa Cakes With Almonds, Rosemary and Dijon
Pain au Chocolat
Chocolate sticks called “batons” are made especially for rolling easily into pain au chocolat. Here, two batons are spiraled into the dough so you get rich pockets of chocolate in each bite of flaky croissant. You can order batons online, but regular chocolate bars, cut crosswise into thin sticks, work just as well. Either way, use a good-quality chocolate. (Make sure your first attempt at croissants is a successful one, with these tips, and Claire Saffitz’s step-by-step video on YouTube.)
Whole-Wheat Seeded Loaves
This is a whole-wheat adaptation of Jacquy Pfeiffer’s seeded bread from “The Art of French Pastry.” The seeds and the flaked oats are soaked overnight before they’re mixed into the dough. This allows them to absorb moisture and softens them, so that the bread is wonderfully moist, and the seeds won’t be hard on your teeth when you bite. Soaking the seeds also breaks down phytic acid and protease inhibitors, which allows the nutrients to be more readily absorbed by the body. This is a two-day recipe, as you must allow time for soaking the seeds overnight.
Tartine’s Country Bread
The country bread from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco has reached cult status among passionate bakers, and deservedly so. Based on traditional principles, Mr. Robertson has developed a way to get a tangy, open crumb encased in a blistered, rugged crust in a home kitchen, from a starter you create yourself. It is a bit of project — from start to finish, it takes about two weeks — but well worth the effort. (If you already have active starter ready to go, then the process shortens to two days.) So know that you have to be patient, and that the nature of bread baking at home is unpredictable. The level of activity of your starter, the humidity in your kitchen, the temperature during the rises, the time you allow for each step — all of these elements affect the bread and any change can impact your final loaf. But that final loaf is a wonder, the holy grail for the serious home baker.
Crisp Quinoa Cakes With Cilantro, Scallions and Sriracha
All Whole-Wheat Sandwich Bread
The dough will be somewhat stiff. So to get it into the pan, first pat and coax it into a rectangle shape a little smaller than the pan, smoothing out the cracks and holes as you work. Then transfer the rectangle to the pan and use the back of your hand to gently press the dough into the pan.
Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
You can use any white bread recipe to make any swirl breads listed below. The cinnamon raisin version is a classic, inspired by a recipe from James Beard. The sherry gives an unusual complexity to the sweet raisins and brown sugar, and most of the alcohol is cooked off while the mixture simmers. Feel free to use apple cider instead. This recipe makes two loaves, one to eat right away, preferably warm from the oven, or toasted and buttered the next day. Freeze the other loaf and use it to make what is arguably the best French toast imaginable.
Croissants
This recipe is a detailed roadmap to making bakery-quality light, flaky croissants in your own kitchen. With a pastry as technical as croissants, some aspects of the process — gauging the butter temperature, learning how much pressure to apply to the dough while rolling — become easier with experience. If you stick to this script, buttery homemade croissants are squarely within your reach. (Make sure your first attempt at croissants is a successful one, with these tips, and Claire Saffitz’s step-by-step video on YouTube.)
Country Bread With Apples
This is a whole wheat version of a classic Norman country bread. Normandy is apple country and apples find their way into many dishes in this region. I came across the bread in “Bread Alone” by Daniel Leader, and have adapted the recipe. The dough ferments overnight in the refrigerator, and after it has come back to room temperature the chopped apples are kneaded in. It goes beautifully with cheese.
Traditional Irish Soda Bread
While soda bread with add-ins like currants and caraway can be delicious, it's not at all authentic. In Ireland, soda bread tends to be plainer and more restrained. Here is a classic Irish soda bread recipe adapted from Darina Allen, an Irish television personality and the owner of the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shanagarry. This soda bread is best eaten still steaming from the oven, slathered with good salted Irish butter that melts on contact with your slice. It’s a fine accompaniment to corned beef and cabbage, should you be making that dish this St. Paddy’s Day. Or make this recipe all year long. That’s how they do it in Ireland.
Giant Couscous Cake With Roasted Pepper Sauce
This savory cake is very versatile in that you could substitute the couscous with other cooked grains, or make use of whatever herbs, cheeses or spices you have on hand. The options to make this cake your own are endless; leftover cooked barley or maftoul, Parmesan and Gruyère, dill or tarragon, toasted cumin or fennel seeds would all work well. Serve with a big green salad for a complete meal.
Salmon and Couscous Salad With Cucumber-Feta Dressing
The dressing in this 30-minute recipe is inspired by green goddess dressing and mast-o khiar, a Persian side dish of cucumbers and yogurt. Here, thick yogurt is combined with fresh herbs, tangy feta and crunchy Persian cucumbers. If you have trouble finding Persian cucumbers, they can be swapped for similarly sweet-skinned English cucumbers or peeled regular cucumbers. Flaking the salmon into the salad evenly distributes it and is a nice alternative to serving a fillet for dinner. Leftover salad can be enjoyed cold for lunch the next day, freshened up with a squeeze of lime juice and more fresh herbs.
Pumpkin Crumb Cake
This pumpkin-packed crumb cake is everything that is wonderful about fall baking. Warmly spiced, moist pumpkin cake topped with spicy, crispy streusel and topped with an optional but delicious glaze. It is just the thing for an afternoon snack, and just as good for breakfast the next day. You can use any pumpkin spice blend you like, but the homemade recipe included below includes a bit of cardamom, which isn’t usually included in pumpkin spice blends, but brings a hint of citrusy floral flavor. The pumpkin-spice glaze is optional, but if you have the time, don’t skip it. It adds a nice extra hint of sweetness and spice.
Whole-Grain Banana Yogurt Muffins
Whole-wheat flour gives these muffins a rich, nutty flavor that’s extra satisfying on fall days. Even though this recipe uses all whole-grain flour, the muffins stay light and tender in texture and delicate in taste. Combining the dry ingredients with a large proportion of wet — bananas, yogurt, oil and honey — keeps these from being dry and heavy. Plus, the acidity of yogurt and honey help mellow out the tannic taste of whole wheat. Because these muffins are so tender, their flat tops crack a bit instead of doming. You can adorn them and add crunch by sprinkling with oats, seeds, chopped nuts, grated coconut or cacao nibs before baking.
Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
Crisp fall mornings call for cozy breakfasts, and these fluffy pumpkin pancakes are just the thing to warm you right up. Packed with pumpkin and a sprinkle of cinnamon and vanilla, they feel and taste special, but are quick to stir together. The buttermilk and pumpkin make the batter quite thick, but they will spread. Be sure to leave lots of room between the pancakes when cooking them.
Mushroom Bread Pudding
Wonderful served as a brunch centerpiece or as a holiday side, this rich meatless casserole can be assembled in advance, refrigerated overnight, then baked just before serving. You could certainly prepare it day-of and let the bread soak for 15 minutes before baking, but allowing it to sit overnight will make it more tender. Delicate brioche is the ideal bread for this pudding, and it is available in most supermarkets, often in the form of hamburger rolls, which are a good size and shape for this dish. Challah is also a good option, but it’s a bit denser, so it may take more than 15 minutes for it to soak up the custard.
Rice Cooker Steel-Cut Oats
The rice cooker isn’t a one-trick pony: It’s actually the secret to waking up to hot, creamy oatmeal. Steel-cut oats soften in the machine while retaining their nutty flavor and nubby chew — all without any effort on your part. Since rice cooker models vary, you can play around with the water proportions to achieve your favorite consistency. Generally, though, you’ll need a lot more water to oats using a rice cooker because oats stiffen and soak up even more water as they rest after cooking. Once they’re done, you can top them however you like, but regardless of whether you prefer your oats sweet or savory, be sure to cook them with salt to enhance their flavor.
Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast
You only need a few everyday ingredients like milk, bread and eggs — plus a heavy dose of your favorite pumpkin spice blend — to make this warming breakfast for a crowd. The whole thing is assembled the night before, so all you need to do when you wake up is a few finishing touches before you pop it in the oven. If you don’t have a favorite pumpkin spice blend, there is one at the bottom of this recipe for you to try. Don’t forget the maple syrup — and potentially some toasted nuts or fruit — to serve.
Maple Pecan Monkey Bread
Maple syrup gives an autumnal feel and subtler sweetness to traditionally sugary monkey bread. Any grade of maple syrup works: B and C will give you a more robust maple flavor, while Grade A will deliver a more delicate, refined sweetness. Here, the syrup is mixed with brown butter and used to glaze extra-rich brioche dough rounds and toasted pecans. It all caramelizes together into a fluffy yet chewy pull-apart bread punctuated with the crunch of nuts. If you prefer a rustic look, you don’t have to roll the pieces of dough into balls. Just cut them into even pieces and coat with the cinnamon sugar. This recipe is at its soft and gooey best the day it’s made, but it can be kept at room temperature overnight and reheated in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.
Apple-Gruyère French Toast With Red Onion
Light and fluffy, here the bread takes on a soft, cakelike texture from its custard bath, which is a nice foil to the sharp cheese, savory onions and caramelized apple. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this sandwich could replace latkes on Hanukkah. But it sure makes a nice alternative that I could see making all year long.
Home Fries
The great thing about this recipe is that it can be cooked in just one skillet — and it eliminates the time-consuming task of blanching your potatoes first. Water, oil and salt are combined in one pan. Once the potatoes enter the skillet, the lid is added and the potatoes steam, cooking evenly and absorbing the flavors of the salt and oil. Once the lid comes off, the water evaporates yet the oil remains, so the potatoes pan-fry until crispy. The results? Crunchy home fries with pillowy centers. If cooking for a crowd, double or triple the recipe, but do cook in batches, to avoid crowding the pan.
Biscuits and Gravy
This is not the traditional way to make biscuits, but it may become your new technique. Instead of preparing individual drop biscuits, a sturdy dough is spread out into a baking dish over a bed of melted butter. Scoring the biscuit dough allows the butter to seep into the sides as the biscuits bake, creating tall biscuits with crisp edges and flaky insides. They’re perfect to soak up a classic Southern gravy, warmly seasoned with sage and nutmeg. This dish tastes like the holidays in the best way possible, while still being light enough for brunch. But if you made it for dinner, we wouldn’t blame you.
Torta Rustica With Ricotta and Spinach
Torta rustica (also called pizza rustica) is a rich, ricotta-stuffed pie that’s traditionally baked for Easter in Southern Italy. This version includes greens (either spinach or chard) for color and freshness. The ham is optional; feel free to leave it out, or substitute chopped olives or sundried tomatoes if you’re looking for a similar savory bite. The crust, adapted from Nancy Harmon Jenkins’s 2007 cookbook, “Cucina del Sole,” is sturdy and slightly sweet, which makes a nice contrast to the salty filling. (For more on producing a lattice-style crust, see our How to Make Pie Crust guide.)
Fluffy Cheddar Biscuits
These biscuits are golden and crisp outside, light and fluffy inside, and wonderfully cheesy inside and out. They come together in minutes, and triple basting them in butter (before baking, halfway through baking and once more when they come out of the oven) really takes them over the top. You may be tempted to skip the 3 tablespoons of sugar in this otherwise savory biscuit, but don’t: It’s the secret to the biscuit’s tender interior. Inspired by Red Lobster’s buttery biscuits, these are drop-style, which means you just scoop up the batter and gently plop it onto baking sheets. Try to handle the dough gently to avoid compressing it, which can result in a less-than-fluffy biscuit.