108 basic base recipes

There’s nothing quite like warm, fresh out-of-the-oven, home baked bread is there? And this super-simple recipe is something for the whole family to enjoy. It’s a basic recipe, for bakers at any level, so there’s no excuse not to try it. It really is the simplest bread recipe you could make, you do need to be patient whilst waiting for the dough to rise, but there’s nothing to it at all, it’s almost impossible to get wrong. Whilst you’re waiting for the bread to rise, you can use the time wisely too to prepare something else. Spelt has a delicious nutty flavour too and has less gluten than other flours so it’s easier to digest (it’s not completely gluten-free though). If you’re looking to make an easy, homemade and healthy loaf of bread, that’s also cheap to make, then this is the recipe for you.

Bread machine pizza crust using the basic dough cycle with bread flour, yeast, and oil. Makes four individual thin-crust pizzas baked at high heat until crisp and bubbly.

Basic refrigerator cookies (icebox cookies) with butter, sugar, vanilla, and a simple slice-and-bake method. Make the dough ahead, chill, slice thin, and bake in 10 minutes.

Basic beer bread with just five ingredients and no yeast. Flour, baking powder, beer, and a touch of honey make a dense, flavorful loaf with a crispy golden crust.

Basic chiffon cake folds whipped egg whites into an oil-and-yolk batter for a tall, springy cake with angel food's airy crumb and butter cake's moisture. Baked in a tube pan, cooled inverted.

Rich almond spritz cookies with nutty depth and delicate crumb. Cookie press shapes bake up golden with sophisticated flavor beyond basic butter cookies.

Creme caramel is a great favorite in many restaurants. It is basically a super rich baked egg custard made with added heavy cream.

Basic butter cookies with just 5 ingredients: flour, cornstarch, powdered sugar, butter, and walnuts. Melt-in-your-mouth shortbread-style cookies baked low and slow.

Honey-sweetened whole wheat rolls baked in round pans so they pull apart easily. Soft, nutty dinner rolls made from basic yeast dough after first rise.

Basic graham cracker cheesecake crust: three ingredients pressed into a springform pan and chilled. The blueprint no-bake crust that swaps to gingersnap or chocolate wafer for any cheesecake variation.

Learn how to make pita bread with this basic pita recipe. Fragrant homemade pita is obviously superior to store-bought pita and is quite thrilling to watch bake.

Simple Southern chess pie filled with chopped apples, butter, and cinnamon. Cream together five basic ingredients, fold in apples, then bake until set with a two-temperature method.

Teddy bear bread shaped from a basic yeast dough with raisin eyes and belly buttons. A fun baking project for kids that makes four adorable bear-shaped loaves.

Plain muffins combine flour, sugar, milk, egg, and baking powder into a basic batter that bakes into 12 tender, golden tops in 20 minutes. The classic blank-canvas quick bread for any add-in.

Eggless chocolate cake bakes up tender and rich with no eggs needed. A vintage Depression-era recipe that uses melted unsweetened chocolate, milk, and pantry basics for a dependable layer cake.

Basic tart pastry with butter and shortening for a flaky, tender crust. Rolls thin, fits one large or six small tart pans, and blind-bakes golden in 15 minutes.