52 basic bread recipes

Grilled bread salad with fresh figs, roasted red peppers, basil, and a balsamic-lemon vinaigrette. A summer grilled panzanella that turns stale bread into a smoky, fig-sweet main course salad.

Basil pesto bread with homemade pine nut pesto, Roma tomatoes and melted mozzarella on Italian bread. Easy broiled Italian-style appetizer or light meal.

This is a very nice roasted peppers recipe. Good side dish, can be served with any meat dish.

Authentic Tuscan bean soup with cannellini, savoy cabbage, fresh herbs, and a rich ham and salt pork soffritto. Ladled over toasted Italian bread with a drizzle of olive oil.

Grilled fish salad bruschetta piled onto garlic-rubbed Italian bread with charred zucchini, eggplant, peppers and a lemon-basil fish flake topping. Summer entertaining at its most relaxed.

Chicken breasts stuffed with an orzo, anchovy, basil, and garlic filling, wrapped in their own skin and baked in Marsala and balsamic. A refined Italian dinner for adventurous home cooks.

Layered sausage and macaroni casserole with mushrooms, cottage cheese, and Italian herbs, topped with bread crumbs. A hearty weeknight bake with big savory flavor.

Breaded chicken breasts baked in tomato sauce with Italian herbs and melted mozzarella. A lighter take on chicken Parmesan using whole wheat crumbs and wheat germ.

Roasted vegetable sandwich on French baguette with eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, and red pepper. Lemon-basil yogurt spread, peppery watercress. Vegetarian lunch.

Pita pizzas: individual chicken and vegetable pizzas on pita bread with spinach, mushrooms, red bell pepper, and mozzarella. A fast weeknight dinner for six in 40 minutes.

A vegetable-packed white lasagna layered with a creamy pesto sauce, mashed white beans, mushrooms, peppers, eggplant, and spinach-ricotta. No tomato in sight, finished with a parmesan-breadcrumb crust.

Greek lamb souvlaki meatballs loaded into warm pita bread with shredded lettuce and a cool cucumber-yogurt-mint sauce. Seasoned with oregano, rosemary, thyme, and fresh lemon.

Savory phyllo strudel filled with Spam, rice, mushrooms, and colorful vegetables seasoned with Dijon mustard and basil. A creative way to dress up canned meat.

Oven-baked "un-fried" chicken coated in yogurt and seasoned Italian bread crumbs with Old Bay and Creole spices. Crispy, flavorful, and low-fat with no deep frying required.

Insalata pizzas with garlic-mozzarella pita bases topped with dressed greens, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, and fresh basil. A 20-minute hot-meets-cold vegetarian dinner that eats like pizza and salad in one bite.

Grilled vegetable garden burgers with marinated eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, Bermuda onion, and tomato layered into whole wheat pita. A vegan, herb-laced summer sandwich for cookouts.