28 leaven recipes

Homemade naan with a yogurt-leavened dough, no yeast required. Cooked on a cast-iron skillet then finished under the broiler for charred spots and puffed bubbles. Makes 9 pieces.

Traditional German rye sourdough starter (Sauerteig): a three-phase rye flour and water leaven built over 3 days for authentic German rye bread baking. Maintainable and long-keeping.

Whole wheat bread baked in the bread machine with applesauce for moisture and instant potato flakes for tenderness. A soft, high-fiber loaf with no added fat or oil.

Heaven and hell cake stacks airy angel food and dark devil's food layers with peanut butter mousse between, all under a glossy chocolate ganache. A showstopping light-and-dark cake with a chocolate-peanut butter heart.

Double cappuccino heaven is a mocha angel food cake bursting with espresso and cocoa, finished with a fluffy marshmallow frosting. Fat-free, light as a cloud, and rich in coffee flavor.

Baked apples and pears layered with buttered cake and topped with a peaked meringue. A classic British fruit dessert with warm spice and lemon.

Green peppercorn bread: a rustic German rye and wheat sourdough flavored with green peppercorns soaked in apple juice. Earthy, fragrant, faintly peppery, made the traditional leavened way.

Homemade cat food with canned sardines, cooked rice, minced liver, and parsley. A simple 4-ingredient recipe your cat will love, ready in 5 minutes with no cooking required.

Frozen angel food cake layered with frozen yogurt and frosted in whipped topping, then garnished with fresh fruit. A light, easy ice-cream-style cake you can customize to any yogurt flavor.

Classic 12-egg-white angel food cake recipe. Cloud-light fat-free cake leavened entirely by stiff-peaked whites, with vanilla and almond extract for a tender crumb that's all air, sugar, and structure.

Welsh bakestone pancakes (also called Welsh cakes' simpler cousin): four ingredients, no leavening trickery, cooked on a hot griddle until bubbles form. Serve warm with butter, honey or jam.

Yeast-leavened whole wheat waffles use rising time instead of baking powder for crisp, deeply tangy waffles. No eggs, no oil, just whole wheat pastry flour, bran, molasses, and yeast.

Daddy's sour cream biscuits use just five ingredients, flour, sour cream, salt, and leaveners, for a tender, tangy biscuit with a soft crumb. Old-fashioned Southern simplicity at its best.

Scotch pancakes are small, thick griddle cakes leavened with cream of tartar and baking soda for an old-fashioned tangy lift. Cook on a hot griddle, serve warm with berries and syrup.

Snowshoe naan is a hand-stretched, sponge-leavened flatbread baked on hot quarry tiles and topped with nigella seeds. Long oval shape with crisp edges and pillowy centers, dairy-free and rustic.

Irish raisin soda bread studded with sweet raisins and caraway seeds, leavened by the tang of buttermilk and baking soda. A quick, no-yeast loaf with a tender crumb. A St. Patrick's Day classic.