20 rustic bread recipes

Rustic Italian bread shaped into a baguette with a crispy egg-white crust and cornmeal-dusted bottom. Uses a bread machine for the dough, then hand-shaped and oven-baked.

Rob's focaccia: pillowy overnight-risen bread crowned with peeled Roma tomatoes, roasted eggplant, fresh basil, anchovy, and parmesan. A rustic Italian flatbread baked golden and fragrant.

A hearty whole wheat corn bread loaf sweetened with molasses, baked in a standard loaf pan. Just stir, pour, and bake for a rustic bread that pairs with everything from chili to butter.

Oreganato bread machine loaf with polenta, dried oregano, garlic, and parsley. A rustic Italian herb bread that fills the kitchen with Mediterranean aromas.

Greek briam-style vegetable casserole with eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes baked in olive oil. A rustic Mediterranean bake served with feta and bread.

Simple bread machine recipe for Ships Bread made with just flour, water, yeast, and honey. A no-fuss, rustic loaf that's as straightforward as bread gets. Add ingredients, press start, done.

Hearty oatmeal bread with caraway seeds, made from a yeasted dough with quick oats for a chewy crumb and rustic texture. Makes two loaves.

Beef and bay stew: a rustic Irish-style beef stew with leeks, turnip, carrots, potatoes, and celery, simmered gently with bay and thyme. Old-fashioned slow-cooked supper served with crusty bread.

Melitzanosalata, a Greek roasted eggplant dip with garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. Smoky, tangy, and rustic, served cold with bread or grilled meats.

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.

Holderschmarren is an Austrian fruit dish with elderberries, pears, and plums sauteed in butter with rye bread, milk, and cinnamon. A rustic, comforting dessert ready in 20 minutes.

Weinkuechle or wine fritters: German sweet bread slices battered, fried golden, and drowned in hot sweetened wine or cider. A rustic winter dessert from the Black Forest tradition.

Apple cinnamon chop bread made with frozen sweet dough, sliced Golden Delicious apples, and cinnamon sugar. Chopped and mounded into a rustic pull-apart loaf with just four ingredients.

Cato's grape bread recreates an ancient Roman recipe with feta, cumin, anise, and grape juice baked over fragrant bay leaves. A 2,000-year-old loaf with rustic Mediterranean character.

Five-grain bread baked in terra cotta flower pots with cracked wheat, rye, whole wheat, oatmeal, and rice. Honey and malt extract add natural sweetness to this rustic multigrain loaf.

Layers of tender leeks and firm tomatoes baked under golden bread crumbs and melted cheese with a splash of red wine vinegar. A rustic, customizable vegetable casserole ready in 45 minutes.