Yeast

Our food editors especially liked the unusually soft and light texture of this oatmeal bread.

This recipe was created to accompany Mozzarella, Arugula and Marinated Tomatoes on Focaccia .

Majorca, Spain When this dessert is made on Majorca, rum-soaked raisins are baked on top. Here the filling is flavored with rum; then the cake is served with a strawberry compote.

Schiacciata means "flattened down," and in Tuscany the term generally refers to flatbread—what everyone else in Italy calls focaccia. During the wine-grape harvest, Tuscans make a not-too-sweet dessert or snack of bread dough and grapes, said to be of Etruscan origin. Realistically, at this time of year in the United States it will be hard to find a grape flavorful enough for this recipe. If you can't find great grapes, save this recipe for next autumn, when Concord grapes are in season, and substitute the almond cookie recipe.

These really do taste like pretzels, but they're shaped like regular dinner rolls. Quick-rising yeast makes them a cinch to prepare, and boiling them before baking is the secret to their superb texture.

Potatoes lend moistness, and caraway seeds and onions--two ingredients favored by German, Scandinavian and Eastern European immigrants--add flavor to these traditionally shaped rolls.

This no-knead, one-rise bread was introduced by Doris Grant in her book Your Daily Bread. This recipe is an improved version devised by Myrtle Allen, founder of the now legendary Ballymaloe House hotel and cooking school in County Cork, Ireland.

A touch of cardamom lends subtle spice to these innovative crescent-shaped rolls.

Homemade pizza is more accessible than you think, especially if you keep a supply of dough in the freezer, and a few topping ingredients on hand. If you make small pizzas ("pizzettas"), you can individualize the toppings, and satisfy the various tastes of everyone in you household without a whole lot of extra work.

ALSACE Serve with a green salad for a lovely lunch or light supper. What to drink: Gewürztraminer or a dry Alsatian Riesling.