To make ciabatta, you have to have a stand mixer...right? Not according to this 20-year-old recipe from the New York Times. More

However the first quick breads came about, I am grateful. When else do we get to essentially dump ingredients in a bowl, stir, bake, and then be rewarded for our minimal efforts with a warm golden loaf of bread for the table? Here is the basic recipe I've settled on over the years, with plenty of variations for just about any occasion you can think of. More

Q: I have been experimenting with different bread recipes, and really like 101 Cookbooks' Easy Little Bread recipe because it uses stuff I readily have on hand in my pantry and is super easy. I love the flavor, but my bread always comes out SUPER dense.

Is there a way to troubleshoot making the dough fluffier? Would a longer rise help? Some new ingredient? Is it even possible to tweak a recipe like this or should I just look for a different one?

Sent by Jenny More

Q: What is the best introductory stand mixer for someone who is trying to get into baking bread on a budget? KitchenAid mixers seem to be the favorite but they also have a higher price tag than I'm willing to spend on something I'm not sure I'll use.

Sent by Travis More

Every holiday season we ask a few friends to join us here at The Kitchn for a series of guest posts. The topics range from favorite holiday recipes to family memories and traditions. Today's guest: Anne Zimmerman of Poetic Appetite, and author of An Extravagant Hunger: The Passionate Years of M.F.K. Fisher. We also toured Anne's kitchen this past year.

Have you ever spent Christmas away from home?

M.F.K. Fisher did in 1929. This was long before she was the famed food writer who composed evocative prose about the exquisite pleasures of the table. Then, she was a young bride who had just moved to Dijon, France with her new husband, Al. The two traveled South for Christmas, to a little town on the Mediterranean Coast called Cassis. On Christmas Eve, the couple drank rum punch and waited sleepily to go to Midnight Mass at a little church on the top of a high hill. More

Let's face it, Southern cooking isn't often considered refined, and in the past few decades it has even been villainized for its liberal use of butter. Special thanks must be given on my part to the new crop of chefs and cookbook authors working hard to change its reputation for the better.

Take Virginia Willis, a classically trained French chef with firm roots in the state of Georgia. Her first cookbook, Bon Appetit, Y'all, introduced home cooks to traditional Southern recipes paired with impeccable cooking technique. Her interesting approach to Southern food and warm, welcoming personality merged to create a unique Southern style (and her signature red lipstick doesn't hurt, either.)

More

Tall, golden loaves of panettone are everywhere this time of year. Traditionally eaten around Christmas and New Year's, this fruit-studded sweet bread can be enjoyed plain or simply toasted — but it doesn't have to be. How about crisp-custardy panettone french toast or even a savory panettone panzanella with pancetta and brussels sprouts? More

I'm not exactly sure why these tender little loaves are called braids. In case you're intimidated, don't worry: You don't have to braid anything (there are little slits in the top; let's call 'em fake braids). This is a simple yeast dough folded around a tangy, sweet cream cheese filling that kind of bakes into the bread, making each slice incredibly moist. One batch makes six—and they freeze well, too. More

Fresh-baked bread is a special treat, a delicious treasure of a home-cooked meal. But we know how hard it can be to tackle bread. Some days you have a whole day to devote to the kneading, rising, and tending of a loaf of artisan bread. Other days, you don't think about bread until 15 minutes before the meal. Well, you know what? We're here to tell you that you can indeed get hot biscuits on the table in fifteen minutes.

Today we've gathered up our favorite bread recipes and sorted them by the time it takes to make them. How much time do you have to make bread today? Fifteen minutes? An hour? Three hours? More? Whether you have an hour or a day, you can enjoy fresh bread with your supper. More

Know someone who is just getting into bread baking? Set them up in style! This guide has everything a beginning baker could dream of, from sourdough starters and proofing baskets to three cookbooks that are a baking education in themselves. More