Yeast

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.

The recipe for this "sugar tart," a Belgian classic, comes from Auberge du Moulin Hideux. Similar to a rustic coffee cake, this treat is lovely for brunch or as an afternoon snack with coffee or tea.

Pletzel This onion bread — whether formed into individual rolls or, as we did here, into a flat loaf (similar to Italian focaccia) — can be found in Jewish bakeries all over New York City's Lower East Side. We used nigella seeds (often called black onion seeds, although that's a misnomer), with their subtle nutty flavor, for the topping instead of the more typical poppy seeds. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 3/4 hr

(Swedish Rye Bread) A popular offering on the smorgasbords of Minnesota and Wisconsin, this bread has a clean-tasting combination of spice and sweetness that is characteristic of so much Scandinavian cooking.

"Benne" is the Carolina Low Country word for sesame seeds, which came to the United States from Africa. This biscuit dough is made a day or so ahead, then formed right before baking. Angel biscuits, so called because of their tender, light texture, will not keep well at room temperature once baked

The recipe calls for spraying the oven with water because extra humidity makes the outside of the bread crusty. Simply use a spray bottle filled with tap water.

These Italian-style breadsticks are a deliciously different addition to Thanksgiving dinner. You will need a plastic spray bottle filled with water to mist the oven while the breadsticks are baking (the water makes them crusty and chewy on the outside and slightly softer inside).

Fast-rising makes these moist, fragrant breads quick to prepare. Serve them warm, accompanied with butter or with olive oil for dipping.