If you ask us, there's never a bad time to eat bread ? Whether it's to kick start your day or tie you over till dinner time, there's always room for this wonderfully simple yet delicious bake. For those who are looking to venture beyond the everyday breads, prepare to dive into different corners of the world with this list of easy halal bread recipes that'll take you across the globe and back - all from your kitchen!
1. Focaccia garden
Focaccia is an Italian flatbread that's super easy to make and one of the trends that made a wave during the height of lockdowns across the world is focaccia bread art! While it's common to scatter herbs like rosemary or parsley on focaccia, a baker named Teri Culletto in Massachusetts (known as Vineyard Baker on Instagram!) helped popularise focaccia loaves decorated with vegetables, herbs, olives and other ingredients to create beautiful garden focaccia landscapes. Get into more details of how to make this beautiful bread in this article where we've also included a halal focaccia recipe as well.
2. Hokkaido milk bread
Hokkaido milk bread, also known as Japanese milk bread, is a wonderfully soft, milky and lightly sweet bread that originated in Japan. What sets it apart from Western-style bread is the fact that it's made using tangzhong, a flour and water or milk mixture that's cooked into a paste. Tangzhong gives the bread that soft airy texture it's so famous for. If you've ever wondered how to make milk bread for yourself, it's actually not that much difficult than a regular loaf of white bread! Don't believe us? Try this halal Hokkaido milk bread recipe for yourself and make your own fluffy loaf ?
3. Irish soda bread
The Irish soda bread originated from (you guessed it!) Ireland and can be pulled together in under an hour - it doesn't require yeast (relying on baking soda instead), proofing or complicated shaping. Now, a quick disclaimer: Irish soda bread isn't your conventional form of bread - think of it more like a scone or a biscuit in terms of texture and taste. In addition, most recipes call for buttermilk, which gives it a slight tanginess. It's best eaten slathered with butter and/or jam. For a straightforward basic recipe, try this one from BBC Food or this one from AllRecipes. If you don't have wholemeal flour as called for by a lot of recipes, just use regular flour!
#HHWTTip: Don't have buttermilk? Make your own by adding lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk and letting it sit for is few minutes! In a pinch, you can just use milk in your recipe too, it'll just lack the tanginess.
4. Dinner rolls
If there's one thing we know about dinner rolls, it's that their super easy and completely doable for those who are beginners. It's also quick as you don't have to proof the dough overnight, and they're so good - who doesn't love a good bread roll? This recipe calls for all-purpose flour (so you don't have to get your hands on bread flour!) which provides a softer roll and is finished with a brushing of melted butter on top ? You can use this recipe on AllRecipes, though you'll find plenty other similar recipes online if you search for it (like this one from Enquiring Chef).
5. Korean cream cheese garlic bread
If there's one bread that made its mark during the quarantine period of the pandemic, it's got to be the Korean cream cheese garlic bread. Quickly gaining popularity the moment it hit the Internet, this heavenly bread has been a favourite among locals ever since! The soft bread roll is smothered with garlic butter sauce and stuffed with cream cheese for a savoury delight. Easy to make on your own, check out this simple recipe to get started.
P.S. Not in the mood to bake? Here are 5 places to order Korean cream cheese garlic bread in KL & Selangor.
6. Cinnamon roll
Cinnamon rolls. A perfectly comforting baked good originating from Sweden. And though some may think it's difficult to make, it can actually be super doable, even for beginners! So if you're looking for an easy and delicious cinnamon roll recipe to try your hand at making them, look no further - we've got it right here. Best of all, you won't even need a mixer for this (though you can still use it if you want to!). You'll need to knead the dough by hand for only 10 minutes, and the rest is easy-peasy.
Want more simple recipes to make at home? Go ahead and check these out: