As everyone is at home cooking so much more the last few months, I think it is really interesting to find out what are the common things everyone is making at home and why. It seems that making various types of bread is probably the main thing searched around the world. In Argentina it is “salty croissants”, in Australia it’s “damper bread”, in France it is “Japanese brioche”. In America there are two bread searches that are exponentially more popular right now than they normally are: “Navajo bread” and “sourdough bread”.

Here are a few of the most popular recipes everyone is making right now for various reasons and even an idea or two about how to spice them up.

BANANA BREAD

Banana Bread seems like such a great idea because it is super easy to make, has zero waste, and you likely have all the ingredients on hand. It is easy to make it into muffins or make it gluten-free or egg-less and freezes beautifully so it is no wonder this is a top recipe being made right now!

To mix things up: Change up your toppings and mix-ins with different combinations of nuts or chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, etc. You can even cut it into “banana bread sticks” and use it instead of wafers in banana pudding.

CARROT CAKE

It seems people are getting a little bored at home and trying more challenging recipes like carrot cake that pack a lot of punch. It is sweet and got a bit of tang from the cream cheese frosting, uses up those carrots at the bottom of the drawer in your fridge, has some fun texture and crunch with the nuts--what’s not to love??

To mix things up: Bake it in a loaf bread pan, as you do banana bread, slice it up, butter it on both sides and fry in a pan as you would french toast. Top it with chopped nuts and a good dose of maple syrup and you will have a yummy, indulgent breakfast for any ol’ day you are home.

DUTCH BABY

These are also popular because they are so easy to make--all you need are eggs, flour, milk and butter. That sounds easy enough but some of those ingredients can still be hard to come by. If you are able to get your hands on all four of those staple ingredients, you’ll have to make one of these. 

To mix things up: The classic ingredients to add to a Dutch Baby are ham and gruyere, but you can make your own twists by adding sweet toppings. Basically anything that would be good on crepes would be fantastic on a Dutch baby: a squeeze of lemon dusted with powdered sugar, for example.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Making sourdough is probably the most time-consuming of everything on the list, but it can be really exciting to see the progress everyday of it growing and growing. And let’s not even talk about the smell of freshly baked bread……...Mmmmm! Okay, it’s probably most definitely all about the smell!! There’s just nothing like it.

To mix things up: You can add one grated apple for extra flavor to every two cups of water at the beginning of the fermentation. Or you could even turn the sourdough discards into pizza dough. That will be one delicious pizza! 

Have you made any of the items on this list? What other items or recipes have you enjoyed making the last few months that you would recommend? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.