Imagine a pastry cobbled together from age-old recipes of French, Viennese, Russian and Polish Jews. A comforting, crumbly cookie filled with sweet, tart, life-affirming indulgence....

This bread deepens and becomes more complex in flavor and aroma the day after baking, and it is absolutely stellar when toasted.

You’ll see this dough—essentially what’s known as pain viennois—all over France as an alternative to brioche.

Yes, we know Christmas is months away, but when it draws nigh, you’ll want this recipe for stollen at the ready. It’s the best we’ve ever had.

Richard Bertinet demonstrates his technique for making sweet dough.

My wife flirts with jumbo medjools.

Gourmet food editor Ian Knauer demonstrates the making of brioche.

There’s character to spare in this layered flatbread, called msemmen in Arabic. The dough is rubbed with spiced oil, rolled into a spiral, flattened, and then cooked on a griddle, for a flakiness that’s surprisingly substantial....

By the time you read this, I will have gorged myself on gougères. And so will my family, my friends, and a number of strangers.