My typical go-to for bringing sliced bread back to some semblance of life is to just pop slices in the toaster. That works to ...

The idea sounds like a prank straight from a college dorm: Bread in a mug, no oven, no yeast, no kneading, and ready in the time it takes to reheat yesterday's coffee. But this tiny miracle is real.

My bread experiments lately are noticeably leaning toward the cozy variety. I shall call them comfort breads. Gooey cinnamon buns and soft dinner rolls have more allure as the days cool down; the ...