You can do so much with a slow cooker, from making savory meals and decadent desserts to fun crafts. Now, thanks to some creative minds, you can add bread-making to that list.

Making fresh, artisanal bread in a slow cooker is surprisingly easy and much cheaper than buying it from a bakery. Many recipes don’t even require you to let the dough rise separately; it rises and cooks all at once in the slow cooker, saving you a lot of prep time. Plus, you can bake bread in the summer without heating up your house by turning on the oven.

Here are some tips for making perfect slow cooker bread:

1. Understand Your Slow Cooker: Each slow cooker is different. While most reach about 200°F on the high setting, cooking times can vary from 1 to 2.5 hours. Check your bread after the first hour to see how quickly it bakes. Once you know, you can set it and forget it for future loaves.

2. Use a Loaf Pan or Parchment Paper: If your slow cooker can fit a bread pan, use it to make rectangular loaves. If not, shape the dough into a round loaf and line the cooker with parchment paper to prevent sticking and make it easier to remove when done.

3. Check Doneness with a Thermometer: Use an instant-read thermometer to check if the bread is cooked. Insert it into the center of the loaf; it should read between 190°F and 200°F.

4. Finishing Touch: Slow cookers don’t get hot enough to create a brown, crispy crust. To fix this, put the loaf under your oven broiler for about 5 minutes. Brushing it with butter or an egg wash beforehand will give it a beautiful golden color.

Here are some bread recipes you can try:

1. Crock Pot Sandwich Bread: This soft, moist white bread uses basic ingredients like all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, milk, butter, and yeast. For a healthier version, substitute half the flour with whole wheat flour.

2. Slow Cooker Dinner Rolls: Mix and knead the dough, shape it into balls, and place them in the slow cooker. They’ll fuse together a bit, but you can easily pull them apart.

3. Slow Cooker Olive Parmesan Bread: This no-knead recipe is easy to make. Use quick-rise instant yeast and let the dough rest for about 2 hours before cooking.

4. Crock Pot Pumpkin Bread: For super moist pumpkin bread, pour the batter into a loaf pan, place it in the slow cooker, add two cups of water to the pot, and cover with paper towels and the lid.

5. Crock Pot Banana Bread: Use those overripe bananas to make this dense and moist treat. It takes 30 minutes of prep time and cooks for 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high.

6. Crock Pot Apple Fritter Bread: This sweet bread includes flax seed, diced apples, chopped walnuts, and cinnamon.

7. Slow Cooker Sweet Corn Bread: No kneading or resting time required. Just mix the dry and wet ingredients separately, combine them, and pour into the slow cooker.

8. Crock Pot Sourdough Bread: This cost-effective recipe requires only flour, salt, and water. Start by making a sourdough starter a few days ahead.

9. Slow Cooker Rye: This high-fiber, low-fat pumpernickel rye bread is ready for the slow cooker in just 15 minutes.

10. Slow Cooker Focaccia: Flavored with rosemary and thyme, this soft, chewy flatbread doesn’t need kneading.

11. Crock Pot Nutella Swirl Bread: Roll out brioche or challah dough, spread Nutella, roll it into a tube, slice lengthwise, twist, and bake in the slow cooker for about an hour.

12. Crock Pot Lemon Poppy Seed Bread: This fresh, zingy bread is more like a pound cake. Add a sweet lemon glaze for extra flavor.

13. Slow Cooker Cinnamon Rolls: Roll out the dough, spread with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, roll up, slice, and cook in the slow cooker for about two hours. Drizzle with maple, vanilla, or coffee icing.

Enjoy experimenting with these recipes and happy baking!