37 Types Of Bread From A To Z (With Photos!)

Not sure which type of bread to pick? We are covering 37 types of bread in this comprehensive guide to bread types! From arepa to whole wheat, we’re covering it all, including origins, ingredients, uses, and more!

Who doesn’t love bread? It’s the staple of many diets – it’s cheap, versatile, and travels well. Bread is centuries old, so it’s no wonder there are so many varieties of bread!

Some breads are developed on purpose, some by accident, and some out of necessity. Some breads use yeast to leaven them, like brioche, while others use fermentation to leaven it, like sourdough. Breads vary so much which is why we will cover 37 different types of bread in this post, along with some of my favorite recipes for the bread or using the bread. So, let’s get going so we can get baking!

Different Types of Bread

1. Arepa Bread
2. Babka Bread
3. Bagel
4. Baguette (French Bread)
5. Banana Bread
6. Bao Buns
7. Beer Bread
8. Biscuits
9. Bread Pudding
10. Brioche Bread
11. Brown Bread
12. Ciabatta Bread
13. Challah Bread
14. Cloud Bread
15. Cornbread
16. Crumpets
17. English Muffin
18. Flatbread
19. Focaccia Bread
20. Gluten-Free Bread
21. Hokkaido Bread
22. Irish Soda Bread
23. Italian Bread
24. Monkey Bread
25. Multigrain Bread
26. Naan Bread
27. Paratha Flatbread
28. Pita Bread
29. Potato Bread
30. Pumpernickel Bread
31. Quick Bread
32. Rye Bread
33. Sliced Bread
34. Sourdough Bread
35. Sprouted Grain Bread
36. White Bread
37. Whole Wheat Bread

Arepa Bread

Origin of Arepa: Arepa is a specialty bread found mostly in Venezuelan and Colombian cuisine. It is an old variety that was eaten by the indigenous peoples of South America long before the arrival of Europeans.

Arepa Bread Ingredients: It is made from pre-cooked maize flour, water, and salt. These 3 ingredients are mixed into a dough, which is shaped into rounds and cooked on a griddle until the outer crust is crispy but the inside is soft and doughy. There are a lot of different ways to cook arepa. It is often made with cheese, or other fillings mixed into the dough.

How to Eat Arepa: The favorite way to eat arepas is to slice them open and stuff them with fillings such as cheese, meat, beans, avocado, or eggs. They can also be served as a side during lunch or dinner. Eating arepas is often a messy experience, as fillings tend to ooze out from the sides, but that is how people like it. 

Babka Bread

Origin of Babka: Babka is a sweet, braided bread that came from the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine hundreds of years ago. The word “babka” is derived from the Polish word “baba,” which means “grandmother.” We speculate that the bread’s twisted shape resembles a grandmother’s skirt, giving it the name.

Babka Bread Ingredients: Babka is made from flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and yeast. These are combined, and the dough is mixed, allowed to rise, rolled out, then covered with sweet fillings like chocolate, cinnamon, or nuts, and then rolled up into a log. As the photo shows, this log is often twisted or braided before baking.

How to Eat Babka: Babka is mostly eaten as a dessert bread, but it is also great with coffee or tea. Babka has become popular in many parts of the world, including the USA, where it can be found in Jewish bakeries and gourmet food stores. In the Jewish tradition, chocolate babka is quite popular, while in Eastern Europe, people like it filled with poppy seeds or fruit preserves.

Bagel

Origin of the Bagel: The bagel originated in Jewish communities in Poland in the 17th century. We all recognize its ring shape and golden-brown crust, concealing its pleasantly chewy interior. 

Bagel Ingredients: Bagels are made from high-gluten flour, water, yeast, salt, and a touch of malt syrup or sugar. Traditionally, the dough is mixed, allowed to rise, and then shaped into rings. These rings are briefly (30 seconds to 3 minutes) boiled in water with a little malt syrup before being baked to achieve their chewy crust and soft interior. Many commercial bagels are actually cooked in a steam oven that yields a puffier bagel with a thin crust.

How to Eat Bagels: Bagels are sliced horizontally and usually toasted before being spread with cream cheese, butter, or all manner of spreads. In North America, they are a popular breakfast item and are frequently eaten with smoked salmon, capers, and onions in a classic dish known as a “bagel with lox” (or in our case, “Vegan Bagel With Lox!”) Bagels can also be used as a base for sandwiches, with various fillings like deli meats, cheese, and vegetables.

Baguette (French Bread)

Origin of the Baguette: Baguettes are a distinctly French bread, but it isn’t as old as you might think. It was first baked in Paris in the 19th century because city-dwellers wanted bread with a lighter texture that was also easy to carry while walking home from the bakery. The word “baguette” means “stick” or “wand” in French, and that is pretty much what its long slender shape looks like. This bread is crisp with a golden crust, and soft, chewy interior. It always will be.

Baguette Ingredients: Baguettes are made from flour, water, yeast, and salt. The dough is mixed, kneaded, and allowed to ferment for several hours. Afterward, it’s shaped into long, thin loaves and scored before baking. The secret to its distinctive crust is steam in the oven, which gives it that wonderful crispness. The baguette is a symbol of French cuisine and is protected by law. There isn’t a whole lot of variation allowed in making baguettes. What you buy in Paris should be what you buy in Lyon. In fact, there are regulations in France that dictate the exact length, weight, and ingredients of a traditional baguette.

How to Eat Baguettes: Baguettes are sliced and served as an accompaniment to cheese pâté or as the base for sandwiches. They are perfect for creating a classic French sandwich, like the famous “jambon-beurre,” made with ham and butter. Baguettes can also be eaten fresh from the oven with a slather of butter or dipped in olive oil bread dip and balsamic vinegar.

Banana Bread

Origin of Banana Bread: Banana bread is distinctly American and was developed in the USA during the Great Depression. It was born of necessity to use overripe bananas, which would otherwise have gone to waste. It is a super moist style of quick bread which just means it doesn’t need yeast for leavening. Instead, it relies on baking soda or baking powder to rise. 

Banana Bread Ingredients: The primary ingredients in banana bread are ripe (or even better, over-ripe) bananas, flour, sugar, eggs, and butter or oil. Additional components like vanilla extract, baking soda, brown sugar, and salt are also often used. To make banana bread, you start by mashing ripe bananas and then mixing them whttps://www.liveeatlearn.com/vegan-banana-bread/ith sugar, eggs, and melted butter or oil. Flour and leavening agents are added, and the batter is poured into a greased loaf pan. It’s then baked until golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. You can also make substitutions to get a nice vegan banana bread.

How to Eat Banana Bread: Banana bread is perfect as a snack or for breakfast, either plain or with a spread of butter or cream cheese. Some people like to add chocolate chips, nuts, or cinnamon to enhance the flavor. It’s also commonly used in desserts like banana bread pudding or as a base for French toast.

Bao Buns

Origin of Bao Buns: They are often simply called Bao and are a type of soft, steamed bread from China. These fluffy, pillow-like buns are used for both savory and sweet fillings and are often used in street foods in Asia.

Bao Bun Ingredients: Bao buns can be made with rice or wheat flour, plus yeast, sugar, and water. After mixing, they are allowed to ferment and rise. After the dough rises, it is split into small balls and flattened into circles. The circles are then filled with various fillings, like pork, chicken, vegetables, or sweet ingredients. Finally, the buns are steamed until they become soft and almost translucent.

How to Eat Bao Buns: They can be eaten as a snack, appetizer, or part of a larger meal. Savory bao buns are often served with a dipping sauce or condiments, while sweet bao buns, no surprise, are served as a dessert. The popularity of bao buns has spread worldwide, leading to creative variations, such as the “bao burger.”

Beer Bread

Origin of Beer Bread: You would think beer and bread would come from Germany, but they are actually American inventions that came about in the 19th Century.

Beer Bread Ingredients: Beer bread typically consists of self-rising flour, sugar, and, of course, beer.  Recipes often also include butter or herbs. The carbonation in beer serves as the leavening agent helping the bread to rise. It is really quite simple to make: mix the ingredients, pour them in a loaf pan, and bake. Darker beers will give the bread a richer, maltier flavor while lighter beers add a more subtle flavor. Beer bread is also a quick and convenient way to make fresh bread at home without the need for yeast and extended rising times, making it a good choice for novice bakers. 

How to Eat Beer Bread: Beer bread is served as a savory side dish, snack, or appetizer. The beer imparts a subtle yeasty and malty flavor to the bread, making it a great accompaniment to soups and stews or as a base for sandwiches.

Biscuits

Origin of Biscuits: The ubiquitous breakfast biscuits we all know are an American invention. They are a type of quick bread that is typically small, round, flaky, and crumbly. While popular across the USA, they are a staple of Southern American cuisine. As an aside, biscuits were once baked harder than we make them today.

Biscuits Ingredients: Biscuits are made using a simple combination of ingredients: Flour, cold fat (usually butter, shortening, or lard), a leavening agent (baking powder or baking soda), and liquid (often buttermilk or milk). The dough is gently mixed, rolled, or patted out, and cut into rounds before baking in a hot oven. The cold fat creates layers in the dough as it melts during baking, resulting in the characteristic flakiness of biscuits. The leavening agents cause the biscuits to rise and become airy.

How to Eat Biscuits: In the US, they are often served as a side dish for breakfast or dinner. For breakfast, they can be used in the classic American “biscuits and gravy.” This tradition started because pork was cheap, so people combined port drippings with flour to make the pork gravy that became so famous. Biscuits also pair well with butter,  jam, or honey.

Bread Pudding

Origin of Bread Pudding: Bread pudding originated in medieval Europe as a frugal way to use stale bread and avoid food waste. Food security had a much more dangerous connotation in medieval Europe than it does for us in the USA today

Bread Pudding Ingredients: The core ingredients of bread pudding are bread, milk, eggs, and sugar. The bread is typically stale or day-old, as we said, but this also helps it absorb the custard mixture better. You layer the bread in a baking dish and then pour the milk, sugar, and egg mixture over it. Repeat. Flavorings like vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg are commonly added. The dessert is then baked until it sets and forms a golden crust on top.

How to Eat Bread Pudding: Bread pudding is often eaten warm with a drizzle of caramel, vanilla custard, or whiskey sauce. Some people like to add fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips to enhance the flavor. It can also be eaten cold, and leftover servings are easily reheated. But oh, it is so good cold!

Brioche Bread

Origin of Brioche Bread: Brioche is a French bread from Normandy. It is a tender bread that blurs the line between bread and pastry. Brioche is soft, sweet, and buttery. You can buy it in round loaves, braided shapes, or in buns. Brioche’s name came from the old French word “broyer,” which means “to knead” or “to mix.” It was long associated with French royalty and aristocracy as a symbol of wealth and indulgence. Fortunately, we peasants can get it today for only a modest premium to most other bread.

Brioche Bun Ingredients: Brioche is made of flour, eggs, sugar, milk or water, yeast, and a good bit of butter. This is not a weight-watcher’s bread. The dough is mixed and kneaded until it becomes elastic and smooth, then it’s left to rise. The butter is often added in stages, incorporating it into the dough gradually. This results in the bread’s signature buttery, melt-in-the-mouth texture. Butter is what makes brioche bread what it is, and historically bakers have said the more butter, the better the brioche. 

How to Eat Brioche: In France, brioche is often eaten as a breakfast bread, spread with jam or chocolate-hazelnut spread. It’s also used to make exquisite French pastries like pain aux raisins and tarte tropézienne. On the savory side, brioche can be used for sandwiches or as an accompaniment to pâté and cheeses. Its slightly sweet flavor makes it a great choice for desserts like bread pudding or as the base for luxurious French toast.

Brown Bread

Origin of Brown Bread: It is also known as whole wheat bread, and as the name and photo show, it is brown but also dense and nutty tasting. We aren’t really sure when or where it was first baked

Brown Bread Ingredients: Brown bread is made from whole wheat flour (bran, germ, and endosperm included), water, yeast or another leavening agent, salt, and sometimes a sweetener like molasses or honey. The inclusion of whole wheat kernel components gives brown bread a denser texture and an earthy flavor. The dough is mixed, allowed to rise, shaped into loaves, and then baked. Some variations may also include seeds or nuts for added texture and flavor.

How to Eat Brown Bread: Brown bread is a healthy choice for sandwiches. It pairs well with a variety of toppings, from classic deli fillings to vegetarian options like hummus and roasted vegetables. It’s also commonly just toasted and eaten with butter or served alongside soup.

Ciabatta Bread

Origin of Ciabatta Bread: Ciabatta bread originated in Veneto, Italy, less than 50 years ago. The name “ciabatta” means “slipper” in Italian, and it’s believed to refer to the shape of the bread. Ciabatta is a rustic, crusty bread with a soft and airy interior. It’s characterized by its large air pockets and crispy crust. 

Ciabatta Bread Ingredients: It is made from flour, water, yeast, salt, and sometimes a small amount of olive oil. The dough is made very wet, which gives ciabatta its characteristic open crumb structure. It’s made by mixing the ingredients and allowing the dough to ferment for quite a while. Afterward, it’s shaped into long, flat loaves and baked, creating a distinct crust and airy interior. The high hydration of ciabatta dough, which makes it quite sticky and challenging to work with, is the secret to its chewy texture.

How to Eat Ciabatta Bread: We assert that it is the ideal sandwich bread, though it is also pretty good in bruschetta. Serve it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a side to your pasta or soup. It also makes great paninis, as it grills nicely.

Challah Bread

Origin of Challah Bread: Challah bread originated in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe and has always been associated with the Sabbath and holidays. Even its braided shape has symbolic meaning.

Challah Bread Ingredients: It is made from flour, water, yeast, eggs, sugar, salt, and sometimes oil. The eggs and sugar give it a pleasantly sweet flavor and texture. The dough is mixed and then braided. It is braided into three strands for regular occasions and six for special observances, then baked to a golden-brown finish. Challah has become sweeter over time. This may be based on preferences or just that sugar is cheaper than it was hundreds of years ago.

How to Eat Challah Bread: Besides its significance in religious observances, it is great for making French toast, sandwiches, or simply sliced with butter or honey. It is also a great bread for bread pudding as it is already sweet.

Cloud Bread

Origin of Cloud Bread: Cloud bread, also known as “oopsie bread,” is a low-carb, gluten-free alternative to traditional bread. This bread was developed in the 1970s for people trying the Atkins diet, but it kind of “went viral” after it gained notoriety on TikTok in 2020. It is not made from flour and is light, fluffy, and has a, well…cloud-like texture.

Cloud Bread Ingredients: It is made with eggs, cream cheese, cream of tartar, and a sweetener (like sugar or, more likely, a sugar substitute). The egg whites are whipped with the cream of tartar until they form stiff peaks. The yolks are combined with the cream cheese and sweetener. The two mixtures are then folded together and baked into individual rounds. You may have guessed at this point that it is low carb but not low calorie.

How to Eat Cloud Bread: It is very different from traditional breads, but if you are looking for keto-friendly bread, this is a pretty good substitute. 

Cornbread

Origin of Cornbread: Cornbread was first made by native Americans in what is now the Southeastern USA.

Cornbread Ingredients: Cornbread is made from cornmeal or wheat flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, buttermilk (or milk), and butter. Well, sometimes, home recipes use bacon drippings instead of butter. This is all mixed together to form a batter, which is then baked in the oven or fried in a skillet. The result is bread with a crumbly texture, a slightly sweet taste, and a golden-brown crust. 

How to Eat Cornbread: Cornbread is the ubiquitous bread served with chili, BBQ or fried chicken. We Americans love it with Thanksgiving dinners. It is also eaten as a snack with honey or maple syrup. Cornbread can be used in stuffing, crumbled into soups, or just eaten on its own with butter. Cornbread can be used as a sweet or savory food, and many people have strong opinions on this. Southern-style cornbread tends to be less sweet, while northern versions are often sweeter. Give our cornbread casserole a try. It is very simple as it is made with the classic Jiffy mix. Growing up in Alaska, Jiffy cornbread mix was just how we knew cornbread.

Crumpets

Origin of Crumpets: Crumpets are as British as the Union Jack. They are round, flat griddle cakes with small holes that come from bubbles on their top. Crumpets look a lot like English muffins, but they have a much different texture and flavor.

Crumpet Ingredients: Crumpets are made with flour, water or milk, yeast, salt, and sometimes sugar or honey. The ingredients are mixed, and the batter is left to rise, after which baking powder is added. The delayed addition of baking powder creates the characteristic bubbles. The batter is then cooked on a griddle or in special crumpet rings until it is golden brown on the bottom, leaving the top side with its signature holes.

How to Eat Crumpets: Crumpets are served warm, normally toasted, with butter, jam, honey, or syrup. They can also be eaten with savory toppings like cheese or spreads. In the UK, crumpets are eaten with afternoon tea or breakfast.

English Muffin

Origin of English Muffins: The invention of the English muffin is often credited to Samuel Bath Thomas, an English immigrant who opened a bakery in New York City in the late 19th century. His Thomas’ English Muffins brand became famous. They are small, round, and flat bread-like cakes with a slightly crispy crust and a soft, porous interior.

English Muffin Ingredients: They are made from flour, water, yeast, salt, and sometimes a bit of sugar. The dough is mixed, allowed to rise, and then divided into portions and shaped into rounds. These rounds are griddled or cooked on a griddle or skillet, which gives them their characteristic texture and appearance. Unlike the crumpets we just discussed, they’re cooked on both sides until golden brown.

How to Eat English Muffins: They are almost always split in half horizontally and toasted. They are a bit doughy when untoasted. Once toasted, they can be spread with butter, jam, and peanut butter, or used as a base for breakfast sandwiches with eggs, cheese, and you name it for toppings. English muffins gained popularity in the United States as a breakfast item as the iconic “Egg McMuffin” served at McDonald’s.

Flatbread

Origin of Flatbread: Some sort of flatbread was probably the first bread eaten by people. As the answer to the trivia question (at the bottom of the article) suggests, It was probably first eaten in the very cradle of civilization. Flatbreads were ideal for early nomadic people as they didn’t require an oven and could be stacked and carried along easily.

Flatbread Ingredients: The ingredients in flatbreads can vary greatly, but they normally include wheat, corn, rice, flour, water, and salt. They can additionally include oil, yogurt, and all manner of fruits for flavor. The dough is typically rolled out into thin, flat sheets and then cooked on a hot surface, such as a griddle or an open flame. The absence of yeast or baking powder in most flatbreads results in their thin, flexible, and often slightly chewy texture.

How to Eat Flatbreads: Flatbreads can be used as wraps, covered in hummus or other spreads, or as pizza crusts. Some, such as naan, are great for dipping, and others, like lavash, can be used to make wraps rolled up with various fillings.

Focaccia Bread

Origin of Focaccia Bread: Focaccia is a savory Italian flatbread that has the most wonderful aroma right out of the oven. It is good anytime, but best right out of the oven. Its dimpled surface is great for holding little pools of olive oil or toppings.

Focaccia Bread Ingredients: It is made from flour, water, yeast, salt, spices, and olive oil. After mixing and kneading the dough, it’s allowed to rise before being stretched or pressed into a flat, rectangular shape. Just before baking, you dimple the surface with your fingers to create small pockets. Olive oil is drizzled over the surface, and it’s topped with ingredients chosen by the chef, which may include rosemary, garlic, cherry tomatoes, or olives. Focaccia is then baked until it’s golden brown with a crispy crust.

How to Eat Focaccia Bread: Focaccia is often served as an appetizer, cut into squares or strips, and accompanied by dips or spreads like olive tapenade or hummus. It can also be used as sandwich bread or served as a side with soups and salads. We like to make a large pan and freeze some of it. When needed, it can be put frozen directly in the air fryer.

Gluten-Free Bread

What is Gluten-Free Bread? Simply put, it is bread without gluten, a compound found in wheat, barley, and rye that can cause severe reactions in people with a gluten intolerance or celiac disease.

Gluten-Free Bread Ingredients: It is made from one or more rice flour, cornstarch, potato starch, or tapioca flour. The flour is mixed with water, eggs, and a binding agent like xanthan gum or psyllium husk. Most bread relies on gluten for elasticity. To make up for this gluten-free bread often requires additional leavening agents like yeast or baking powder to help it rise. 

How to Eat Gluten-free Bread: You pretty much eat it like any other bread. The taste and texture will be different, but as with all things food it is about compromise. The demand for gluten-free products has skyrocketed in recent years, leading to a growing variety of gluten-free bread options, including baguettes, ciabatta, and even artisanal styles. The thing to keep in mind is that gluten is not a bad thing unless you have an intolerance.

Hokkaido Bread

Origin of Hokkaido Bread: This bread comes from Japan’s northernmost island, Hokkaido. It is a soft, fluffy, and slightly sweet white bread. Hokkaido bread has gained popularity worldwide for its unique texture and flavor, but it wasn’t actually developed until after WWII. Bread was not a strong Japanese tradition before the war, but the USA shipped wheat to Japan after the war to make up for rice shortages, and hunger was a powerful motivator. Hokkaido bread was born. 

Hokkaido Bread Ingredients: It is made from a combination of wheat flour, yeast, sugar, milk, and salt. The Japanese make it with what they call the “Tangzhong” method. A portion of the milk and flour is cooked into a paste and then added to the rest of the as-yet uncooked ingredients. The combined dough is then baked. This helps the bread hold moisture and results in a soft fluffy bread. 

How to Eat Hokkaido Bread: In the USA, Hokkaido is eaten as a side, in sandwiches, or as a base for French toast. In Japan, it is used in making katsu sandwiches, a Japanese favorite that combines crispy breaded meat (usually pork or chicken) with soft, sweet bread.

Irish Soda Bread

Origin of Irish Soda Bread: This quick bread was developed in Ireland in the 19th Century. It uses baking soda as the leavening agent instead of yeast and has a crusty exterior and dense, slightly crumbly interior. This bread is often seen with a cross scored on the top to ward off evil spirits.

Irish Soda Bread Ingredients: The basic ingredients are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. Some variations also include raisins, nuts, seeds, or currants, resulting in a sweeter, fruit-studded version known as “spotted dog.” The buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to create carbon dioxide gas, which leavens the bread during baking.

How to Eat Irish Soda Bread: It is typically sliced and served with butter or jam. It’s a classic accompaniment to Irish stews and soups. The dense texture of soda bread makes it excellent for soaking up sauces and gravies. 

Italian Bread

Origin of Italian Bread: It isn’t an exaggeration to say that Italian bread is one of the foundational bread types used worldwide.

Italian Bread Ingredients: The core ingredients for Italian bread are flour, water, salt, and yeast. It gets its distinct flavor and texture through a long fermentation process. The dough is mixed and kneaded and then left to ferment for up to 24 hours. It’s then shaped into a long, oval loaf before being oven-baked.

How to Eat Italian Bread: Italian bread is great for making sandwiches, like the Italian sub or panini. You can also dip it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar or simply eat it as a side to pasta dishes, soups, or salads. Its crusty exterior and soft interior make it best when freshly baked. It has a relatively short shelf life due to its lack of preservatives, which is another reason to eat it fresh from the oven.

Monkey Bread

Origin of Monkey Bread: Also known as “monkey puzzle bread” or “pull-apart bread,” monkey bread is believed to have originated in Hungary or Germany. Although initially savory, it is today a sweet, sticky, and fun-to-eat bread typically served as a dessert or breakfast treat. Monkey bread gets its name from the playful way it’s eaten, with individuals pulling apart small, gooey chunks. 

Monkey Bread Ingredients: Monkey bread is made from balls or chunks of dough that are coated in a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. These dough pieces are then stacked into a bundt pan or similar container, where they bake together. The sugar and butter mixture caramelizes, creating a sticky, sweet glaze that surrounds each piece of bread. While traditional monkey bread is sweet and cinnamon-flavored, there are savory versions that use ingredients like cheese, herbs, and garlic instead of sugar and cinnamon.

How to Eat Monkey Bread: Monkey bread is designed to be fun. You simply pull apart the gooey individual cinnamon-infused pieces. It’s best served warm.

Multigrain Bread

Origin of Multigrain Bread: Multigrain bread is made from a wide variety of grains and seeds, intended to be healthier and more nutrient-rich than white bread. It has gained popularity in the last 40 years or so as people have become more health-conscious and interested in diverse grain sources.

Multigrain Bread Ingredients: It is made from a mixture of wheat, oats, and barley, along with seeds like sunflower, flax, and sesame seeds. Some multigrain bread recipes also use ancient grains like quinoa and amaranth seeds to really amp up the nutrition content. These grains are combined with flour, water, yeast, and sometimes honey or molasses for sweetness. The dough is kneaded, left to rise, and then baked until it forms a golden-brown crust. 

How to Eat It Multigrain Bread: Eat it like any other bread. It makes an excellent base for sandwiches. Of course, it can also be toasted and served with butter or your favorite spreads, like jam or peanut butter. While multigrain bread is often marketed with health benefits, read the labels carefully. Some commercial versions still contain refined flour and added sugars.

Naan Bread

Origin of Naan: Naan is a soft, slightly chewy flatbread from Southern Asia, specifically India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. We believe it was developed about 700 years ago in one of these nations. It’s leavened and traditionally cooked in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven. 

Naan Bread Ingredients: The primary ingredients in naan are flour, water, yeast, yogurt, and sometimes milk or ghee (clarified butter). Variations of naan include garlic naan, butter naan, and cheese naan. The dough is allowed to rise, which gives it its characteristic fluffiness. Then, it is divided into portions, rolled out into thin rounds, and cooked in the tandoor oven. Modern adaptations of naan may use conventional ovens or stovetops for cooking.

How to Eat Naan: Its soft, absorbent texture makes it perfect for scooping up sauces and curries. You can also use it as a wrap for sandwiches or fill it with ingredients like grilled meats, vegetables, and sauces. It’s a staple in South Asian cuisine and is often served as an accompaniment to curries, kebabs, and other dishes.

Paratha Flatbread

Origin of Paratha Flatbread: This is an unleavened flatbread that comes to us from India. It is flaky and soft.

Paratha Flatbread Ingredients: It is made from whole wheat flour, water, salt, oil, and butter. The ingredients are mixed together, and the dough is rolled into thin round shapes and cooked on a griddle or skillet. The difference between paratha and other flatbreads is that the dough is folded onto itself several times, making it layered and wonderfully flaky.

How to Eat Parathas: In India, parathas are eaten with yogurt, pickles, chutney, and curries. They can also be stuffed with potatoes, spinach, paneer, or any number of savory fillings. Stuffed parathas are often served with a yogurt-based sauce known as raita. The superpower of parathas is that they stay soft even when cold, making them a good choice for packed lunches.

Pita Bread

Origin of Pita Bread: It is also called Arabic or pocket bread, and is about 4,000 years old. It came out of the Middle East, but was adopted by the Greeks who named it pita which was their word for “bread” It is a round flatbread that forms a convenient pocket in the center when cooked.

Pita Bread Ingredients: Pita bread is made from flour, water, yeast, salt, and sometimes a bit of olive oil or sugar. The dough is mixed, kneaded, and then left to rise. After rising, it is divided into small balls, which are rolled out into flat circles. The dough is then baked at a high temperature which causes the bread to puff up and form the pocket. It is a slightly chewy bread with a crispy exterior.

How to Eat Pita Bread: To make great sandwiches, you only have to gently split the bread in half and stuff it with your favorite fillings. Try it with falafel, hummus, grilled meat, spreads, or roasted veggies. Pita bread can also be torn into pieces and used as a scoop for dips like tzatziki or baba ganoush.

Potato Bread

Origin or Potato Bread: We aren’t really sure where or when potatoes found their way into bread, but we suspect it was either with the Indigenous people of South America or in Europe after potatoes were brought back in the late 15th Century. It likely evolved as a way to use a staple crop when flour was in short supply. By the 19th Century, Europeans and Americans were dependent on potatoes, so the use of bread was really a natural progression. 

Potato Bread Ingredients: The key ingredient in potato bread is, of course, potatoes. They are boiled, mashed, or grated and mixed with flour, water, yeast, sugar, salt, and butter or oil. After mixing and kneading the dough is allowed to rise, shaped into loaves, and baked until golden brown.

How to Eat Potato Bread: It is great for sandwiches due to its soft and slightly sweet flavor, and it pairs well with both savory and sweet fillings. It’s also a good option for making toast, as it produces a crispy crust and a tender interior. Additionally, potato bread can be used in recipes like bread pudding or homemade croutons.

Pumpernickel Bread

Origin of Pumpernickel: Pumpernickel came from Germany during the Middle Ages. It is a dense, dark bread with an earthy flavor. The word “pumpernickel” is believed to have come from the old German words “pumpern” (to fart) and “nickel” (a nickname for a devil or goblin). The thought is that it referred to the flatulence associated with consuming this dense fibrous bread. It may only be a myth, but the story was too good not to retell.

Pumpernickel Bread Ingredients: It is made with coarsely ground rye flour, water, a sourdough starter, and sometimes molasses, coffee, or cocoa. The last three ingredients may be added to really darken the color and modify the flavor. The use of a sourdough starter provides the bread with a slightly tangy flavor and helps with leavening. The dough is mixed and fermented for 24 hours or more and then baked at low temperature, which also contributes to its dense texture and dark color.

How to Eat Pumpernickel: It pairs well with cured meats, cheeses, and spreads like cream cheese or mustard. It’s a good bread for making pastrami or corned beef sandwiches, as its robust flavor complements savory fillings. Pumpernickel can also be used creatively in dishes like bread bowls for soups or as a base for canapés.

Quick Bread

Origin of Quick Bread: Quick bread earned its name because it doesn’t require the lengthy fermentation process needed for bread made with yeast. Instead, quick breads are leavened with baking powder or baking soda. Quick breads encompass a wide range of baked goods, including muffins, biscuits, pancakes, crumpets, and classic loaves like banana bread and zucchini bread.

Quick Bread Ingredients: The primary ingredients in quick bread are flour, a leavening agent in baking powder or baking soda, milk or buttermilk, eggs, and a sweetener like sugar or honey. There can be a lot of variation in ingredients and recipe ratios, which lead to different textures and flavors. Everyone’s grandmother has her own way of making banana bread. Quick breads are mixed quickly, often using the “muffin method,” where wet and dry ingredients are mixed separately and then combined.

How to Eat Quick Breads: This type of bread is often served as a snack, for breakfast, or for dessert. Slices of warm banana or pumpkin bread, biscuits, and cornbread are all great examples of how awesome quick bread can be.  

Rye Bread

Origin of Rye Bread: Rye bread originated in Northern and Eastern Europe, in nations like Germany, the Scandinavian nations, and Russia where rye grows well but wheat can be challenging. Rye flour gives bread an earthy flavor and denser texture than breads made from wheat. 

Rye Bread Ingredients: Rye bread is made using a sourdough starter, which provides a tangy flavor and contributes to its leavening. The dough is mixed with water, salt, and sometimes a small amount of wheat flour. After mixing, it’s allowed to ferment from several hours to several days. The dough is then shaped into loaves and baked. 

How to Eat Rye Bread: It is best known as the go to bread for the Reuben sandwich as it pairs well with savory toppings. Darker rye bread is a great complement to hearty soups and stews, while lighter rye bread is well paired with spreads like butter, cream cheese, or smoked salmon.

Sliced Bread

Origin of Sliced Bread: Buying pre-sliced bread is a relatively modern phenomenon. It started in the 1920s when Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the first bread-slicing machine, revolutionizing the baking industry. Before slicing bread people baked their own or bought whole loaves, which they sliced themselves. This was a little time-consuming and could result in uneven slices. The introduction of sliced bread revolutionized the way people bought and ate bread. It very quickly became the way to buy bread almost worldwide. It also gave us the term “the best thing since sliced bread”.

How to Eat Sliced Bread: Store-bought sliced bread allows quick consistent toast, sandwiches, french toast, and a whole host of other foods we have come to love because of this consistent and convenient way of serving bread.

Sourdough Bread

Origin of Sourdough Bread: Sourdough bread is one of the oldest types of bread. It is at least 3,000 years old, as we know that the ancient Egyptians ate it.  Sourdough is very different from other breads because it relies on naturally occurring wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria to ferment, not yeast. This is what gives it a mildly tangy flavor and chewy texture.

Sourdough Bread Ingredients: Sourdough bread is made from flour, water, and salt. That is it! The magic happens during fermentation when wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria from the environment (your kitchen) and the flour create a natural starter culture. This starter is a mixture of flour and water that is allowed to ferment for several days during which it develops its flavor and leavening power. The starter is then combined with more flour, water, and salt to create the dough. After several rounds of fermentation and folding, the dough is shaped into loaves and baked in the oven.

How to Eat Sourdough Bread: Sourdough’s tangy flavor pairs well with both sweet and savory toppings. It’s great for sandwiches, as toast, or as an accompaniment to soups, chilis, and stews. Sourdough is also good for making artisanal grilled cheese sandwiches and bruschetta.

Sprouted Grain Bread

Origin of Sprouted Grain Bread: It is made from whole grains that have been allowed to germinate or sprout before being milled into flour. This amps up the nutritional content of the bread and makes it easier to digest. While sprouted grain bread has ancient roots (pardon the pun), it has become popular more recently as people focus on the health benefits of such bread.

Sprouted Grain Bread Ingredients: it is made from whole grains that have started sprouting. This can be wheat, barley, spelt, or millet. The grains are soaked until they sprout, then dried and milled into flour, which is then mixed with water, yeast, and maybe honey or seeds. After kneading and rising, it’s baked to produce a hearty, nutty-flavored bread.

How to Eat Sprouted Grain Bread: This bread is eaten like any other. It is a good choice for sandwiches, toast, you name it. It is often chosen by those seeking a more nutritious alternative to conventional white bread.

White Bread

Origin of White Bread: You may think that the ubiquitous white bread is the most commonly eaten bread in the USA, but that award goes to wheat bread. White gets the red ribbon. It is certainly an ancient form of bread with evidence of its use in Ancient Egypt. We feel silly describing white bread, but it is soft, tender, and white thanks to the finely sifted flour it is made of. It became extremely popular in the USA after the bread-slicing machine was invented, and commercially sold pre-sliced white bread was the thing. 

White Bread Ingredients: It is made from white wheat flour, water, yeast, sugar, salt, and sometimes a small amount of fat, such as butter or oil. The flour is highly refined meaning that the bran, germ, fiber and most of the nutrients, found in whole wheat flour, has been removed. The dough is mixed, allowed to rise, and then shaped into loaves and baked.

How to Eat White Bread: It’s the go-to bread in the USA for making sandwiches. It is also a great bread for French toast (try making French toast with the thick white bread Texas Toast), and you can make bread crumbs, croutons, or bread pudding from it.

Whole Wheat Bread

Origin of Whole Wheat Bread: Whole wheat bread is the most used bread in the USA. This type of bread has been consumed for centuries, with origins in ancient civilizations that cultivated wheat. Whole wheat bread has a heartier texture and a nuttier flavor than white bread, as well as a higher nutritional content due to the inclusion of the bran and germ.

Whole Wheat Bread Ingredients: It is made from whole wheat flour, water, yeast, salt, and sometimes a small amount of sugar or oil. The flour retains the bran and germ, which contain fiber, vitamins, and minerals making it a healthier choice over the highly refined white flour used in white bread. The dough is mixed and kneaded, allowing the yeast to leaven the bread. After rising, the dough is shaped into loaves and baked. 

How to Eat Whole Wheat Bread: You can use it like any other bread. It is excellent for making sandwiches or just toasted and served with spreads like almond butter,  avocado, or PB&J. Additionally, whole wheat bread is our #1 choice to make croutons and as a base for healthy open-faced sandwiches.

This concludes our look at types of bread. We hope you found some information on a bread type you may now want to try, or to serve in a different way. As always, happy cooking from your friends at Live Eat Learn!