25 Common Types Of Bread Explained

As a professional bread maker and pastry chef for nearly nine years, I've grown to learn and understand how fundamental bread is throughout the world. It's a ubiquitous food that symbolizes community, tradition, and cultural identity. Due to its accessibility and versatility, it's considered a basic necessity and vital element on almost every culture's dining table. Living in Italy for half a decade, I've been told numerous times that as long as you have good-quality olive oil and a simple loaf of bread on the table, you'll survive. A similar narrative is portrayed around the world, whether you're in France eating a baguette with butter or in Armenia wrapping lavash with herbs and cheese. 

Alongside the cultural relevance, the preparation follows a similar rhythm. Making bread dough always starts with some type of flour hydrated by water, that is then kneaded, possibly fermented, shaped, and baked. Whatever ingredients happen to be included, you're always going to be left with a simple food that'll keep you sustained and fulfilled. Here's the scoop about 25 common types of bread that you can find around the globe.

Everybody can recognize the baguette. The long, thin crusty loaf of bread is a symbol of France's gastronomy and culture. 

Like most food in French cuisine, its history is pulled in a few different directions. Some historians claim it was invented by Napoleon Bonaparte, who requested a type of bread that was able to fit inside a soldier's uniform. Others claim a manager wanted bread that was easy to tear to prevent workers from attacking each other with bread knives. Either way, its golden brown crust and soft and airy interior are simply delicious.

If you've ever traveled across Italy, you've definitely crossed paths with focaccia. The thick, soft, and utterly delicious Italian bread is a regional specialty from Liguria. Across the Italian peninsula and the ragged coastline, you can find it studded with various ingredients like tomatoes, garlic, cheese, and herbs. 

Focaccia has an exceptionally moist and fluffy interior due to its high hydration and fat content. Before it's completely drowned in olive oil and baked in the oven until perfectly golden brown, the baker presses their fingers into the dough to create dimples, giving its signature textured appearance.

Next time you're craving something slightly sweet, buttery, and fluffy like a cloud, you should be introduced to another classic French bread. Brioche is made with loads of butter, eggs, and milk, and it's classified under the enriched bread dough category. 

This type of dough always includes fats like eggs, milk, butter, or oil — creating a softer and richer result just like brioche. It can be served toasted as a dessert with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar, or simply with butter or jam for breakfast.

Looking for a crusty bread perfect for bruschetta? Look no further. Ciabatta is an Italian bread with a hard crust and porous interior that make it ideal for a tomato topping. It has a wide, flat rectangle shape named after the Italian word for "slipper." 

The ciabatta is new to the world of breadmaking, since it was only invented in 1982 by a baker in Adria, Veneto. The ciabatta has a bit of a spiteful history, since the intention behind its invention was to compete with the French baguette. Nonetheless, it's a staple bread in Italian gastronomy and should be equally cherished.

Japanese milk bread, also known as shokupan or Hokkaido milk bread, is a white bread known for its fluffy crumb, thin brown crust, and subtle sweetness. It is an enriched dough that uses the tangzhong method to kickstart the gelatinization process in the flour starches. 

Essentially, you're creating a roux with flour and a liquid, which gives the milk bread a bit of extra softness, tenderness, and additional shelf life. Japanese milk bread's squishy, spongy texture is ideal for making French toast or a baked chicken katsu sandwich recipe.

Other than the baguette, sourdough is probably one of the most well-known types of bread. It is characterized by its tangy taste, spongy interior, and rustic golden brown crust. The sourdough production begins with a starter: a mixture of flour and water that creates a colony of naturally occurring yeast and bacteria through fermentation. 

Storing your starter in a warm environment and replenishing it with flour and water allows it to grow, thus creating the leavening agent for your sourdough. It's a simple and fulfilling process you can easily do at home — plus it leaves you with delicious bread.

Rye bread is simply a bread made from rye flour. It has a slightly sour taste that's sometimes balanced with a sweetener in the dough, like honey, agave, or sugar. The consistency is a bit chewy and denser in comparison to wheat and multigrain bread, and it has a similar light brown coloring. 

In northern Europe, you can find a variation that's even denser called rugbrød, which translates to rye bread in Danish. It's typically filled with nuts, grains, and seeds, and is a staple in diets throughout the Scandinavian nations, Germany, and Poland.

Pita has an extremely fascinating history. It is believed to have been created in the Fertile Crescent region of the Middle East and is one the oldest bread types dating back over 10,000 years! The soft-leavened flatbread is known for its semi-dry texture and chewy bite, and is extremely prevalent in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Levant cuisine.

It's often characterized by a fluffy pocket in the center, which is typically filled with various ingredients like vegetables and meats. Traditional recipes call for ancient grains like emmer or barley, though nowadays it's common to use all-purpose flour.

Naan is a popular bread found throughout Middle Eastern, Indian, and Southeast Asian cuisine. Similarly to pita, naan also has a fluffy pocket in the center. It's typically eaten with your hands to swipe up the contents of your meal, and can also be stuffed with various ingredients. 

The leavened flatbread is known for its signature burnt bubbles and unique cooking technique, where it's slapped against the walls of a tandoor, a large vase-shaped oven. Immediately after cooking it is brushed with butter or ghee, giving the naan its quintessential rich, buttery taste.

Irish soda bread is a crumbly, tangy bread made with baking soda, flour, buttermilk, and salt. It's classified under the quick bread category, which are breads that use baking powder or baking soda instead of yeast to leaven the dough. 

According to the Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread, the original recipe dates back to 1836, however, it grew into popularity after the Irish famine (1845 to 1852). During the famine, the Irish had limited access to wheat due to the British exportation of Irish grain, thus halting the prominence of soda bread until after it had passed.

If you've ever traveled to Hawaii you'll quickly realize that alongside beloved spam musubi and the delectable loco moco plate, Hawaiian rolls are a core element of the cuisine. Inspired by a Portuguese sweet bread called "pão doce," Robert Taira crafted the rolls in his bakery in Hilo, Hawaii, in the 1950s. 

These irresistible rolls have a perfectly fluffy and chewy texture. They are usually flavored with pineapple juice and honey, giving them a distinct sweet flavor. This quality makes the buns the perfect sandwich vessel paired with juicy Hawaiian kalua pork.

English muffins — which are often confused with their spongy cousin the crumpet — are small rounded leavened breads that are often eaten for breakfast. They are thought to have been invented by Samuel Bath Thomas, a British-American who crafted the recipe and opened a bakery in 1880. 

English muffins are often characterized by their holey interior, which makes them excellent vessels for butter, marmalades, eggs, and nut spreads. Just like crumpets, English muffins are also cooked on a griddle or stovetop. The dough is cut into rounds, sprinkled with cornmeal, and cooked until golden brown.

Boule means ball in French, which is exactly what this traditional French bread resembles and obviously from where its namesake is derived. Boule has a similar appearance to sourdough bread, however, it's quite different. Instead of utilizing a starter like sourdough, a classic boule recipe just requires active dry yeast, warm water, and a short resting period. 

It's a great option for someone looking for a stress-free bread recipe who can't be bothered to nurture a starter. This easy-to-make French bread has a mild taste, a solid crumb, and a crackly golden brown crust.

Cornbread is a quick bread made from a combination of cornmeal and flour. It's typically sweetened with honey or sugar and pairs flawlessly with stews, chilis, barbecue dishes, and basically any comfort food. 

You can find cornbread in kitchens and restaurants throughout the Southern, Midwest, and Atlantic U.S. states. It can easily be cooked in any baking dish, however, it tastes even better if it's made in a skillet or cast-iron pan. These pans are excellent since they give cornbread a crisper edge and golden brown bottom.

Potato bread is made by substituting a portion of wheat flour for potato flour or cooked potatoes. It may sound weird to use potatoes as a base for bread, however, since they have a high starch content, the result is the moistest and fluffiest bread you can find on supermarket shelves. 

Surprisingly, it doesn't even taste like potatoes at all! The wonderfully soft scrumptious bread is a great choice for an oogey-gooey grilled cheese or even a sweet and savory club sandwich recipe.

Fry bread is a type of flatbread originating from the indigenous people of North America. The dough is made from simple ingredients like flour, water, yeast, and eggs, which are then fried in large skillets filled with either oil, shortening, or lard. It's usually eaten with sweet toppings like honey or jam and sometimes prepared as a base for savory dishes. 

The history of fry bread is riddled with hardship since it was created as a byproduct of forced colonization. Some view it as a symbol of resilience and perseverance amongst the indigenous Americans who were forcefully relocated and displaced.

Challah, sometimes referred to as hallah, is a traditional Jewish bread easily recognized by its braided knot appearance. The bread is highly symbolic in Jewish culture, as it's typically eaten during traditional holidays or ceremonial events. 

It is an enriched dough and completely kosher, since recipes utilize vegetable oil instead of fats derived from dairy products. Similar to brioche, it has a slightly sweet and eggy flavor with a fluffy, spongy texture. An egg wash is brushed on the dough before baking, giving it a beautiful golden brown color.

Not to be mistaken for naan or pita, lavash is a thin unleavened flatbread originating from Armenia. The traditional recipe only contains two ingredients: flour and water. 

Once the dough is made it's rolled into thin layers, stretched over a cushion, and slapped on the walls of a clay oven. The hot oven quickly cooks it in under a minute, then it's peeled off the walls and ready to be enjoyed. Lavash and its preparation is a vital aspect of Armenian culture, and it was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2014.

The corn tortilla is an unleavened flatbread that's highly prevalent in Mexican and Central American cuisine. It's used as a base for numerous dishes like tacos, enchiladas, and burritos. 

Making corn tortillas traditionally begins with a process called nixtamalization, in which the kernels are soaked in lime and water to remove the skin, and then ground into the dough called "masa." The masa is divided into balls, flattened into thin patties using a press, and then lightly cooked on a skillet. Often you find this technique being used at tortilla bakeries (aka tortillerias) across Mexico and Central America.

In Germany, no other bread is more common than the pretzel. Pretzels show up at nearly every event, whether it's as a snack at Oktoberfest or the seasonal Christmas markets. The distinctive symmetrical shape is easily identifiable along with its deep golden brown color. The dough is made from flour, salt, water, malt powder, and yeast. 

After being shaped into a knot, the pretzels are quickly dipped into lye (a strong alkaline compound), creating their unique texture and flavor. The lye not only helps with flavor but also gives the pretzels their mahogany color in the oven.

If you're searching for a healthier bread option, multigrain is an excellent choice. It contains plenty of nuts, seeds, and grains, resulting in a fibrous and nutrient-packed bread. Bakers tend to grind grains such as barley, oats, or rye into flour for the dough, topping it with seeds like pumpkin, flax, or sunflower, which give it its classic roasted nutty flavor. 

Every bakery has a different recipe, so if you have a specific allergy be sure to ask what's inside. Multigrain bread is perfect for avocado toast or as sandwich bread.

Of all of the bread types in the world, pumpernickel has undeniably the most interesting name. It hails from the Westphalia region in Germany, where this whole-grain bread is cherished amongst locals. Pumpernickel has a deep dark brown color and an underlying sweet flavor due to the dark rye flour and molasses used in the dough. 

A sourdough starter is typically used as a leavening agent providing a bit of a tangy punch. In European bakeries, it's usually baked on low heat all day, resulting in a hard crust with a dense interior similar to rye bread.

The pullman loaf (or pain de mie in French) is a white bread baked in a unique lidded rectangular pan, which creates a thin crust and a great shape for sandwiches. Its name was derived from the Pullman railway company after workers discovered how easy it was to stack the bread loaves in the dining cars. 

This style of bread has been baked in Europe since the 18th century, and it has an incredibly soft and airy texture and a mild flavor that make it an excellent choice to accompany all of your favorite sandwich toppings.

Mantou is a steamed Chinese bread or bun that has a soft, fluffy interior with a white, puffy exterior. Native to northern China, mantou paired with rice is a staple source of carbohydrates in the local diet. It's common to see street food vendors in northern Chinese provinces selling these fluffy buns filled with barbecue pork (char siu), sweetened red beans, or vegetables. 

Mantou can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as an easy snack on the run. Next time you're craving an egg sandwich, switch it up and try using mantou as your bread.

A bagel is a bread roll originating from the Jewish communities in Poland. It consists of a simple dough made from wheat flour, yeast, salt, and water, which is hand-shaped into rings, briefly boiled in water, and then baked until golden brown. 

You can find a variety of bagels flavored with ingredients like chocolate, sea salt, poppy seeds, onion powder, or simply just plain. Typically, bagels are toasted and spread with either butter, marmalade, or most famously, cream cheese.