As the oldest prepared food, bread caters to every taste, whether you’re crafting sandwiches, complementing meals, or savoring a perfectly toasted slice. Discover a diverse array of bread varieties and unveil the healthiest options in this exciting exploration!
1. Arepa
Arepas are these awesome flat, round bread things whipped up from masa, water, and salt. You cook them in butter or oil – usually give them a good pan-fry or griddle session. Then, you slice them in half horizontally, and bam! Perfect sandwich bread ready to roll.
2. Baguette
Baguettes are those long, French loaves made with flour, water, yeast, and salt. Thanks to steam ovens, they get this awesome combo of a crispy crust and a soft inside. People usually slice them or cut them in half horizontally, then load them up with butter, cheese, or cured meats. They’re also the go-to for leveling up a charcuterie or butter board.
3. Bagel
Picture a bread that’s like a little round “O” with a hole in the middle – that’s a bagel. Made from flour, yeast, water, salt, and barley malt syrup, this thick and fluffy bread gets the royal treatment of being boiled and then baked. The bagel’s origin is a bit of a mystery, but many think Polish Jews were the first maestros. You can eat them solo, smear them with cream cheese, or create a sandwich masterpiece. Top them off with savory delights like smoked salmon, tomatoes, cucumbers, or go sweet with nut butter, fruit, and honey.
4. Brioche Bread
Brioche, the French superstar of bread, boasts a tender, fluffy interior that’s rich and delightful. Packed with flour, yeast, salt, butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and sometimes brandy, it gets a soft but wonderfully dark crust thanks to the magic of the Maillard reaction. Whether as sliced bread with butter or jam, or transformed into dinner rolls, hamburger buns, or hot dog rolls, brioche always steals the spotlight.
5. Ciabatta
Ciabatta, Italian for “slipper,” takes inspiration from the baguette but with a twist – it’s shaped like a slipper instead of the traditional cylindrical form. With a simple mix of flour, yeast, salt, and water, ciabatta delivers a chewy interior, large holes, and a rustic, flaky crust. Ideal for crafting garlic bread, sandwiches, or paninis, it also shines as table bread served alongside olive oil and Parmesan.
6. Challah
Challah bread, pronounced haah-luh, is a work of art, meticulously braided into a beautiful loaf. Enriched with flour, water, yeast, salt, sugar or honey, vegetable oil, and eggs, challah presents a fluffy interior and a dark golden-brown crust that’s soft and full of flavor. Traditionally enjoyed on Jewish holidays or during ceremonies like Shabbat, challah also plays a versatile role – slice and spread with butter and jam, or use it for French toast or bread pudding.
7. English Muffin
English muffins are round, flat, and small bread. English muffins are made with whole wheat flour, water, salt, sugar, butter, and cornmeal and are leavened with either yeast or sourdough starter, creating big pockets of air on the inside.
English muffins do not bake in the oven like other types of bread but instead are cooked in a pan on the stovetop. After cooking, English muffins are best when cut in half horizontally, toasted, and slathered in butter and jam. They’re also known to be a great breakfast menu item, being the bread base for eggs benedict and breakfast sandwiches.
8. Focaccia
Focaccia, the Italian bread that’s like pizza’s thicker cousin, packs a punch with flour, water, yeast, salt, olive oil, and a hint of honey. People often throw in herbs and spices to give it that extra flair. Unlike most bread that rises into a dome, focaccia keeps it flat, standing at about 2 inches tall. Enjoy it simply with some good olive oil, or go all out by slicing it in half horizontally and turning it into a killer sandwich or panini.
9. Hokkaido
Hokkaido milk bread, the wizard of softness, owes its pillowy texture to the tangzhong cooking technique. This technique involves pre-cooking part of the flour with a liquid, creating a paste that’s the secret to tender, soft bread. Made from flour, sugar, yeast, milk powder or sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and butter, Hokkaido bread is a delight on its own or toasted, generously smeared with rich butter.
10. Irish Soda Bread
Picture Irish soda bread – a rounded, domed delight leavened not by yeast, but by baking soda. Made with flour, buttermilk, baking soda, and salt, it often throws in raisins and nuts for good measure. It’s crumbly, a bit scone-like, and more of a quick bread than a classic artisan masterpiece. The best way to savor Irish soda bread? Slice it and layer on the butter, jam, or marmalade.
11. Multigrain
Multigrain, your healthier bread pick, packs a mix of goodness. It’s not just flour, yeast, and salt; it’s a party of barley, whole wheat, oat, quinoa, millet, flax flour, and even seeds like pumpkin and sunflower. Splash in some water and, on occasion, a hint of brown sugar. This hearty blend makes it the go-to for breakfast toast and sandwiches.
12. Naan
Naan, the soft and chewy flatbread sensation, brings together flour, water, sugar, yeast, yogurt, vegetable oil, and salt. Baked in a tandoor, a scorching clay oven hitting 900 degrees Fahrenheit, naan is the perfect companion for West Asian and South Asian dishes, especially regional curries.
13. Paratha
Parathas, those flaky delights, are unleavened wonders crafted from whole wheat flour, water, salt, and a touch of ghee or oil. Each one goes through a delicious process: roll, smother with ghee, sprinkle with flour, roll into a pinwheel, and roll out again. Cooked on a tawa (a stone frying pan) and served warm, parathas are delicious solo with a bit of butter, perfect with chutneys and pickles, alongside dahl or curries, and the star of the show in the beloved street food: kati rolls.
14. Pita
Pita bread, the yeast-leavened wonder, is a mix of flour, yeast, salt, water, and sometimes a dash of sugar. It’s a tad dry on the outside but oh-so-chewy inside. Greek pitas lay flat, perfect for souvlaki, while Middle Eastern pitas get a hot oven treatment, causing them to puff up, creating a pocket. Fill these pockets with veggies, hummus, falafels, or pair them with kebabs.
15. Potato Bread
Potato bread, the Irish gem, throws mashed potatoes into the mix for that extra fluffy, moist texture. Alongside mashed potatoes, it dances with whole wheat flour, yeast, sugar, salt, eggs, and butter. A versatile star, potato bread shines as toast, sandwich bread, or delightful dinner rolls.
16. Quick Bread
Quick bread, the speedy sensation, swaps yeast for baking powder or soda. Think muffins, cupcakes, cakes, certain donuts, banana bread, pumpkin bread, biscuits, scones, and cornbread – they all fall under the quick bread umbrella.
17. Rye Bread
Rye bread, the dense and flavorful marvel, plays with the contrasting hues of light and dark rye flour. Made from rye flour, water, yeast, honey, caraway seeds, and salt, it brings a robust flavor to the table. A notch above in density and flavor, rye bread stands out in the bread spectrum.
Rye bread is perfect for sandwiches. Load it up with smoked fish, meats, sauerkraut, onions, strong cheeses, or eggs. It’s also the go-to for crafting delicious Reubens!
18. Sourdough
Sourdough, the rebel of bread, gets its magic from a sourdough starter – a mix of flour and water that turns into a leavening superhero. This fermentation dance not only lifts sourdough but also adds that delightful tang. With flour, water, sourdough starter, and a pinch of salt, sourdough takes the stage as an A-list toast, sandwich bread, or the perfect sidekick to any charcuterie board.
19. White Bread
White bread, the classic crowd-pleaser, sheds the bran and germs, leaving only the endosperm for a lighter color, softer texture, and milder flavor. Believed to have roots dating back to Ancient Egypt, where wheat was sifted for that pristine white starch. Made with all-purpose flour, yeast, water, sugar, salt, and butter, white bread is the lunch sandwich MVP, the perfect partner for tea sandwiches, casseroles, grilled cheeses, or transforming into breadcrumbs or croutons.
20. Whole Wheat Bread
Whole wheat bread, the hearty champion, keeps it real with whole wheat flour – the whole shebang of the wheat grain. This results in a darker, denser bread packing more flavor and nutrients than its white counterpart. Born in the Fertile Crescent, modern-day Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine, whole wheat bread shines in sandwiches, as toast for bruschetta or brothy mussels and clam dishes, and as croutons for a panzanella salad.