Bread glossary

Anadama is a New England yeast loaf made with cornmeal and molasses. The cornmeal gives it a slightly gritty, hearty texture, and the molasses adds a deep color and a gentle, almost smoky sweetness. It bakes up soft enough for sandwiches but sturdier than plain white bread.

It's a regional classic, especially around coastal Massachusetts, and several colorful stories about its name get passed around without anyone knowing which is true. What isn't in doubt is how good it is toasted and buttered, or alongside a bowl of chowder or baked beans.

Babka is a rich, sweet yeast bread made with butter and eggs, rolled up around a filling of chocolate or cinnamon sugar, then twisted and baked in a loaf pan. Slice it and you get dramatic swirls through a soft, tender crumb, often with a sticky, glazed top.

It comes from Eastern European Jewish baking traditions and became a fixture of New York bakeries, where chocolate versions are especially popular. People eat it with coffee, bring it to gatherings, and turn the leftovers into outstanding French toast.

A bagel is a ring of dense, chewy yeast dough that's briefly boiled before it's baked. That quick dip in hot water sets the outside, which bakes into a shiny, firm crust around a tight, satisfying chew. Toppings range from sesame and poppy seeds to salt, onion, garlic, and the everything mix that combines them.

Bagels arrived in North America with Eastern European Jewish immigrants and became inseparable from New York City, though good ones are baked all over the country now. Split and toasted with cream cheese is the classic, and lox, egg sandwiches, and deli fillings are close behind.

A baguette is a long, slim loaf made from just flour, water, salt, and yeast. With so few ingredients, most of the flavor comes from how the dough is handled and baked. A good one has a thin, crackly crust that shatters when you squeeze it, and a chewy, open inside with irregular holes. The long shape gives you plenty of crust for every bite, which is a big part of the appeal.

Baguettes are closely tied to everyday life in France. In 2022, UNESCO recognized the craft and culture of French baguette baking as intangible cultural heritage. They're at their best within hours of baking, which is why so many people buy one daily. Split one for a ham-and-butter sandwich, tear it to go with cheese or soup, or slice day-old pieces for toast and croutons.

Banana bread is a quick bread, which means it rises with baking soda or baking powder instead of yeast, so there's no kneading or waiting. Very ripe, spotty bananas are mashed into the batter, where they add sweetness and keep the loaf moist and tender for days.

It's one of the most-baked breads in American home kitchens, and it's the classic answer to bananas that have gone too far to eat. Walnuts, pecans, and chocolate chips are common additions. Serve it in thick slices, plain or with butter, for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Beer bread is about as simple as baking gets: flour, a little sugar, baking powder (or self-rising flour), and a can of beer, stirred together and poured into a pan. The beer adds moisture and a faint malty tang, and melted butter poured over the top before baking gives it a crisp, golden crust.

The loaf is soft and slightly craggy, with a flavor that changes depending on the beer you use. It's a favorite for beginner bakers and busy weeknights, and it goes well with chili, stew, or a bowl of soup.

A bialy is a flat, round roll with a shallow well in the middle filled with cooked onions and often poppy seeds. Unlike a bagel, it isn't boiled before baking, and it has no hole, so the outside stays soft with a lightly crisp bottom and a chewy, floury feel.

The name comes from Białystok, a city in Poland, and bialys became a New York Jewish bakery staple alongside bagels. They're good warm with butter or cream cheese, and they make a great base for an egg sandwich.

An American biscuit is a small, tender quick bread made from flour, cold butter or shortening, and buttermilk, leavened with baking powder and baking soda. Cutting the fat into the flour and handling the dough gently creates flaky layers you can pull apart with your fingers.

Biscuits are a cornerstone of Southern cooking, served at breakfast with sausage gravy, split for fried chicken or egg sandwiches, or simply buttered with honey or jam. They have nothing to do with the British biscuit, which is what Americans call a cookie.

A bolillo is a crusty white roll shaped like a short, plump torpedo, usually with a split down the top. It has a thin, crisp crust and a soft, fluffy middle, and it's made from a simple dough of flour, water, yeast, salt, and sometimes a little fat.

Bolillos are an everyday bread in Mexico and at Mexican bakeries across the United States. They're the classic roll for tortas, the base for molletes (topped with beans and melted cheese), and a good side for soups and stews.

Boston brown bread is a dark, moist loaf made from a mix of rye flour, cornmeal, and whole wheat flour, sweetened with molasses and often studded with raisins. Instead of baking in an oven, it's traditionally steamed, often in a tall can, which gives it a round shape and a dense, cake-like texture.

It's a New England tradition, and the classic pairing is Saturday-night baked beans. It's also good sliced and spread with butter or cream cheese. Canned versions are still sold in grocery stores, a nod to how the bread has long been made at home.

Brioche is a French yeast bread made rich with plenty of eggs and butter. The result is a golden, glossy crust and a soft, feathery inside that tastes a little sweet and very buttery. It's baked in many shapes, from tall loaves to small rolls topped with a little knob of dough.

In the United States, brioche buns have become a favorite for burgers and breakfast sandwiches, and brioche loaves are a top choice for French toast and bread pudding. It's also lovely on its own with jam.

Challah is a braided yeast bread enriched with eggs and a little oil and sugar, which makes it soft, slightly sweet, and deep golden. Loaves are often brushed with egg for a shiny crust and sprinkled with sesame or poppy seeds, and the braids can use three, four, or six strands.

It holds an important place in Jewish tradition, served on the Sabbath and on holidays, and it's baked in a round shape for Rosh Hashanah. Outside the holiday table, challah is one of the best breads for French toast and sandwiches that need a soft, sturdy slice.

Ciabatta is a flat, broad Italian loaf made from a very wet dough, which is what gives it large, irregular holes and a light, chewy inside. The crust is thin and crisp, usually with a dusting of flour, and the shape is loose and rustic rather than neat.

It's a fairly recent creation, developed in northern Italy in the early 1980s, and it quickly became a favorite in American bakeries and sandwich shops. Ciabatta is great for panini, for dipping in olive oil, and for soaking up the juices of a good salad or stew.

Cinnamon raisin bread is a soft sandwich-style loaf with raisins worked into the dough and a ribbon of cinnamon sugar rolled through the middle. Each slice shows a spiral, and the raisins stay plump and chewy.

It's a breakfast bread first and foremost. Toast brings out the cinnamon and caramelizes the edges, and a pat of butter is all it needs. It also makes rich French toast and a comforting bread pudding.

A cinnamon roll starts as a sheet of soft, enriched yeast dough spread with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, then rolled up and sliced into spirals. The rolls bake close together in a pan, so the sides stay tender while the tops brown, and they're usually finished with a glaze or cream cheese frosting.

Versions of cinnamon buns are loved in many countries, especially in Scandinavia. In the United States they're a weekend-morning and holiday treat, and a staple of bakeries, cafés, and shopping-mall counters. Pecan-topped sticky buns are a close cousin.

A concha is a round, soft sweet bun topped with a crunchy layer of sugar paste that's scored to look like a seashell, which is where the name comes from (concha means shell in Spanish). The topping comes in vanilla, chocolate, and sometimes pink or other colors, and it cracks as the bun rises in the oven.

Conchas are one of the best-known kinds of pan dulce, the sweet breads sold at Mexican bakeries, and they're easy to find at panaderías across the United States. They're a morning or afternoon treat, usually with coffee or hot chocolate.

Cornbread is a quick bread made mostly from cornmeal, mixed with buttermilk or milk, eggs, and a little fat, and leavened with baking powder. It's often baked in a hot cast-iron skillet, which gives it a crisp, golden edge around a crumbly, tender middle.

Its roots reach back to Native American corn cooking, and it became a staple across the American South and beyond. Styles vary a lot: many Southern cooks keep it unsweetened, while other versions are sweeter and more cake-like. It's a natural partner for chili, barbecue, collard greens, and beans, and it's the base for cornbread dressing.

A crescent roll is a soft, buttery dinner roll made by rolling a triangle of dough from the wide end toward the point, then curving it into a crescent. It looks a bit like a croissant, but the dough is simpler and less layered, so it's tender and fluffy rather than flaky.

Crescent rolls are a fixture of American holiday dinners, and refrigerated tubes of crescent dough are a pantry favorite for quick appetizers, breakfast bakes, and wrapped hot dogs. They're best warm, straight from the oven.

Cuban bread is a long, white loaf with a thin, crackly crust and a very light, soft inside. Lard or shortening in the dough gives it that delicate texture. In Tampa, bakers have traditionally laid a strip of palmetto leaf along the top, which leaves a split seam as it bakes.

It's closely tied to the Cuban communities of Tampa and Miami, and it's essential for a Cuban sandwich, which is pressed until the crust turns crisp and flat. Buttered and toasted, it's also a classic breakfast with café con leche.

Dutch crunch bread is a soft white loaf or roll painted with a paste of rice flour, yeast, and a little sugar before baking. As the bread rises and bakes, the paste dries and cracks into a crunchy, mottled crust that looks a bit like a giraffe's coat, while the inside stays soft.

In the United States it's a San Francisco Bay Area favorite, and many sandwich shops there offer it as a roll choice. The same style is sold as tiger bread in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The sweet, crackly top makes it especially good for deli sandwiches.

An English muffin is a small, flat, round yeast bread cooked on a griddle instead of baked in an oven, and usually dusted with cornmeal. Inside, it's full of little holes, which is why it's best split with a fork rather than a knife to keep all those nooks and crannies.

Toasted English muffins are an American breakfast staple, with butter and jam, as the base for eggs Benedict, or as a breakfast sandwich.

Focaccia is a thick, dimpled Italian bread baked in a pan with a generous amount of olive oil. The oil fries the bottom into a crisp, golden crust, while the inside stays airy and soft. Tops are often scattered with coarse salt and rosemary, or with olives, tomatoes, or onions.

It's especially associated with Liguria, the region around Genoa, though styles vary across Italy. In the United States it's a bakery favorite, served in squares as a snack or side, split for sandwiches, or set out with soups and salads.

Frybread is a simple dough of flour, baking powder, salt, and water or milk, patted into rounds and fried until puffed and golden. It comes out crisp at the edges and soft and chewy inside, and it can be served sweet with honey or powdered sugar or savory as the base for a meal.

Frybread is made in many Native American communities, and its history is tied to the flour and lard the U.S. government issued as rations in the 1800s. It carries mixed meanings: it's a food of family and gatherings, and also a reminder of hardship. Topped with beans, meat, lettuce, and cheese, it becomes what many people call an Indian taco.

Garlic bread isn't a loaf you bake from scratch so much as a way of finishing one. A crusty Italian loaf or baguette is split, spread with butter or olive oil mixed with garlic and herbs, and toasted until the edges are crisp and the middle is warm and soft. Many versions add melted cheese on top.

It's an Italian-American restaurant classic, served in a basket alongside spaghetti, lasagna, and salads. Frozen versions and garlic toast from the grocery store are just as common at home.

A hamburger bun is a soft, round roll made from a slightly enriched dough, often with a little milk, sugar, and butter or oil. It's built to be squishy enough to bite through easily but sturdy enough to hold a juicy patty, and it's usually sliced in half and often topped with sesame seeds.

Besides the classic white bun, American burger joints now offer potato buns, brioche buns, and pretzel buns, each with a different texture and sweetness. A quick toast on the grill or in a pan keeps the bun from going soggy.

Hawaiian sweet rolls are small, pillowy rolls with a golden top and a noticeably sweet, soft inside. They're baked close together in a pan, so they pull apart into squares, and their tender, fluffy texture comes from an enriched dough made with sugar, butter, and eggs.

They grew out of the Portuguese sweet bread that Portuguese immigrants brought to Hawaii, and today they're sold in grocery stores all over the country. They're a favorite for sliders, ham sandwiches, and holiday dinners.

A hoagie roll is a long, sturdy sandwich roll with a thin, slightly crisp crust and a soft, chewy inside that can stand up to meats, cheeses, oil, and vinegar without falling apart. Some are plain, and some are topped with sesame seeds.

The long sandwich it's made for goes by different names depending on where you are: hoagie around Philadelphia, sub in much of the country, hero in New York, and grinder in parts of New England. In Philadelphia, a good roll is considered essential to a proper cheesesteak.

A hot dog bun is a soft, long roll made from a lightly sweetened dough, sized to hold a frankfurter. Most are split along the side, but New England-style buns are split across the top and have flat, crustless sides that are perfect for buttering and toasting on a griddle.

They're a backyard and ballpark staple, and the top-split New England bun is also the traditional choice for lobster rolls. As with burger buns, a quick toast adds flavor and keeps them from getting soggy.

Irish soda bread is a quick bread made with flour, buttermilk, salt, and baking soda. The buttermilk reacts with the soda to make the dough rise, so there's no yeast and no long wait. The round loaf gets a deep cross cut into the top before baking, and it comes out with a firm crust and a dense, tender inside.

Traditional loaves in Ireland are plain and often made with whole wheat flour. Many American versions add sugar, raisins, and caraway seeds, and they're especially popular around St. Patrick's Day. It's best the day it's baked, with plenty of butter.

Japanese milk bread is an exceptionally soft, fluffy white loaf made with milk, butter, and a little sugar. Many recipes start by cooking a small amount of the flour with milk or water into a paste, which helps the bread hold more moisture. The result is a cloud-like slice that pulls apart in soft strands and stays fresh for days.

It's an everyday bread in Japan, where it's sold as thick-cut square loaves, and it has become popular at Asian bakeries and grocery stores across the United States. It makes superb toast and is the classic bread for Japanese sandwiches like egg salad sandos and katsu sandos.

Jewish rye is a light rye bread made with a mix of rye and wheat flour, usually flavored with caraway seeds and often with a mild sourness. It has a chewy, fairly light texture and a thin, crisp crust, sometimes with a shiny cornstarch glaze on top.

It's the bread of the Jewish delicatessen, where it's piled high with pastrami or corned beef and served with mustard. It's also the classic bread for a Reuben sandwich and makes excellent toast.

A kaiser roll is a round roll with a pattern on top that looks like a five-part pinwheel, made by folding or stamping the dough. It has a thin, crisp crust and a soft, light inside, and it's often sprinkled with poppy or sesame seeds.

The style is associated with Austria and Central Europe, and in the United States it became a deli and diner standard, especially around New York, where it's often called a hard roll. It's the classic roll for a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich and holds up well to deli meats.

Monkey bread is made from small balls of soft yeast dough rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar, piled into a tube or Bundt pan, and baked until the sugar turns into a sticky caramel. It's turned out onto a plate and eaten by pulling off pieces with your fingers.

It's a popular American treat for holiday mornings, brunches, and gatherings, and shortcut versions made with canned biscuit dough are a family-kitchen favorite. Nuts, a glaze, or savory versions with garlic and cheese are common twists.

Naan is a soft, leavened flatbread made from wheat flour, often enriched with yogurt or milk, which gives it a tender, slightly tangy dough. It's traditionally slapped onto the hot inside wall of a tandoor, a clay oven. There it puffs up in a minute or two, with blistered, charred spots and a chewy middle. It's often brushed with butter or ghee as it comes out, and topped with garlic, herbs, or seeds.

Naan is strongly associated with North India, Pakistan, and neighboring regions, and the word itself comes from Persian, where it simply means "bread." It's made for tearing, whether that's scooping up curries and dals, wrapping grilled kebabs, or mopping the last of the sauce from a plate. Home bakers without a tandoor often get good results from a very hot cast-iron pan or a pizza stone.

A Parker House roll is a soft, buttery dinner roll made by folding a flattened round of dough over itself, so it bakes into a rounded shape with a seam you can pull apart. Brushed with butter before and after baking, it has a golden top and a light, tender, slightly sweet inside.

It's named for the Parker House hotel in Boston, where it was served, and it's been a favorite on American dinner tables ever since. It's especially popular at Thanksgiving and other holiday meals, where the pull-apart shape is perfect for tucking in a little butter or a slice of ham.

A pepperoni roll is a soft, slightly sweet white roll baked with slices or sticks of pepperoni inside. As it bakes, the pepperoni releases its spicy, orange-tinted oil into the surrounding bread, flavoring it from the inside out. Some versions add cheese or peppers.

It's often called West Virginia's unofficial state food, and it's usually linked to the Italian immigrant coal-mining communities of the north-central part of the state, where it made a filling lunch that didn't need refrigeration. You'll find them at gas stations, bakeries, and school lunches across the state.

Pita is a round, soft flatbread made from a simple yeast dough and baked in a very hot oven. The high heat makes it puff up like a balloon, which separates the top from the bottom and creates the pocket it's known for. Some styles are thicker and pocketless, closer to a soft flatbread for wrapping.

Pita is eaten across the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean, and it's now a grocery-store staple in the United States. Tuck falafel, shawarma, or grilled vegetables into the pocket, tear it to scoop up hummus and baba ghanoush, or cut it into wedges and bake it into chips.

A popover is a light, hollow roll made from a thin batter of eggs, milk, and flour, with no yeast or baking powder. Poured into a very hot, greased pan, the batter puffs up dramatically in the oven thanks to steam, rising high over the rim into a crisp, golden shell with a soft, custardy inside.

Popovers are a close relative of the British Yorkshire pudding and have long been a New England favorite. Serve them warm with butter and jam or honey for breakfast, or alongside roast beef for dinner.

Potato bread is a soft yeast bread made with mashed potatoes, potato flour, or potato flakes worked into the dough. The potato helps the bread hold onto moisture, so it's tender, slightly sweet, and stays fresh longer than plain white bread. Its crumb is fine and fluffy, and the crust is thin and pale gold.

In the United States, potato bread is a common sandwich loaf, and potato rolls and buns are a favorite for burgers, pulled pork, and hot dogs because they're soft but hold together well.

A Pullman loaf is a white sandwich bread baked in a lidded pan, which keeps it from rising into a dome and gives it perfectly square slices. It has a soft, fine, even crumb and a thin, tender crust, often enriched with a little milk and butter. The name is usually linked to the kitchens of Pullman railroad cars, where compact, stackable loaves made sense.

This is the tidy slice behind classic American sandwiches, grilled cheese, and toast, and the same style is known in French as pain de mie. Its even shape and tight crumb also make it ideal for tea sandwiches, where you trim away the crusts.

Pumpernickel is a dark, dense rye bread with a deep, slightly sweet and earthy flavor. Traditional German pumpernickel, from the Westphalia region, is made from coarse rye meal and baked for many hours at low heat in a covered pan, which turns it nearly black with no added coloring.

The pumpernickel most Americans know is lighter and softer, made with rye flour and darkened with ingredients like molasses, cocoa, or coffee. Both are excellent with smoked fish, cream cheese, and sharp cheeses, and American pumpernickel is often swirled with rye for deli sandwiches.

Pumpkin bread is a moist, spiced quick bread made with pumpkin purée, oil or butter, eggs, and sugar, leavened with baking soda. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves give it a warm, fragrant flavor, and the pumpkin gives it a tender texture and a deep orange color.

It's an American fall and holiday favorite, baked in loaves or muffins and often shared as a gift. Chocolate chips, walnuts, and pecans are popular additions, and a slice is good plain, toasted with butter, or spread with cream cheese.

San Francisco sourdough is a crusty white loaf known for its pronounced tang. It's made with a sourdough starter, a live mix of flour and water that holds wild yeast and friendly bacteria, which slowly raise the bread and create its sour flavor. The crust is thick and crackly, and the inside is chewy with irregular holes.

Sourdough baking has been part of San Francisco's identity since the Gold Rush era, and one of the bacteria common in sourdough starters is even named after the city. It's famous served as a bread bowl for clam chowder, and it's excellent for toast, grilled cheese, and dipping in olive oil.

A soft pretzel is made from a yeast dough twisted into a knot, then dipped briefly in an alkaline bath (baking soda solution at home, or lye in many bakeries) before baking. That dip gives it a deep brown, shiny crust and its distinctive flavor, while the inside stays soft and chewy. Coarse salt goes on top.

Pretzels have deep roots in German-speaking baking traditions, and in the United States they're closely associated with Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Dutch country. They're sold at ballparks, street carts, and malls, and they're classic with mustard or cheese sauce.

Spoon bread is a soft, pudding-like cornmeal dish made with milk, butter, and eggs. It rises a little in the oven, a bit like a soufflé, with a lightly crusty top and a creamy, custardy inside that's soft enough to serve with a spoon, which is how it got its name.

It's a Southern tradition, especially in Virginia, and it's served as a side dish rather than a bread you slice. It goes well with ham, fried chicken, greens, and holiday dinners, and a little butter melting on top is all it needs.

Sprouted grain bread is made from whole grains, and sometimes legumes, that are soaked until they begin to sprout, then ground into a wet dough. Many versions contain little or no flour. The result is a dense, moist, hearty loaf with a nutty, slightly sweet flavor.

It's popular in the United States with people looking for a hearty whole grain bread, and it's often kept in the freezer section of grocery stores because it usually has no preservatives. It's best toasted, with nut butter, avocado, or eggs.

Texas toast is thick-cut white bread, sliced about twice as thick as usual, then buttered and toasted on a griddle or under a broiler. The outside gets crisp and golden while the inside stays soft. It's often seasoned with garlic, and sometimes topped with cheese.

True to its name, it's a Texas diner and barbecue favorite, served with chicken-fried steak, brisket, and fried chicken, and used for big sandwiches. Frozen garlic Texas toast is a common side dish in American homes.

A tortilla is a thin, round flatbread cooked quickly on a hot griddle. Corn tortillas are made from masa, a dough of corn that has been cooked and soaked in an alkaline solution and then ground, which gives them their distinctive flavor. Flour tortillas are made from wheat flour, fat, salt, and water, and they're softer and more pliable.

Corn tortillas have been a staple in Mexico and Central America for many centuries. Flour tortillas are especially common in northern Mexico and the American Southwest. In the United States, tortillas are among the best-selling breads, used for tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, and wraps.

Whole wheat bread is made with flour that includes the whole wheat kernel, bran and germ included, so it's more flavorful, nutty, and a little denser than white bread, with a darker color. Many sandwich loaves add honey or molasses to balance the slight bitterness of the bran.

It's one of the most common breads in American households. If you want the whole grain, check the label: bread marketed as "wheat bread" can be made mostly from white flour, while "100% whole wheat" means all the flour is whole grain. It's a great everyday choice for sandwiches and toast.

Zucchini bread is a moist, lightly spiced quick bread made with grated zucchini, oil, eggs, sugar, and cinnamon. The zucchini melts into the batter as it bakes, so it adds moisture and tiny green flecks rather than a strong vegetable flavor.

It's a late-summer favorite in American home kitchens, especially when a garden turns out more zucchini than anyone can eat. Walnuts, raisins, and chocolate chips are common additions, and a slice is good plain or toasted with butter.