What Bread Looks Like in Different Countries

It’s really hard to imagine a simple lunch or a dinner party without bread. And in order to learn more about the different types of this popular food, read our article.

5-Minute Crafts offers you a chance to learn more about the types of bread from different countries.

Brioche, France

This French type of bread with a golden crust is rich in eggs and butter which makes it taste unique. It can also be made with a sweet filling, so it’s also a dessert.

Anadama bread, New England, USA

This is traditional rye flour bread from Rockport, Massachusetts. It may also be made from other types of flour with molasses. It may have come to the US through a Finnish community of local stonecutters.

Tortilla, North America

This thin, flat piece of bread was made of corn flour back in 500 BCE in Mesoamerica, an area in North America.

Bagel, Poland

The bagel was first mentioned in the early 16th century in Jewish community ordinances in Kraków, Poland. However, bagel-like bread known as obwarzanek was common earlier in Poland as seen in royal family accounts from 1394. But the earliest mention of ring-shaped bread can be found in a 13th-century Arabic cookbook, where they are referred to as ka’ak.

Baguette, France

The famous French bread made from lean dough with a crispy crust and a famous shape was submitted for UNESCO heritage status. There is no single proven theory of who made the first baguette but it became really popular in the 18th century and it still sold all around the world.

Focaccia, Italy

This flat fresh Italian bread is also called “pizza bianca” because its texture is reminiscent of pizza. The word originates from the Latin word meaning “a place for baking” because in Ancient Rome, it was on the hearth.

Tiger bread, the Netherlands

Tiger bread has a crust you won’t forget. It’s there thanks to the rice paste that gives the bread the appearance of a tiger. The name itself appeared in the Netherlands in the 1970s.

Shoti, Georgia

This is Georgian bread that is also called shoti puri. It’s made in the shape of a boat from white flour. When cooking, the dough is stuck to the inside surfaces of a traditional round oven.

Ciabatta, Italy

The ciabatta was first made by Arnaldo Cavallari, who called the bread ciabatta polesana after Polesine, the area he lived in. This bread appeared because bakers in Italy were concerned by the popularity of sandwiches made from baguettes imported from France. They were being used to make sandwiches and that endangered the businesses of people living in Italy.

Challah, Eastern Europe

Challah is a special bread that has an Eastern European origin in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. It is usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions. There are many variations of this bread according to the traditions of certain nationalities and cultures.

Pita, Middle East, Greece

This is a round piece of bread made from wheat flour. It has an air pocket inside which makes it different from other types of bread. There is evidence from about 14,500 years ago, during the Stone Age, that the Natufian people in what is now Jordan made a similar kind of flatbread from wild cereal grains.

Pretzel, Germany, Italy (South Tyrol), France (Alsace)

Today, you can see pretzels of all different sorts but they were originally made in a bow shape. There’s no exact information on how it appeared. According to one of the stories, pretzels were made by Italian monks in 610 as a reward for kids that learned their prayers. The pretzel has since been in use as an emblem of bakers in Germany.

Borodinsky bread, Russia

Borodinsky bread is made from rye flour with molasses, coriander, and caraway seeds.