One of the world’s most popular carbohydrates is bread. Enjoyed throughout any time of day, people have bread as snacks or even a whole meal. Bread can also be a stand-alone food item or combined with other foods. Synonymous with dessert, people utilize bread for savory foods as well. Bread is a versatile complex carbohydrate, a diet choice for many people.
You can find bread pretty much in every part of the world. Some breads are even native or iconic to a country. Bread is also a significant part of some cultures, such as Turkish culture, in which bread was the center of life since the Nomadic lifestyle. Bread is the oldest human-made food that has been part of human history for centuries. It’s also been part of human societies.
The close association and cultural tie between humans and bread make for the long-lasting existence of bread. People purchase every kind of bread every day and every month. While one’s favorite bread is likely to be different from the other’s, there are more beloved breads among people. Before grabbing the bread, know which of these breads suits your liking.
Know Your Bread
Babka
Babka has been popular in Poland and especially in Jewish communities since the early 19th century. Babka is a sweet, braided bread in appearance. The shape of the braid is either open or closed plait. The babka dough typically comes from croissant or extra challah dough, a bread of Jewish origin. To make a babka, the maker rolls up and spreads the dough with fillings, then bakes it as a loaf. Streusel, which is a crumbly topping, is a topping option for babkas.
While chocolate babka is the most common variety, other fillings are also as popular as chocolate. Babka fillings can be cheese, cinnamon, Nutella, raisins, and even fruits. Chocolate babka is most popular in the U.S. Babkas have a light and soft texture, even if the topping can be crumbly. The fillings are typically also smooth. Although most babkas are sweet, you can also find savory babkas. The varieties include pesto and savory cheese with tomato.
Bagel
Many have said the beloved story of the bagel started in Poland, specifically in the Jewish communities. The word bagel is from the Polish word bajgiel. Since the 17th century, bagels have become a staple in Polish cuisine. Bagel dough is a yeasted wheat roll. Bagels have a ring-sized hole in the middle. Before bagels go through baking, the typical approach is to boil the dough for a short time. While bagels’ crust can be crispy, the dough is typically dense when eaten.
Bagels have now also become people’s go-to food in the U.S. and Canada, brought by Polish Jewish immigrants, especially in New York. Hence, the New York bagel. Both savory and sweet bagels have a lot of varieties. Those include smoked salmon, avocado & poached egg, ham & cheddar, and salad choices, such as tuna, turkey, and egg toppings. The variations of sweet bagel toppings include traditional sesame, cinnamon raisin, blueberry, and plain bagels.
Bagutte
Baguette is a French specialty bread, one of which France is known for. It’s been popular in the country since the 18th century. Baguettes are long, thin bread shaped like a stick. Just like bagels, the dough of baguettes also contains wheat flour, yeast, salt, and water. The baguette’s length is usually the noticeable thing of it. It is typically about 55 to 65 cm but can be as long as one meter. A great baguette has a deep golden brown color.
While baguettes have a crispy crust, they are chewy and soft with little holes inside. Although baguettes are closely associated with French cuisine, people worldwide enjoy baguettes differently. Some ways the French enjoy baguettes are with fruit jam or dunked in their coffee. Others incorporate baguettes to be hot dogs, bruschetta, garlic bread, an accompaniment to a soup like bisque, croutons, or even just buttered baguettes.
Brioche
Brioche is another French baked good that has existed since the 17th century. Brioche goes through the same way of processing as bread but has more main ingredients. Not only does the dough contain flour and yeast, but it also has butter, cream, eggs, and milk. Brioche makers usually let the dough rise at room temperature first, pound it down, then let it rise again in the fridge. Egg wash also covers the brioche skin.
There are two most recognized brioche forms—a standard loaf form and two balls of dough form. The latter is the more distinguishable one, where a dough ball is placed on the bottom and topped with a smaller dough on top. People have brioche as a whole and a side dish, such as coulibiac, burgers, French toast, and many more at any time of day. While many enjoy plain brioche, sweet baked brioche with chocolate or fruit is also common.
Pretzel
Pretzel is one of the most well-known baked goods worldwide and is especially popular among Germans and Americans. Although there are narratives tying pretzels with European countries, pretzels or brezels have been around in Germany since the 12th century. The unique appearance of the pretzel is that the shape is like a knot. A step in making pretzels includes baking soda and warm water that would give the pretzel its own flavor.
There are two types of pretzels: soft and hard-baked. The difference is that the soft one has a shorter baking time, and the hard-baked one uses less water. Salted pretzel is the regular flavor sold in every store. Besides salt, sweet glazing, sugar, cheese, nuts, seeds, chocolate, and cinnamon are flavors typically associated with pretzels. Pretzels are great on their own, but ways to eat them in other foods are with various dippings and soups.
Sourdough Bread
Popular in San Francisco, sourdough bread has come a long way from Egypt. The main ingredients in sourdough bread are flour, salt, water, yeast, and sourdough culture. The sour taste in sourdough bread comes from the fermentation process that includes the lactic acid bacteria. Although the lactic acid gives the bread an acidic flavor, people can make it less sour by adding baking soda. The benefit of lactic acid is that it helps the bread last longer.
With its airy and light texture, sourdough bread is chewy and fluffy. Many consider sourdough bread as one of the healthiest compared to other breads. Just like a pretzel, the sourdough bread alone is excellent. But, to combine it with other ingredients to turn it into a whole meal is even better. Those sourdough meals can be toast bread with various toppings, stew, sandwiches, breakfast casseroles, dippings, and croutons.
White Bread
Another bread that has ties with Egypt is white bread. White bread does use wheat flour, only it is refined. The wheat flour loses its bran and germ through the grinding process, making the flour color lighter. While that process can give the bread a longer shelf life for people to store, white bread typically doesn’t contain as many nutrients as other bread. Nevertheless, the consumption of this bread is still preferred, especially for breakfast time.
White bread has a light texture and mild taste yet is a little high in carbohydrates. So, if you want more carbohydrate intake by eating bread, white bread can be an option. The most common consumption of white bread is for French toast with various toppings. In Indonesia, people often put sprinkles, peanut butter, and fruit jam as toppings. Other white bread variations include sandwiches, grilled cheese with tomato soup, garlic bread, croutons, and burgers.
Whole Wheat
Many deem whole wheat bread as the opposite of white bread. The significant difference between the two is in the flour. Whole wheat bread contains flour from wheat grains, unlike white bread, which has refined wheat flour. The wheat grains make whole wheat bread brown bread. Another highlight of wheat bread is it’s a healthier diet choice than white bread. A slice of whole wheat bread contains only 12 to 20 grams of carbohydrates.
With a hint of nutty taste, whole wheat bread tastes a little different than white bread. The texture of whole wheat bread is crumbly, thicker, and richer in flavor. Besides sandwiches, you can also enjoy whole wheat bread with a spread, such as peanut butter and sour cream, toasted whole wheat bread with fruit jam, and many more. Not only is Whole wheat bread richer in taste and contains healthy nutrients because of the wheat, such as B vitamins.
