Though different types of bread
require different ingredients and ratios,
flour or meal and water are always the main ingredients.
With over 20 types of bread on our list,
from flatbread to cornbread,
let's take a look at bread from places all around the world.
For those with a gluten intolerance,
injera is a great option
because, traditionally, it uses teff flour.
The spongy flatbread is multipurpose,
used as a utensil, a plate,
and a nutritious accompaniment to your food.
Paired with doro wat,
injera is the national dish of Ethiopia.
Though the ingredients for a baguette are simple,
what truly makes a baguette special
are the hands that prepare it and the time it takes.
Once the dough is rolled and scored
with a sharp blade or knife, it's baked.
The important part of a baguette
is the crunchy exterior, but fluffy interior.
Though pan Cubano shares many similarities to French bread
or Italian bread, a key difference,
and what makes pan Cubano pan Cubano, is lard.
Lard gives pan Cubano its smoothness,
taking the Cubano sandwich to the next level.
Each region of Georgia has different shapes of khachapuri
and uses different types of cheese.
The one featured here is called adjaruli khachapuri.
It's a boat-shaped bread with melted cheese,
traditionally feta, in the center,
and topped with a raw egg.
Widely popular in many Middle Eastern countries,
lavash is a thin flatbread
baked in a clay oven, or tonir.
In 2014, it was added
to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage
as an expression of Armenian culture.
Cream-cheese-filled garlic bread
is a popular street food in South Korea.
Soft buns are cut open and filled with cream cheese,
then dipped into a melted butter-garlic mixture
that includes basil, parsley, and Parmesan cheese.
There are many popular bagel origin stories.
However, according to Maria Balinska, author of
"The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread,"
bagels were brought to Poland from Germany
and were originally called obwarzanek.
They were popularized by Queen Jadwiga of Poland
and later brought to countries like the US,
where they were praised as one of the best ways
to enjoy breakfast.
Simit has many similarities to a bagel.
However, instead of being boiled in water,
simit is dipped in sweetened water
and coated in sesame seeds before it's baked.
The result is an encrusted circular bread snack,
quintessential of Turkish culture and cuisine.
Not to be confused with English muffins,
crumpets are softer,
closer to the texture of a pancake rather than bread.
This is because the flour-to-liquid ratio
is skewed more towards liquid, creating a looser batter.
Once placed on a griddle,
the batter forms a smooth, crunchy bottom
and a spongy top.
Perfect for butter.
Pandebono is Colombian cheese bread.
Because it's made with tapioca or yucca flour and cornmeal,
it's gluten-free.
Mixed with milk, queso fresco, and eggs,
pandebono can be ball- or doughnut-shaped,
and it's best served warm.
Pão de queijo is delicious cheese bread
that will melt in your mouth.
Ingredients include tapioca flour, milk, eggs,
and queijo de Minas,
sometimes substituted with Parmesan cheese.
The Brazilian snack is soft and airy,
so you're likely to have more than just one.
Parotta is layered flatbread made from maida flour,
which is similar to cake flour in the US.
One of the most popular types of parotta in South India
is coin parotta.
The dough is stretched out as thin as possible
to create multiple layers,
gathered together, and then fried.
Essential ingredients in soda bread are flour,
buttermilk, baking soda and powder, and salt.
Recent twists add sugar and raisins.
The dense bread was actually first created
by Native Americans and later adopted by the Irish
in a time of serious financial hardship
throughout the country.
Soda bread went on to become a culinary staple in Ireland.
Though the recipe for challah is simple,
it's the braiding techniques
that truly separate it from other types of bread.
Challah is important in Jewish traditions.
It's typically eaten on Shabbat, or Sabbath,
Judaism's day of rest,
and other ceremonial occasions and Jewish holidays,
excluding Passover.
Conchas are one of the most popular
traditional sweet breads in Mexican cuisine.
The surface of conchas resembles a seashell,
making it not only easy to recognize,
but extremely popular in the age of social media.
Kare pan, or curry bread, is deep-fried dough
filled with Japanese curry.
The dough does include yeast,
so it's meant to rise before deep-frying.
Kare pan normally incorporates curried ground beef
and onions in the middle.
It's the perfect comfort food.
Naan is delicious, from the texture to the flavors.
A key ingredient to the unique texture is yogurt.
Naan is made in a clay oven called a tandoor.
The dough adheres to the sides,
where it's cooked rapidly at high temperatures.
Tiger bread gets its name from its resemblance to a tiger.
After the dough is made,
a rice flour mixture is used to coat
the topping of the bread before it goes into the oven.
The reason rice flour is used for the top
is because it does not contain gluten.
So instead of expanding with the bread, it'll crack apart,
creating the unique design the bread is known for.
Proja is cornbread.
The dense, cake-like bread
is very popular in the Balkan region
and shares many similarities with American cornbread,
popular in Native American and African American homes.
Proja can be garnished or filled with feta,
goat, or cottage cheese.
Standing at a whopping two or sometimes three feet,
sangak is a mild sourdough flatbread
made with sesame seeds.
This national bread got its name
from the stones and pebbles the bread is baked on.
Those stones also give it its unique shape.
Limpa, a Swedish word meaning loaf,
has slightly changed with each generation.
A popular recipe for Swedish limpa bread
incorporates fennel or anise seeds,
a sweetener, and orange zest.
However, a traditional recipe uses brewer's wort.
Croissants may be considered French,
but they're actually an adaptation of Austria's kipferl.
The first verified evidence of a croissant in France
was at the shop of a Viennese baker, August Zang.
He brought kipferl to France
and made it with flakier dough.
People began referring to them as croissants
because of their crescent shape.
And French bakers went on to imitate
and popularize the bread pastry.
Malawach is a traditional flatbread
with flaky layers on the inside
popular in Yemeni Jewish cuisine.
It can be served with many different toppings
and can be eaten throughout the day,
though, traditionally, it's served for breakfast,
topped with chopped hard-boiled eggs and tomatoes
and a spicy condiment called zhug.
Focaccia has to be one of the most beloved breads in Italy.
The flatbread's key ingredients are flour,
water, yeast, and olive oil.
It's enjoyed any time of the day
as a savory or sweet snack.
The taste and thickness of focaccia varies throughout Italy.
Most people add butter to their bread
after it's done baking,
but butter flap incorporates the butter
before the bread goes into the oven.
Each layer gets a spread of softened butter.
Melted butter is also brushed on top,
giving the bread a delicious buttery taste.
Coco bread, similar to butter flap,
is buttery but also sweet.
Coco bread incorporates coconut milk,
giving it its own unique flavor.
The folded shape, soft texture, and a hint of sweetness
is perfect by itself or with beef patties.
Bao requires steam instead of heat from an oven.
The soft bun comes in many variations and shapes,
usually stuffed with meat or vegetables.
Lotus leaf buns or bao buns are a twist on traditional bao,
which resembles a large dumpling.
Korovai is a bread deeply rooted in tradition
and holds great symbolic significance
in Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian,
Polish, and Romanian cultures.
It's often served at weddings to bless the future union.
The higher it rises and the more decorations it has,
the better the marriage.
Sourdough bread is the oldest form of risen bread,
dating back to ancient Egypt.
It became popular in San Francisco
during the California gold rush.
So miners would carry starters around with them
so they could make bread wherever they were.
Starter is actually what gives sourdough its unique flavor.
The older your starter,
the more tangy your bread will taste.
Bread has been around for centuries
and will continue to threaten no-carb diets.
But when you enjoy freshly sliced bread,
you're also enjoying centuries of traditions and cultures.