The 10 Worst Types Of Bread No One Likes & The 10 Best
Not All Bread Is Created Equal
Bread is great in general; however, while some are fit for the Gods, others aren't so popular. With each culture having its own variant, there are countless different types of bread to choose from. Whether it's flat, oblong, or made of wheat, rye, or teff, here are some of the worst and best types of bread out there.
1. Wonder Bread
An ingredients list as long as an encyclopedia is going to make a loaf of bread that can survive the apocalypse, but not necessarily something you want to put in your body. It's truly a wonder why anyone still buys this highly processed product.
2. Grocery Store Pita
There's great pita and then there's really bad pita. When we talk about grocery store pita we're referring to that stale, flat, tasteless round thing that can only reasonably be used as a vessel for hummus and other dips.
3. Soda Bread
After tasting soda bread, it becomes apparent why Ireland is not a bread nation. The recipe was developed as a quicker way of making bread, using baking soda instead of yeast. However, real bread takes time and the fermentation is where the flavor comes from, so what you have here is a tasteless, dense excuse for bread.
4. Sara Lee Texas Toast
The whole schtick behind Sara Lee Texas Toast is the thickness of the bread, so it's bad, highly-processed bread, only thicker. If only people knew that you could buy good bread and slice it however thick you desire.
5. Pumpernickel
Pumpernickel bread is well-loved in Germany. However, in the rest of the world, it's one of the most divisive types of bread. People find the density and doughiness to be unappealing.
6. San Francisco Sourdough
There's sourdough bread and then there's San Francisco sourdough. The USA likes to exaggerate things (just look at our cinema) so it's not surprising that they jacked up the natural tartness of sourdough to extreme levels until it's pretty unpalatable to most.
7. Caraway Rye
Rye is already a divisive type of bread. Adding the very distinct and abrasive flavor of caraway made it ten times more unappealing to people.
8. Injera
This Ethiopian pancake-like flatbread is made of fermented teff flour. It’s very sour, spongey in texture, and bizarre for people who didn’t grow up eating it.
9. Matzah
Matzah is a traditional unleavened Jewish bread that is eaten on Passover, a holiday that restricts eating leavened foods. It has the texture and taste of cardboard.
10. Crumpet
A crumpet is an English style of bun, usually smothered in butter and jam and served with tea. Although it makes a decent vessel for jams, it’s horrendously spongey in texture and offers very little by way of flavor.
Now that we’ve covered some of the worst types of breads that shouldn’t even exist, let’s go over some of our favorites.
1. Baguette
One of the greatest joys in life is ripping into a baguette, hot out of the oven. It’s no wonder that in France, bakeries have multiple bakes throughout the day so that patrons can get their hands on fresh baguettes not just at the bakeries’ opening time.
2. Ciabatta
It was only in the 1980s that Italy graced the world with this airy, crusty masterpiece of a bread. Its high hydration makes it full of air bubbles and a custardy, soft crumb while its high baking temperature gives it a firm crust.
3. Brioche
Brioche is over 50 percent butter so you know it’s good. Soft, chewy, and slightly sweet, brioche will forever be one of our favorites.
4. Pain Au Lait
The French know what they’re doing when it comes to bread. Similar to brioche but with the addition of milk, pain au lait dough is used for hamburger buns, French toast, or dinner rolls.
5. Soudough
Sourdough is the king of all breads in our opinion. Naturally leavened thanks to a fermented mixture called the mother dough or starter, this type of bread has a long fermentation time which helps it develop a lot of flavor.
6. Naan
The only thing divisive about this Indian flatbread is whether to have it with garlic or not. Chowing down on a fresh, hot naan dipped in curry sauce is our favorite thing about Indian cuisine.
7. Challah
This traditional braided Jewish bread is made tender with the addition of eggs. Honey adds a slight sweetness and the braided presentation makes it a perfect centerpiece for any dinner table.
8. Focaccia
Focaccia is one of the simplest and most approachable types of bread for novice bakers, but that doesn’t make it any less delicious. A good focaccia has large air bubbles and is brushed with olive oil which makes it soft and tasty.
9. Hawaiian Rolls
Hawaiian rolls are similar to brioche or pain au lait but sweeter. Their sweetness comes from pineapple juice and brown sugar, giving them a distinct island flair.
hawaiianfoodrecipe on Wikimedia
10. English Muffin
If you've never had freshly made English muffins from a proper bakery or brunch restaurant, you're missing out. Milk and eggs make the dough soft. They then get cut into circles, doused in semolina, and cooked on a skillet until beautifully olden-brown.
