Classic Italian grissini (the singular form of the word is grissino). Photo by Martin Brink | IST.

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August 2008
Updated September 2009

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Breadstuffs

A Guide To The Many Types Of Bread

Page 5: Glossary Of Bread Types ~ G To L

This is page 5 of a 9-page glossary of the many different types of bread. Click on the links below to visit other pages. You can also return to the overview and the history of bread or select from more than fifty food glossaries.

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GRISSINI
A particular type of Italian breadstick that is very slender and about 12 inches in length. (Photo above.)

HOECAKE
See cornbread.

HOT CROSS BUN A sweet yeast bun made with raisins or currants. The top is decorated with a cross made of icing (or more simply, by knife cuts in the dough). The cross symbolizes the crucifixion, and the buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday; although they are believed to predate Christianity, eaten by Saxons in to honor the goddess Eostre (the cross is believed to have symbolized the four quarters of the moon; Eostre is probably the origin of “Easter”). The first recorded use of the term “hot cross bun” appears in 1733.

A hot cross bun—delicious even at room temperature. Photo by John Evans | SXC.

INDIAN BREAD
India is a large country with many regions; each has its preferred breads (all flatbreads), and different grains and blends are used in different regions. The styles vary from moist to dry, and leavened to unleavened Some are discussed further here: see chapati, dosa, naan and paratha.

INJERA
A flatbread staple of Ethiopia, Eritrea, northern Kenya, Somalia and the Sudan, injera is a fermented sour bread. It is baked in large, round pancake-like pieces and used instead of both plates and utensils. Stews and salads are placed upon the bread; pieces are torn up for eating.

ITALIAN BREAD
Italian bread is a generic term. In general, Italian bread is similar to French bread (also a generic term), but the loaves are shorter and plumper, while French loaves are longer and narrower.

IRISH SODA BREAD A variety of white and brown soda breads are popular in Ireland, often containing raisins. See soda bread. JEWISH RYE BREAD Jewish rye is a light rye bread, a mix of wheat and rye flours. Often, caraway seeds are included for extra flavor. JOHNNYCAKE or JONNYCAKE See cornbread. KHACHAPURI A Russian variation of an Italian calzone. An oblong, individual portion of bread is filled with cheese and baked until the dough is cooked and the cheese inside is melted.

Sliced rye bread.

KIPFEL
A kipfel is a crescent- or horn-shaped roll that is the progenitor of the croissant; Kipf is the German word for horn-shaped. There is also a crescent-shaped Jewish yeast pastry by the same name, filled with chopped nuts or fruit preserves, also called kipferln or rugalach.

LAMINATION or LAMINATED DOUGH or LAMINATED PASTRY
Laminated dough is used to make Viennoiserie—brioche, croissants, danish and other buttery, flaky breakfast pastry. It is a time-consuming and expensive dough to make, owing to the large quantity of butter used. First, a yeast dough is made, called the détrempe (from the French verb, “to soak,” as the dry ingredients soak in liquid): milk, dry yeast, brown sugar, bread flour, and sea salt kosher salt are kneaded together. Some recipes use starter dough from a prior batch. The dough is chilled, then rolled out into a rectangle. A smaller rectangle of rolled out and chilled butter, called the beurrage (from the French word for butter, beurre), is placed on top of it. Then the construction of the pâton, or dough roll, begins. The rectangle is folded into thirds, as if folding a letter (in fact, this first fold is known as a “single letter fold”). The pâton is then refrigerated for an hour, rolled and folded again. The rolling and folding continues, usually for four turns.

LAVASH or LAHVASH or LAHVOSH
Lavash is an Armenian flatbread made with wheat flour, water and salt. In the U.S., it is topped with toasted sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic and other seasonings. When fresh, lavash is soft and thin like a tortilla, and is used as a sandwich wrap for kebabs and other foods. It hardens into a crunchy cracker consistency, which is how it is most often found in the U.S.
Fresh lavash like this can be found at
NemoonehBakery.com.

LEAVENING and LEAVENING AGENT
Leavening is the process of adding gas to a dough to produce a lighter, airier, more easily chewed bread. Most breads consumed in Europe and America are leavened; Middle Eastern and African breads tend to be unleavened flatbreads. There are two types of leavening agents: chemical agents and yeast. Chemical agents are used to produce quick breads and soda breads. Baking powder and baking soda are the chemical agent choices; baking soda requires an acidic ingredient such as buttermilk to create the chemical reaction that produces gas. Yeast is a natural leavening agent.

LOAF
A bread or cake baked in a round or oblong pan with a rounded top. In the 12th century, “loaf” became the generic term for bread: the Teutonic word hlaf became our modern English word, loaf.
Photo by Vangelis Thomaidis | SXC.

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