MARBLE BREAD or MARBLE RYE
A marble rye is a dense loaf that typically twists pumpernickel rye dough with traditional rye, creating a festive “swirl” loaf with double the flavor. It’s a popular delicatessen and party-sandwich bread, great for any sandwich that would be served on rye. Check out our recipes for grilled ham and cheese on marble rye and ham and swiss panini with fig jam on marble rye. See also rye bread.

MARRAQUETA
Marraqueta is a specialty of Chile, a large roll with a soft interior and a crunchy exterior. It’s the most widely consumed bread in Chile, mostly used for choripan (grilled sausage sandwich) and other sandwiches. It is shaped artistically, with a pinched “waist” and a criss-cross.

MATZOH, MATZO or MATZA

A cracker-like flatbread now consumed year-round, but also the ceremonial unleavened bread consumed by Jews during the Passover Seder. As told in the Bible (Exodus 12:39), during the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, there was no time to allow the bread to rise, so they baked unleavened bread to take on the journey. Unleavened bread is also used in the Christian celebration of the Eucharist, a narrative of the Last Supper when Jesus broke bread with His disciples during a Passover Seder.
 

MICHE
A large French pan loaf; generally a rectangular, country-style (rustic) sourdough bread.
The loaf is traditionally made in a large round; but today it is also be found in rectangles. A classic loaf is made with a natural leavening and a high percentage of whole wheat flour. The very large size, with a low crust to crumb ratio, also meant that the loaf would keep fresh longer—important in earlier times, when people made bread only about once per week in the communal village oven.

MONKEY BREAD
Also called pull-apart bread. Monkey bread is a specialty bread that is rolled into small balls, dipped into butter and baked in a tube pan (photo at right). When it is removed, the individual balls adhere together but are pulled apart individually. Monkey bread came onto the radar when Nancy Reagan served it in the White House. The origin of the name is obscure: some say that the breads resembles a monkey puzzle tree, others attribute the action of pulling apart the bread with one’s hands to monkeys’ eating behavior. See pull-apart bread.

M’SMEN
M’smen is a buttery, flaky Moroccan flatbread. It is traditionally eaten for breakfast with honey. It can also be prepared as a savory treat similar to pita, with caramelized onions and parsley or spiced ground lamb folded between the thin layers of dough.

 

MUFFIN
Muffins are often referred to as “small cake-like breads” and quick breads, but this needs to be rethought: As recipes have evolved, the sugar and butter content of many muffins put them into the cake category. Many of them can pass as small, un-iced cakes. English muffins are an American invention, made by an English immigrant in the style of English crumpets.
 

MULTIGRAIN BREAD
A multigrain loaf can be made in any size and shape. While it is made of two or more grains, multigrain is not the same as wholegrain or whole grain.

NAAN
Naan, which means “bread” in Persian, is a flatbread similar to the original, pocketless pita. It is usually leavened with yeast and baked in a tandoor (clay oven). This distinguishes it from roti, which is cooked on an iron griddle called a tava (almost all Indian breads are cooked on a grill or griddle). Bake your own naan (in a conventional oven) with this recipe. Read our review of Fabulous Flats Naan, shown in the photo at right.
 

NUT BREAD
See walnut bread.

OBI NON
A round flat bread, similar in shape to India’s naan but served with butter and/or honey.

OLIVE BREAD
A rustic country loaf or roll, studded with black kalamata olives or green castelvetrano olives (photo at right).

ONION BREAD
A variety of breads and rolls made with cooked onions.