PAIN AU CHOCOLAT
Literally “chocolate bread,” pain au chocolat is an oblong breakfast pastry or snack roll made of the same light, flaky, yeast-leavened laminated pastry dough as a croissant. It is filled with pieces of dark chocolate; when served warm from the oven, the chocolate is in a soft state. It is often called a chocolate croissant in the U.S., but this is incorrect; croissant means crescent, and there are croissant-shaped breads that are dusted or rolled with chocolate.

PAIN DE MIE
The French term for a soft sandwich baked in a straight-sided (Pullman) pan. The result is light years away from commercial American sandwich bread or white bread. Pronounced PAN-duh-MEE-ay, the term refers to the fine, moist crumb of the bread, the result of milk and butter (pain means bread, mie means crumb). The airy, puffy, sugar-laden American sandwich loaves are unfortunate relatives.
 

PAN DE SAL or PANDESAL
Literally, salt bread, pan de sal is a Filipino breakfast roll staple. Made with flour, eggs, lard, yeast, sugar, and salt, it tends to be on the sweet side rather than a savory bread, fluffy on the inside and crusty on the outside. Pan de sal are often made with rich fillings like sticky coconut jam or over-easy eggs.

PANDORO The star-shaped pandora, “bread of gold” or “golden bread,” sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar, first appeared in late 19th-century Verona. There are two versions of its parenthood, which date back to the Renaissance. The first speaks of the custom of wealthy Venetian bakers to dust gold leaf onto cone-shaped cakes called pan de oro, bread of gold. Today’s powdered sugar is not as luxe, but more affordable and tastier. Others hold that the modern descends from a star-shaped cake called nadalin that the common folk of Verona enjoyed at Christmas.

Panettone is a medieval Italian Christmas yeast bread, filled with candied fruits and raisins. Panettone, a Milanese specialty, is tall, dome-shaped, and airy, in contrast to the other famous Christmas bread, panforte, which is short and dense (although there is a less common, flat version of panettone).

The name means “large loaf” in Italian. While the origins of a sweet leavened bread date back to Roman times, and a tall, leavened fruitcake can be seen in a 16th-century painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, the first known mention of panettone with Christmas is found in the 18th-century writings of Pietro Verri, who refers to it as “pane di tono.”

The dough is cured for several days (like sourdough), giving the cake its distinctive fluffiness. Raisins, candied orange peel, citron, and lemon zest, are added dry; some modern versions add chocolate (which was not available when the recipe originated); others are plain.

The classic Panettone accompaniment is a sweet hot beverage or a sweet wine such as spumante or moscato; but any dessert wine will do. Some Italians add a side of crema di mascarpone, a cream made from mascarpone cheese, eggs, and amaretto (or you can substitute zabaglione). The other popular Italian Christmas bread is panforte, below.

Lastly, a legend:

One Christmas Eve, Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan (Ludovico Maria Sforza, 1452, —1508) was hosting a grand dinner party. A young chef named Toni accidentally burned the dessert. Desperate, he mixed bread dough and butter with raisins and candied fruit and baked another dessert. “Pan del Toni,” which evolved to panettone, was hit.

PANFORTE

Panforte, which means “strong bread,” is a traditional Italian dessert, born in 12th century Siena. A dense mixture of almonds and candied fruit, sweetened with honey and flavored with spices, it was originally called panpepato con miele, peppered (spiced) bread with honey, and was traditionally a Christmas bread baked by nuns.

It became panforte and traveled to other parts of Italy, where variations evolved. In the 1400s in Venice, it was a custom to enjoy the classic panforte prepared in “the ancient Siena way” for important celebrations; in Genoa’s archives, it is mentioned as one of the best-known desserts of Italy.

Over the centuries many variations of the original recipe developed, as new ingredients became available. In the 1820s the Parenti bakery introduced a chocolate-laced variety; now the most popular varieties are Panforte Nero and Panforte Margherita.

Panforte Nero (black panforte), as its name implies, is dark: there is some chocolate, and it has an underlying bitter taste from bitter almonds, along with pine nuts, candied citron, lemon rind, flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper. It is preferred by connoisseurs.

Panforte Margherita is delicate, made of flour, sugar, honey, almonds, nutmeats, candied citron, candied orange peel and other candied fruit peel, cinnamon, allspice and coriander, and topped with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar.

The recipe was developed in 1879 by a baker named Enrico Righi and presented to Queen Margherita, who came to see the Palio (the running of the bulls, a major Siena event) with King Umberto every year. Both varieties use a crust of communion wafers.

Today’s recipes are lighter and sweeter than the medieval originals and are served year-round.

PANKO
Panko are coarsely ground Japanese breadcrumbs, more like flakes. They have a large surface area, so tend to stay crispy longer than regular bread crumbs (and they also absorb less grease). The result is lighter, crisper, and crunchier breading (think tempura coating).

PARATHA
A flatbread from the Punjab region of Northern India. Made with whole-wheat flour, it is pan-fried in ghee or cooking oil, and often stuffed with paneer (cheese) and/or vegetables such as boiled potatoes (aloo paratha), radishes, and cauliflower. It is also made in sweet versions such as chinni (sugar) paratha.
 

PARISIENNE
A long loaf, wider than a baguette. In France, it is called a flûte.

Chinni (sugar) paratha. Photo courtesy ShimaFood.com. Here’s the paratha recipe.

PEASANT BREAD or PANE RUSTICA
Generally a large, round rustic loaf with a thick crust and a hearty, flavorful crumb. Rural peasants often made this type of simple, satisfying bread with whole grains. The breads were baked in open fireplaces or large brick community ovens since peasants did not have sophisticated kitchens. Most are baked in modern, conventional ovens.

PIADINA ALLA ROMAGNOLA
Roman flatbread. Circular and flat like a tortilla, it is used to sandwich foods (grilled sausages and onions, for example), as a snack spread with cheese, and with spreads, among other uses.

PITA
Pita takes the form of both a thick flatbread and a pocket bread consisting of a double layer of flatbread. Pita is a traditional bread in many Middle Eastern cuisines and Mediterranean cuisines from Africa to Greece. Pocket pitas hold other ingredients (falafel, shwarama); traditional pita is used for dips (hummus, tzatziki) and to wrap souvlaki and gyros.

POPOVER
A quickbread, the popover is an Americanization of Yorkshire Pudding. A popover is an egg batter cooked in custard cups or muffin tins to produce a very light, hollow roll—essentially, an eggy crust. The name comes from the fact that the batter swells or “pops” over the top of the cup while baking. Popovers need to be eaten hot, or they become rubbery. Here’s more about popovers and the history of popovers.

POTATO BREAD
In potato bread, potato replaces a major portion of the wheat flour. It developed in Ireland as a way to use mashed potato leftovers.

 

PRETZEL
A soft pretzel is actually a type of yeast bread, rolled into a long rope and knotted.


PRETZEL CROISSANT
See Bavarian croissant.