Artisan Bread

Page 9: Glossary Of Bread Types ~ T To Z

This is page 9 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.

Click on the letter of the alphabet in this bar to get to a section
of the glossary:

This glossary is protected by copyright and cannot be reproduced in whole or part.

TOAST
Toast typically refers to toasted bread sliced from a loaf. It is a popular breakfast bread, served with butter and jam. Many people also prefer their sandwich bread toasted; the firmer, toasted bread is a requirement for the stability of triple-decker sandwiches.

TORTILLA
A thin, unleavened flatbread, dating to prehistoric times. Originally made from finely ground maize (corn), it is made from wheat flour in regions of Mexico unsuitable for growing corn. Called “tlaxcalli” by the native Nahuatl-speaking peoples (including the Aztecs), the bread was named “tortilla” by the Spanish Conquistadors because it resembled Spanish round unleavened cakes.

VIENNA LOAF
An oblong loaf that is tapered at the ends.

WALNUT BREAD
Often made with whole-wheat flour, walnut bread (pain aux noix) is popularly served with a cheese course. Hazelnuts can be substituted.

Fusion food: barbecue chicken in a tortilla. Read our review of Tumaro’s Tortillas, and see how they can be used to make dessert tortillas.

WHITE BREAD
White bread is a modern invention made from refined, bleached wheat flour, designed to create a convenience product. Unfortunately, the bleaching, along with the removal of the bran and germ in the refining of white flour, remove most of the nutrients and fiber. In the U.S., white flour must be enriched with folic acid, iron, niacin, riboflavin and thiamin, to compensate for the loss of these nutrients during the milling process. Effective January 1997, the addition of folic acid replaces most of the major vitamins removed by bleaching (“enriched flour”), although valuable trace minerals are not replaced in this process. Nutritionists advise substituting whole-grain breads for white.

WHOLE WHEAT
Whole-wheat bread is made from whole-wheat flour. Unlike white flour, whole wheat has not been refined; the bran and germ of the wheat grain, which contain most of the nutrition and fiber, have been retained prior to milling. Bread made from whole-wheat flour is light brown in color. Until recent times, when the superior nutrition of this bread has been acknowledged, brown bread, which is cheaper to make than refined white bread, was considered aesthetically inferior, and relegated to the poorer classes that could not afford white bread.

Photo of whole wheat bread by Tommy Johansen | SXC.

WHOLEGRAIN or WHOLE GRAIN BREAD
A whole grain loaf can be made in any size and shape from one or more whole grains. Whole grains that are baked into bread include corn, flaxseed, hemp, oats, rye, spelt (farro) and whole wheat. For more information, including a full list of whole grains, read our article about whole grain cereals. Note that loaves described as “multigrain,” “7 grain,” etc. are not whole grain, unless they so specify. Otherwise, they most likely contain a variety of refined grains that are not whole grains.

WILD YEAST
Artisan bread makers use wild yeasts, and wild yeast is required to make authentic sourdough. There are many varieties of wild yeast, each with its own flavor characteristics; several different kinds can be found in a single starter. See yeast.

YEAST
Yeast is a natural leavening agent; the first leavened breads were made by setting out the dough to be attacked by wild yeast. The ancient Egyptians were already using wild yeast strains to raise their bread. Over millennia, yeast were cultivated. Today, the commercial yeast used for leavening bread is Saccharomyces cerevisiae (also used for brewing beer, whiskey and other alcoholic beverages). Yeast ferments carbohydrates in the flour (or the grain in the alcohol) producing carbon dioxide. Most commercial bakers leaven their dough with a commercially product (baker’s yeast), made from a pure culture to produce uniform results. Many artisan bakers produce their own yeast by keeping a starter culture, which can last for years. See wild yeast.

YEAST BREAD
A bread that is leavened by the fermentation of sugar by yeast.

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Breadstuffs

A Guide To The Many Types Of Bread

Page 9: Glossary Of Bread Types ~ T To Z