VARIETIES OF INTERNATIONAL BREADS THAT ARE POPULAR IN
INDIA:
1. Sourdough Bread:
It refers to a leavened bread obtained using dough fermented by lactic acid bacteria
and yeast. Sourdough consists of a spontaneous fermentation process and can
undoubtedly be considered the primordial form of bread leavening. Its use developed
in ancient Egypt. Lactic acid bacteria are mainly responsible to produce lactic and/or
acetic acid, whereas yeasts are mainly responsible to produce CO2; both are
responsible for the production of aromatic precursors of bread. In the past century,
sourdough was replaced by baker's yeast for bread leavening, although consumer
demand for sourdough bread has increased in recent years. The use of sourdough in
bread making improves loaf volume and flavour, delays staling, and inhibits the
growth of spoilage fungi and bacteria. Sourdough fermentation has been associated
with the health-promoting properties of bread, such as a reduction of the postprandial
glycaemic response in human blood.
2. Pita Bread:
Pita, also Pitta, breads, also called Arabic bread, Balady, shamy, Syrian bread, and
pocket bread, are circular, leavened double-layered flat breads that originated in the
Middle East. It is prepared with flour, water, baker’s yeast, and salt. All the
ingredients are mixed into a fully developed dough with a temperature of 24.5–
25.5 °C and fermented for about 1 h. The dough is then rounded and intermediately
proofed for 15–20 min. Sheeting is done, and then final proofing is given for 30 min
at 30 °C and 95% RH. Then baking is done in a hot hearth oven at 370–500 °C. Top
and bottom crusts are formed instantaneously as the loaves are exposed to such a high
temperature. Subsequently heat penetrates the interior of the loaf and transforms the
interior moisture into steam within some 30–45 s. Steam expands the loaf into a
puffed-up form. Thus, the baking creates the voids in the interior upon cooling.
3. Baguette:
A baguette is a long, thin, crusty loaf of French bread. Tens of millions of baguettes
are made and eaten around the world every day, making the baguette one of the most
popular breads. It is one of the preeminent symbols of French cuisine and, as such, it
is a major point of cultural pride and culinary identity for the French and francophone
countries. Baguettes are made from a relatively lean dough and can be baked in large
quantities; they are thus affordable for all. Baguette craftsmanship in France was
named to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of
Humanity in 2022.
4. Bagel:
The word bagel comes from the Yiddish word, beygel. They have originated in
Poland where Polish bakers, to honour their victorious horse-riding king, made a
stirrup-shaped roll and boiled it before baking. This boiling helped keep the shape of
the roll during subsequent baking. Jewish immigrants who moved to the northeastern
United States brought bagels to America. Bagels have now become more readily
available in some other parts of the EU, Japan, and other parts of Southeast Asia. In
general, bagels have a very simple formulation. The formula is very similar to simple
bread or roll formulas: flour, salt, yeast, and water. What separates the bagel from the
rest of the rolls are the flour quality and the processing. Traditional bagels were made
with very high-protein, spring wheat flour. The flour for bagels is often still between
13% and 16% protein. Spring wheat grown in the northern plains of the United States,
Canada, part of Russia, and China produces most of the flour used in baking
traditional bagels made today. Many major manufacturers of bagels use less
expensive flour in the 12.4–13% protein range but still are forced to pay a premium
for the higher protein content. The high protein content of the flour and the mixing of
that flour to full development help give bagels their characteristic chewy texture
5. Focaccia:
Focaccia is a type of Italian bread made with yeast and a strong, high-gluten flour
(like bread flour) and baked in flat sheet pans. Unlike pizza dough, it's left to rise after
being rolled out before going in the oven. The use of olive oil (coating it thoroughly)
is key with this bread, and after it's risen, fingertips are pressed into the dough from
top to bottom, giving the bread its signature dimples and allowing that silky oil to
pool in the indentations. From there it might be topped with coarse salt and herbs,
vegetables, or even cheese before being baked in an extremely hot oven or hearth.
Focaccia's easy composition of flour, water, and salt (at the time an unleavened bread)
was cooked over whatever heat source available. The dough was flattened on stone
slabs and often cooked under hot ashes. In fact, the Latin name is panis focacius, or
hearth bread. In Italy, focaccia might be referred to as Classica or pizza Genovese,
and is considered an iconic food of Liguria, particularly associated with Genoa,
Liguria's capital.
6. Brioche:
Brioche is often mistaken for regular bread, but it is a hybrid between bread and a
pastry. Unlike standard white bread, which primarily contains flour, water, and yeast,
brioche is enriched with eggs, milk, and butter, giving it its light, airy texture and rich,
slightly sweet flavour. To be classified as brioche, a dough must contain between 30-
50% butter-to-flour weight. This high fat content is what gives brioche its signature
soft crumb, golden crust, and melt-in-the-mouth texture. It is fermented like bread but
has a richness closer to treats like croissants and pain au chocolat. Originally, brioche
was a luxury bread, enjoyed by the upper classes due to its high butter content, a
symbol of wealth at the time. During the reign of Louis XIV, the recipe evolved with
a richer ratio of butter to flour, solidifying brioche’s status as an indulgent bakery
staple.
7. Croissant:
A croissant is a laminated, yeast- leavened product that contains dough in fat layers to
create a flaky, crispy texture. Croissants belong to the pastry category of baked goods
along with brioche, Danish and puff- pastries. It usually contains normal levels of salt,
yeast and sugar. The texture and eating quality of croissants are created through
lamination (a folding process that creates alternative dough and layers) and expansion
(caused by the leavening action of yeast, fermentation, and physical separation of
dough and fat layers during the oven stage of baking as the water trapped between
them vaporizes to steam). It was invented as a special roll in Vienna to celebrate the
end of the Turkish troops from the Ottoman Empire in 1683. Marie- Antoinette
d’Autriche, originally from Vienna officially introduced and promoted the popularity
of croissant in France, starting in the late 1700s.
8. Ciabatta:
A ciabatta is an Italian yeast-leavened artisan and hearth-type bread made with a lean
formula. It is characterized by having a crisp crust and a large, irregular and open
crumb grain (cell structure). The flour’s high water absorption level is the basis for
ciabatta’s dough stickiness and weakness, giving it a tendency to flatten under its own
weight during floor time and baking. The origins of the ciabatta are traced to Lake
Como region and Trentino, Italy. It was first made by Arnaldo Cavallari, a miller and
baker. The theory goes that this rustic bread was the result of accidentally adding too
much water to a dough and then continuing the baking process anyway. The result
was a flat and long baked good with an open crumb cell structure, named ciabatta.1
The name is a derivation of the French word, chavate. In Italian it means a slipper or
worn-out shoe in reference to the loaf shape.
9. Tortilla:
They are a unique, chemically leavened product. They are prepared using dough with
a developed gluten network like that of yeast-leavened bread, but tortilla specific
volume is much lower than that of other chemically leavened products. A variety of
chemical leavening agents, acids, and bicarbonates are available to use in tortilla
formulas. These chemicals differ in reaction rate and neutralization value, resulting in
differences in timing of gas production in dough. The leavening reactions are also
affected by manufacturing parameters. Hence, the leavening system must be evaluated
in tortillas to determine which combination prepares tortillas with the desired
characteristics, i.e., pH, opacity, dimensions, and texture. Leavening significantly
impacts tortilla quality. Air bubbles are created and stabilized in the dough during
mixing. Fast-acting acids and sodium bicarbonate (SBC) contribute to the volume of
air in the dough before hot-pressing. Since tortillas prepared using faster-acting
leavening agents have less height, diameter, and opacity, the air bubbles in the dough
do not facilitate extensibility during hot-pressing, nor are they retained after baking.
Dough containing slower-acting acids (anhydrous sodium aluminium phosphate,
sodium aluminium sulphate, and sodium acid pyrophosphate-28) and SBC (grades 1
and 2) yield tortillas with more opacity, larger diameter, and thickness. The type and
amount of leavening acids and SBC affect the pH of the tortilla. However, a strong
organic acid like fumaric acid, when added in any form, eventually dominates the
tortilla crumb environment and lowers the ph. A pH of < 6.0 is necessary to increase
the activity of antifungal compounds to give tortillas longer shelf life.
10. Pretzel:
Pretzels are uniquely shaped baked snacks manufactured from a lean and stiff
fermented wheat flour dough. They are typically treated with a sodium hydroxide or
other alkali salts prior to baking and topped with coarse or Kosher salt. They are
available in a variety of Flavors and colours. Two main features set pretzels apart
from other baked goods which is its Alkali surface treatment and Leavening with both
yeast and chemical leaveners. Pretzels are one of the oldest and most popular baked
snack foods. They were developed about 800 years ago and are especially prevalent in
the European community and the United States. Among salty snacks, pretzels contain
fewer calories. Flour, starch, protein, yeast, shortening and very small amounts of
sugar make up the base formation. Interestingly, a pretzel dough requires both yeast
and chemical leavening agents. In addition, pretzels require a lye bath to obtain their
characteristic dark crust and distinctive flavour.