Bread is one of the most commonly enjoyed types of food around the world, with many cuisines having different yet equally delicious representative loaves of bread and pastries.
When it comes to bread and pastries, it is always fascinating to learn where the staple recipes come from and the histories behind them.
So, keep reading to learn more about the top 15 breads and pastries enjoyed all around the world and their places of origin!
Jump to:
- Australia: Damper
- Brazil: Cheese Bread
- China: Mantou
- France: Baguette
- Germany: Pretzel
- Hong Kong: Pineapple Bun
- India: Naan Bread
- Italy: Focaccia
- Japan: Taiyaki
- Portugal: Corn Bread
- South Korea: Hotteok
- Sweden: Cinnamon Scrolls
- Turkey: Turkish Pide
- United Kingdom: Hot Cross Buns
- United States: Banana Bread
- Top Breads & Pastries From Around The World
Australia: Damper
A damper is a loaf of traditional Australian soda bread. It was made by early settlers and travellers who first settled in the country.
Most commonly eaten during the 1850s Australian Gold Rush, the damper was made popular due to its simple recipe and faintly sweet taste.
However, it incorporates baking techniques from Indigenous Australians and is made using wheat flour and water.
Brazil: Cheese Bread
Brazilian cheese bread is famous for its uniquely chewy texture and rich taste.
Besides being delicious, Brazilian cheese bread is also known to be nutritionally balanced and a relatively healthy bread to enjoy, containing adequate amounts of vitamins, proteins and carbohydrates.
Some Brazilian cheese bread may also be gluten-free due to being made from starch from tapioca flour.
China: Mantou
Mantou is a traditional Chinese steamed bun and is especially popular in the Northern parts of the country.
It is made from wheat flour, water and leavening agents and is rather small in size, making for the perfect Chinese snack.
The steamed buns are usually served warm and plain (due to it being slightly sweet in flavour) but can be deep-fried and served with condensed milk for dessert as well.
France: Baguette
French baguettes (also known as long french sticks) are thoroughly enjoyed worldwide due to their crispy crust and soft, airy insides.
Moreover, they are distinguishable by their length and can be made up to one metre long. French baguettes can be sliced and toasted or used as sandwich bread.
Germany: Pretzel
Pretzels are a type of German baked pastry made from dough that is normally shaped into a knot.
Particularly, they are known for their chewy, doughy texture, and are usually topped with sesame seeds or sugar dusting.
Pretzels are usually eaten as a snack - especially at carnivals and theme parks - but can also be enjoyed as a filling breakfast.
Hong Kong: Pineapple Bun
Hong Kong’s pineapple buns are known around the world for their deliciously sweet and crisp outer layer, encasing a sweet and soft bun.
Moreover, what makes these pineapple buns even tastier is that they are traditionally enjoyed with a cup of Hong Kong-style milk tea. Hence, they are served at most, if not all cafes in Hong Kong.
India: Naan Bread
Naan bread is a type of flatbread originating from Western Asian and Southwest Asian cuisines, including India.
It is leavened and oven-baked and is made mainly from yoghurt, milk, wheat flour and yeast. In addition, naan bread is usually savoury and served with sauces, cheese or garlic. They are also often served as part of a meal.
Italy: Focaccia
Focaccia is a famous type of bread from Italy. It is oven-baked and flat, and similar in texture to a pizza base.
Furthermore, focaccia is most commonly seasoned with herbs and can be served as a side dish or used as sandwich bread.
Japan: Taiyaki
Taiyaki is a popular Japanese sweet bread around the world, known for its unique fish shape.
Because of its small size, it is commonly sold as street food in Japan. Furthermore, it can be made with many different fillings - including sweet adzuki paste, custard and sweet potato.
Taiyaki is made using regular pancake or waffle batter and from moulded pans.
Portugal: Corn Bread
Portugal is home to many delicious types of bread, one of them being cornbread (Broa).
Unlike American cornbread which is leavened with baking powder, Portuguese cornbread is leavened with yeast and is made from a mixture of rye, cornmeal and wheat flour.
On top of that, Portuguese cornbread is famous for its rustic flavour and texture and is most commonly served with soups.
South Korea: Hotteok
Similar to taiyaki, South Korea’s hotteok is a type of pastry that is usually filled with sweet fillings such as red bean, honey, brown sugar or cinnamon paste.
However, unlike taiyaki, hotteok is made from dough. After filling small pieces of the dough, the dough is placed onto a greased griddle and pressed flat into a large circle to cook until ready to serve.
Hotteok is known as Korea’s sweet pancakes and is a popular street food item in the country.
Sweden: Cinnamon Scrolls
Now enjoyed as different variations and in many places around the world, cinnamon scrolls first originated from Sweden.
Cinnamon scrolls are a type of bread made from rolled sheets of yeast-leavened dough, traditionally topped with a cinnamon and sugar mixture.
They are known for their balanced sweet and spicy flavour.
Turkey: Turkish Pide
Turkish pide is a type of savoury flatbread similar to a pizza. It is baked into a boat shape and stuffed with fillings such as herbs, cheese, vegetables as well as meat (most popularly lamb).
Turkish pide is also commonly served in restaurants as a flatbread. Sweet variations of Turkish pide (usually topped with sesame seeds) are served only during Ramadan.
United Kingdom: Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns are a traditional type of bread from the United Kingdom, surrounded by many superstitions and practices.
Similar to regular buns, but marked with a cross on top and usually filled with sultanas, hot cross buns are a traditional snack served in the United Kingdom as well as other Commonwealth countries.
Invented in the 1300s, hot cross buns were traditionally baked and served on Good Friday during Easter for health reasons and to protect against fires. It is one of the many British snacks that one ought to try while they are in the UK.
United States: Banana Bread
The United States is home to one of the world’s most beloved cake and bread fusions - the banana bread.
Made from mashed bananas and often textured like bread, banana bread first originated from American cookbooks in the 1930s.
Since then, they have become a staple cafe food enjoyed all around the world.
Top Breads & Pastries From Around The World
Our world is home to thousands of different types of bread and pastries, all unique and delicious in their own way. From famous French baguettes to hotteok, there are many loaves of bread to enjoy from all around the world.
Here is a summarised list of the best bread and pastries we recommend you try:
- Damper (Australia)
- Cheese Bread (Brazil)
- Mantou (China)
- Baguette (France)
- Pretzel (Germany)
- Pineapple Bun (Hong Kong)
- Naan Bread (India)
- Focaccia (Italy)
- Taiyaki (Japan)
- Cornbread (Portugal)
- Hotteok (South Korea)
- Cinnamon Scrolls (Sweden)
- Turkish Pide (Turkey)
- Hot Cross Buns (United Kingdom)
- Banana Bread (United States)
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