Talk:Bread

[edit] Classification of breads

Breads are largely classified on the basis of whether they contain yeast. Leavened breads contain yeast and unleavened breads do not.

Leavened: comes from the french word "levain" which means "to raise". It is also the root of other familiar words like "elevate".

Unleavened: Unleavened breads do not contain yeast and are therefore flatter and less puffy than leavened breads.

Leavened breads tend to have a longer shelf life than unleavened ones.

Both leavened and unleavened breads are very often cooked in the same manner with completely different results.

Baked- these are the most common bread types and include brown, white, whole grain loaves as well as loaves with different grains and yeasts like Sourdoughs,pain au levain,Pagnotta.
Baked enriched- These breads are a pastry-cake-bread hybrid group. They are made of doughs enriched with butter, milk, eggs, sugar and very often fruit and chocolate. They include breakfast bakes like croissants, danish pastries and brioches.
Tandoor cooked-Naan and Kulcha
Fried- Bhatura, doughnuts.
Griddle cooked- the Ethiopian bread injeramade with teff flour
Non-yeast leavened breads- these are breads that are raised with agents like baking soda and baking powder like English tea scones, and American Corn and Soda bread.Other leavening such as egg-white is less long lasting, but it does provide aeration. Beignets a French pastry made with choux paste classifies as a semi-bread of this type.

Baked- most agrarian societies have one or other form of baked unleavened breads. These are usually wads of dough that are baked in the embers of a coal fire. "Batti" from rajasthan is a good example.Matzo, the traditional Jewish passover bread is also unleavened.
Tandoor cooked- Tandoori Roti from India and Lavash from the middle east.
Fried- Poori and luchi from India are unleavened deep fried breads.
Griddle cooked- Indian chappatis, parathas,