It’s hard to remain enemies when you’ve broken bread together. In many western countries, bread is a staple part of any meal. But what kind of bread are we eating?
In this podcast, you’ll learn about the many different types of bread and some idioms with the word bread.

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Venezuela – AIRC349

Bread /bred/ (uncountable noun)

White bread – pan blanco
Brown/Wholemeal/Wholewheat bread – pan integral
wheat bread – pan de trigo
Whole wheat/whole grain – trigo integral
A loaf of bread – hogaza, barra de pan
A slice of bread – rebanada de pan
Toast (uncountable) – a piece/slice of toast – una tostada
Crumbs – migas/migajas
Croissant NB. Only one spelling in English – at least four variations in Spanish!
rye bread – pan de centeno (can be light, medium or dark depending on which part of the rye berry you use to make the flour)
pumpernickel – a type of rye bread from Germany.
crusty – crujiente
multigrain bread – de multicereales – flax (lino), oats (avena), barley (cebada) and other grains
Soda bread – Irish bread made from wheat flour, buttermilk (suero de mantequilla), baking soda and salt.
Potato bread/farl – “Tatty bread” – a mainstay of traditional Irish baking, also popular in Scotland and England. (“Farl” was originally an Irish/Gaelic word related to “fardel” = a fourth)
Dough – masa
doughnut / donut
Sourdough bread (de masa madre)
hamburger/hotdog bun or bap
(bread) roll (panecillo)
French bread (usually baguette or baton)
brioche – sweet yeast bread with eggs and butter (yeast – levadura)
ciabatta – Italian bread (it means ‘slipper’)
Focaccia – flat yeast bread similar to pizza dough. Topped with olive oil, rosemary (romero) and salt
Cornbread – pan de maiz – corn, wheat flour, eggs and milk (or buttermilk), Southern USA
Pretzel
Bagel
Matzo – unleavened (without yeast) flatbread
Flatbread – bread thoroughly rolled flat
pita bread (a flatbread like tortilla and naan)
Breadsticks – crusty or crunchy sticks
(Special note of admiration for our Valencian listeners. Traditional Valencian “rosquilletas” can be spectacularly good – an unsung hero of Spanish cuisine.
English muffin – a round, savoury type of bread, usually sliced in the middle, toasted and buttered. Not to be confused with American muffins, which are sweet.
Crumpet – traditional English thick, flat, round, porous, yeasty, savoury cake. Usually eaten toasted with butter added to melt through the pores. (One of Reza’s all-time favourite types of bread and, yes, and unsung hero of English cuisine! Quite unique and well worth trying.)

Bread Idioms
To break bread with someone
The best/greatest thing since sliced bread
Upper crust – high class/nobility/posh people etc.
Have you got any bread? (money)
“Oh crumbs!”
above/below the breadline
bread and butter (basics, bare minimum)
He knows what side his bread’s buttered
Brown bread = dead. (‘Tatty bread’ in Northern Ireland!)
A half-baked idea
Man can/does not live by bread alone.

…and now it’s your turn to practise your English.
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Thank you Enrique Gonzalvo for increasing your Patreon amount.
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We also want to say thank you to our Gold sponsor this month, GABITEL INGENIEROS. They are currently working on an important project in the UK for laying down, that means installing, fibre optic cable.
If you’d like to join their team and work in the UK they are accepting job applications right now. To apply, you must have PRE-SETTLED or SETTLED STATUS in the UK. – Brexit – AIRC342.
If you have that status and you want to work for a growing, expanding company, send your CV / resume to [email protected].
Gabitel is also expanding in Germany, so if you have a good level of German, and you’re interested, send your CV to the same address, [email protected]
Reza and I would like to thank Rodrigo, Genoveva and all the good people over at www.gabitelingenieros.com for being a gold sponsor of the show.

On next week’s episode: A Trip Around Spain

The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’

Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash