Bread is a popular food in most societies, although East Asian societies typically prefer rice or noodles. It is often made from a wheat-flour dough that is cultured with yeast, allowed to rise, and finally baked in an oven. Owing to its high levels of gluten (which give the dough sponginess and elasticity), common wheat (also known as bread wheat) is the most common grain used for the preparation of bread, but bread is also made from other wheat species - rye, barley, maize and oats, usually, but not always, in combination with wheat flour. Although common wheat is best suited for making highly - risen white bread, other wheat species are capable of giving a good crumb. Spelt bread continues to be widelyconsumed in Germany, and emmer bread was a staple food in ancient Egypt. Canadian bread is known for its heartier consistency due to high protein levels in Canadian flour.
- White bread is made from flour containing only the central core of the grain (endosperm).
- Brown bread is made with endosperm and 10% bran. It can also refer to white bread with added coloring (often caramel coloring) to make it brown, commonly labeled in America as Wheat bread (as opposed to Whole Wheat bread).
- Wholemeal bread contains the whole of the wheat grain (endosperm and bran). It is also referred to as whole grain or whole wheat bread, especially in Northern America.
- Wheat Germ bread has added wheat germ for flavoring.
- Whole Grain bread can refer to the same name as wholemeal bread, or to white bread with added whole grains to increase its fiber content.
- Roti is a whole wheat based bread eaten in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and some middle east countries. Naan is also a variant of Roti.
- Granary bread is bread made from granary flour. Trademarked to Hovis, it is made from malted white or brown flour, wheat germ and whole grains.
- Rye bread is made with flour from rye grain of variable levels. It is higher in fiber than many common types of bread and is often darker in color and stronger in flavor. In Finland, Baltic States and Russia, rye is a popular type of bread.