# What the hell is Italian bread? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100 "2008-07-11T06:50:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/1 "2008-07-11T06:50:42Z")
I live in Austin, Texas and I love Italian bread. When I go to the grocery store here, they look at me like I am from another planet when I ask for it and try to sell me ciabatta. I like ciabatta, but I know that they are not the same. An upscale store here sells pagnotta but that isn’t the same either. Does Italian bread have a proper Italian name that I can use to request it? The only place that I know of to find it is at Subway. Thanks for your help, Rob ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/2 "2008-07-11T08:02:23Z")
What the hell is “american bread”? (IE\< what is your def. of Italian bread) Itallian bread has many regional variations and traditions. One thing that most Itallian bread has in common though is that it is generally a “single rise” bread, that being it is not “punched down” for a second rising after it has risen, but simply formed into loaves and baked. This makes for a crispier, thinner crust and a looser (crumblier) texture. That being said, many Itailian breads can be soft crusted and heavier (Focciacia). The stuff they sell you at subway is “Itallian Bread” in name only. BTW… Regards FML ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/3 "2008-07-11T09:01:13Z")
“Italian bread” is a vague term. But in common American usage, I suppose it means a long, tubular loaf with a strong crust. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/4 "2008-07-11T11:37:32Z")
Panino, maybe? Not the sandwich, the breadroll… ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/5 "2008-07-11T11:53:12Z")
Panino recipe 4 cups hot water 1/2 tsp salt 3 tbsp sugar 3-4 cups white flour 1/4 tsp baking powder 1 yeast pack ( 1 tblsp) 1/4 cup olive oil (room temp) disolve salt and sugar and yeast into hot water, slowly sift flour into water. stirring as you add more… avoid lumps when the flour forms a paste add the baking powder and almost all the olive oil (save a bit for later) stir that in (traditional italian method abandons spoon at this point, and tells you to get all nasty with that goo… sift in more flour until a sticky dough forms throw onto a heavilyfloured smooth surface and knead like crazy when the dough gets dry surfaced, roll into long thin loafs (10 inches longX 1 inch thick) place in a warm dry place and let rise once its risen, rub down with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake at 375 until golden brown cool and eat (if you can wait that long) FML ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/6 "2008-07-11T11:58:26Z")
BTW… By hot water I mean no hotter thanb you would want to stick your hand into… 150 F max ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/7 "2008-07-11T14:07:43Z")
The thing that makes “italian bread” italian and not just a big baguette with sesame is seeds is semolina flour. In some places they called it “semolina bread” but it many places it’s just not available. if you ask for Italian bread you’ll get… a big baguette with sesame seeds. However I feel like Austin is not one of those places. Surely you have a Whole Foods? At any rate, Semolina bread is pale yellow as opposed to white - is that what you’re thinking of? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/8 "2008-07-11T14:14:16Z")
Don’t you know that Whole Foods is based in Austin? > **[Whole Foods Market](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Foods_Market)** > > Whole Foods Market, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A USDA Certified Organic grocer in the United States, the chain is popularly known for its organic selections. As of March 4, 2019\[update\], Whole Foods has more than 500 stores in North America and seven in the United Kingdom. > Amazon acquired the company for $13.7 billio... ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/9 "2008-07-11T14:31:14Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] “Italian bread” is a vague term. But in common American usage, I suppose it means a long, tubular loaf with a strong crust. [/QUOTE] I don’t think we have ‘italian bread’ in the US sense over here in the UK (although we do have italian style breads, such ciabatta). What you’re describing sounds like what we would call a baguette (or traditionally ‘a french stick’ - I have a friend in darkest Somerset who was berated by a local baker for being overly pretentious when asking for a baguette rather than a french stick). Do you have baguettes (or french sticks!) in the US? OB ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/10 "2008-07-11T14:39:29Z")
[QUOTE=Oswald Bastable] I don’t think we have ‘italian bread’ in the US sense over here in the UK (although we do have italian style breads, such ciabatta). What you’re describing sounds like what we would call a baguette (or traditionally ‘a french stick’ - I have a friend in darkest Somerset who was berated by a local baker for being overly pretentious when asking for a baguette rather than a french stick). Do you have baguettes (or french sticks!) in the US? OB [/QUOTE] Heh–never heard of a French stick (is it pretentious to capitalize “French”?), but we definitely have baguettes. If you get generic French bread here, though, it’s gonna be more like a batard than a baguette. When I was growing up, you usually served spaghetti with French bread (I don’t understand it either): you’d get one of these squashy white loaves, slice it mostway down so it was barely held together by the bottom crust, put tons of butter between each slice, and pop it in the oven. Good eatin! Baguettes are considered fancier than French bread here, though. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/11 "2008-07-11T14:40:54Z")
Describing Italian bread to a baker that does not know what it is. It should be either a large round loaf with a hard crust and airy inside or a long loaf with a hard crust and airy inside. If it is a soft crust or dense bread it is not an Italian Bread. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/12 "2008-07-11T14:46:24Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] Heh–never heard of a French stick (is it pretentious to capitalize “French”?), but we definitely have baguettes. If you get generic French bread here, though, it’s gonna be more like a batard than a baguette. When I was growing up, you usually served spaghetti with French bread (I don’t understand it either): you’d get one of these squashy white loaves, slice it mostway down so it was barely held together by the bottom crust, put tons of butter between each slice, and pop it in the oven. Good eatin! Baguettes are considered fancier than French bread here, though. Daniel [/QUOTE] Well, a traditional French baguette is quite different from what would pass as a supermarket baguette here in the UK. A traditional baguette tends to be rather thin and a lot crusty, whereas a British baguette (what would once have been termed a french stick) tends to be more substantially bready (though still with a hard crust), if you can see what I mean. OB ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/13 "2008-07-11T14:56:20Z")
[QUOTE=Full Metal Lotus] What the hell is “american bread”? [/QUOTE] Take a slice of bread and roll in between your hands. If you wind up with a ball of goo then it’s American Bread. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/14 "2008-07-12T03:18:49Z")
[This](http://www.dpalmierisbakery.com/italian_breads) is the Italian bread I ate growing up. Nothing else compares. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/15 "2008-07-12T03:36:19Z")
[QUOTE=Oswald Bastable] Well, a traditional French baguette is quite different from what would pass as a supermarket baguette here in the UK. A traditional baguette tends to be rather thin and a lot crusty, whereas a British baguette (what would once have been termed a french stick) tends to be more substantially bready (though still with a hard crust), if you can see what I mean. OB [/QUOTE] Our baguettes are very long (like 2’!) and thin with a thick crust. You couldn’t threaten anyone with a loaf of italian bread. It’s much shorter, much wider, and has a non-crunchy crust. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/16 "2008-07-12T03:43:18Z")
[QUOTE=Will Repair] Take a slice of bread and roll in between your hands. If you wind up with a ball of goo then it’s American Bread. [/QUOTE] Mmmmmm, good eatin! 🆒 Where do Tortillas come from? Do the Spanish make similar flatbreads, or is that something that came from the Americas? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/17 "2008-07-13T00:01:26Z")
In the northeast, probably because of the historically large Italian immigrant populations, any decently sized grocery store will have fresh-baked Italian bread, and fresh baked French bread, and properly long and skinny baguettes, and a good store will have a dozen other variants. Move back to the north! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/18 "2008-07-13T06:59:55Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] Mmmmmm, good eatin! 🆒 Where do Tortillas come from? Do the Spanish make similar flatbreads, or is that something that came from the Americas? [/QUOTE] Spanish “tortillas” are basically a kind of omelette. What you think of as tortillas predated the Spanish, and were called _tlaxcalli_ by the Aztecs. They are not a Spanish flatbread; they are American. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/19 "2008-07-13T11:06:32Z")
pulykamell writes: \> Spanish “tortillas” are basically a kind of omelette. That’s an odd way to put it. Tortillas are so named because they are approximately the same shape and size as omelets, but otherwise they don’t resemble them. They were given the Spanish name for omelet when the Spanish first observed them in the Americas. > **[Tortilla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortilla)** > > A tortilla (/tɔːrˈtiːə/, .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Spanish: \[toɾˈtiʎa\]) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread from Mesoamerica originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. > The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas tlaxcalli (\[t͡ɬaʃˈkalli\]). First made by the indigenous peoples of M... ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100/20 "2008-07-13T13:56:40Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] pulykamell writes: \> Spanish “tortillas” are basically a kind of omelette. That’s an odd way to put it. [/QUOTE] What’s odd? A Spanish tortilla _is_ a type of omelet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-italian-bread/456100.md?page=2)