Who can go past a slice of crusty warm bread slathered in butter? It’s the makings of a dream, for me at least. Bread is big business in Australia. According to Roy Morgan research loaves of bread are the majority item sold in bakery goods accounting for 62% with rolls at 22% and speciality snacks, muffins and sweet breads accounting for the rest.

While supermarkets take the lion’s share of sales (68%), many people still opt for their local bakery like Regents Bakehouse at the Village Fair shopping centre as they can be surer of how their purchases have been made. Regents Bakehouse also offers a delicious menu of pies and quiches as well as doughnuts, cakes and slices.

But back to the bread.

Gone are the days when the only choices you had were brown or white, sliced or unsliced. Now there is a veritable smorgasbord for you to choose from with breads from foreign lands also featuring strongly on our growing list of favourites.

White bread – this is made from flour with the germ and bran removed. While it is the bread of choice for most Australian families, it is not as packed filled with fibre, vitamins, magnesium and phosphorous found in multigrain or wholemeal varieties

Wholemeal – Made from wholegrains milled to a finer texture. In theory, they should contain the same nutrients as wholegrain but some supermarket wholemeal loaves also have a liberal lashing of refined white flour.

Wholegrain – This bread uses the whole grain – the bran (rich outer layer), endosperm (middle, starchy layer) and germ (nutrient-rich inner core) as well as soluble and insoluble fibre.

Rye – made from rye grain and can be light or dark in colour depending on the type of flour. Is low GI and high-fibre and denser with a stronger flavour than bread made from wheat

Sourdough – made from a starter batter of flour and water filled with living yeast and bacteria. Rises for up to 18 hours giving it more flavour. Low GI.

Flat breads – made without added yeast.

Baguette – This French stick is an elongated loaf made of water, flour, yeast and salt and best eaten on day it is baked

Brioche – Originally from France. An enriched French bread, noted for its high butter and egg content, commonly served as a component of French desserts.

Soda bread – Flat, round, heavy loaf usually marked into quarters and risen with baking powder, not yeast. Soda Bread comes originally from Ireland.