A bulkie roll is a sandwich bun that is commonly found throughout New England. It is characterized by its petaled, rose-shape design. Although some people may confuse these sandwich buns with kaiser rolls, bulkies are not as sweet as them, and kaiser rolls are more commonly sprinkled with poppy seeds on top.
The word bulkie is derived from the Polish bulki, referring to a thick sandwich bun brought to the New England area by Polish immigrants in the early 20th century. Today, bulkie rolls are commonly used in sandwiches filled with roast beef, seafood cakes, ham, cheese, and vegetables, but they are also ideal as buns for hamburgers.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Cheese crisp is an American dish originating from Arizona. It consists of a flour tortilla that is topped with shredded cheese in its most basic form. The tortilla is placed in a butter-brushed pan which is put under a broiler until it develops a crisp texture.
Cheeses such as Cheddar, Oaxaca, or Monterey Jack are typically used in the preparation of the cheese crisp. There are numerous variations, so the dish can also be topped with a variety of ingredients such as onions, carne asada, cilantro, jalapeños, bell peppers, and shrimp.
A staple of the American South, hot water cornbread is a traditional bread that is made with cornmeal and hot water. Sugar, salt, butter, and other ingredients such as ham, bacon, jalapeno peppers, or green onions are often added to the cornmeal mixture in order to provide additional flavor and texture.
The ingredients are combined, and the batter is formed into flattened cakes or patties which are then fried in hot oil or bacon fat. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, hot water cornbread is commonly eaten with honey, cane sugar, or maple syrup drizzled on top, but it can also be served as an accompaniment to chili, greens, beans, or soups.
A hoagie roll is a long and flat roll that's traditionally used to prepare hoagie sandwiches, submarine sandwiches, and sometimes even Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwiches. The inside should be soft, and the exterior should be a bit harder. These rolls are popular in the United States of America, and they're usually made with a combination of flour, milk, oil, eggs, yeast, salt, and sugar, while some versions might include sesame seeds on top.
Hoagie rolls are typically split down the middle before they're filled with various ingredients.
Scali bread is a staple of Boston-area supermarkets and bakeries. The bread is shiny, mahogany-brown in color, braided, and coated with lots of sesame seeds which give it a nutty flavor and a nice visual appearance. In order to make it, a simple combination of flour, yeast, and water is left to transform into a bubbly dough overnight, and the next day it's combined with water, milk, olive oil, salt, and flour.
The dough is divided into three strips which are brushed with beaten eggs and topped with sesame seeds before being braided and baked. Once done, the bread is used for sandwiches, and it's also a staple at dinner tables in Boston, usually used to mop up the sauce after eating pasta or meatballs (or both).
English muffin is a small, round, and flat bread that's made from a soft yeasted dough. Once shaped into rounds, either by hand or with crumpet rings, the English muffin is baked on a griddle. Before toasting, they are halved, and once toasted, they're buttered, then served for breakfast with sweet or savory toppings.
These muffins are an essential part of eggs Benedict. It's not recommended to use a knife to cut them in half – most cooks agree that they should be split with a fork and gently pulled apart in order to create a surface with small peaks and craters, which gives them a crunchy texture and provides many pockets for jam and butter.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Named as the official state bread of South Dakota in 2005, frybread is a flat dough that is fried or deep-fried in oil or lard. Originally, it is a Native American Navajo tradition, invented at a time when the Natives were in captivity and attempts were made to starve them out.
The government supplied them with lard, flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and powdered milk, which were often spoiled, so fry bread originated from those few foods provided during the four years of captivity. What ensured the Navajo's survival in the past is now consumed either on its own, or with numerous topping and accompaniments such as honey, jam, or beef.
MOST ICONIC Frybread
View moreThere is no food more American than the classic cornbread. The soft, but firm baked bread made with cornmeal is easily the most important memorabilia of the American past, which is especially associated with the American South. Corn has been a staple ingredient among the Native Americans, who created the first version of what is today known as cornbread.
This original version was common food among the frontier explores, and soon became a staple meal favored among the nation. Originally, cornbread was white in color, and since it was made with stone-milled corn, which produced coarser flour, it created a more substantial meal.
MOST ICONIC Cornbread
View moreDespite the implications in its name, Texas toast is not sold toasted, but is instead a packaged, sliced bread, characterized by its thickness (twice the thickness of most sliced and packaged bread). It is most commonly used for dishes such as French toast, and others which incorporate heavy substances like sauces and syrups.
Sometimes, it is buttered, broiled until golden, and served with pulled pork and garlic. It is also often used in fondues and chicken sandwiches. If there is a barbecue going around, it is not uncommon to see Texas toast served as a side dish. The highly versatile bread is believed to have originated in 1941 in Beaumont, Texas, at the restaurant named Pig Stands when its owner, Royce Hailey, ordered some wide-sliced bread that he intended for toasting.
MOST ICONIC Texas Toast
View morePepperoni roll is a specialty of West Virginia consisting of a baked white bread roll filled with pepperoni sticks or slices. The roll is sold throughout the state at numerous gas stations, diners, and convenience stores, often paired with marinara sauce for dipping.
It is believed that pepperoni roll was invented in 1927 by Giuseppe Argiro at the Country Club Bakery in Fairmont, who originally created it as a portable food item for Fairmont's miners.
MOST ICONIC Pepperoni Roll
View moreTasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “11 Worst Rated American Breads” list until April 19, 2025, 1,163 ratings were recorded, of which 1,088 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.