Baked Goods Category

These French crescent-shaped rolls are made with puff pastry, so they're wonderfully rich and tender. They're great for dunking into coffee, or for making sandwiches.

These are small slices of toasted bread, which are often used as a base for appetizers.

These crispy cups can each hold about a tablespoon of filling, so they're perfect for making tiny hors d'oeuvres and desserts.

These add crunch to salads and soups. You can buy them readymade at many supermarkets, but they're much tastier if you make them yourself.

These are moist yeast muffins that the British like to slather with butter or clotted cream and serve at teatime. You can buy them ready-made in larger supermarkets, or make them yourself with the help of a crumpet ring and griddle. Toast them before eating.

These British crackers are similar to American graham crackers, only they're more crumbly and less sweet. They're often crushed into crumbs and used to make pie crusts.

This German bread is made with rye flour.

When split and toasted, these muffins have an uncanny ability to trap and hold butter and jam. They're often served at breakfast as an alternative to toast.

Jewish cooks use the term farfel to refer to matzo or noodles that have been broken into small pieces.

These thin flour wraps from northern Mexico are used to make burritos, chimichangas, fajitas and other Mexican dishes. They're more pliable than corn tortillas, so they're a good choice if you need to roll or fold the tortillas before cooking them. Flour tortillas come in different sizes, including small, thick "fajita tortillas" to large, thin "burrito tortillas."

This is a category of cakes that are made with lots of stiffly beaten egg whites, which makes them light and airy. They tend to be lower in fat than shortened cakes. Examples include angel food cake, sponge cake, and génoise.

A focaccio is an Italian flatbread that resembles a pizza crust without the topping. Many cooks top it with cheese, onions, herbs, eggplant slices, and other ingredients before baking it, but you can also serve it plain.

This is the French version of Italy's focaccia.

This is the traditional French bread that has a hard, dark brown crust and many large air pockets. The baguette = baguet (bah-GET) is the standard tube-shaped French bread, about two feet long. The bâtarde = batarde (buh-TARD) is a bit larger than a baguette, while the baton (bah-TOH), is a bit smaller, and the ficelle (fee-SELL) is much narrower.

These peppery Italian crackers are baked twice, which makes them hard and dry and gives them a long shelf life. They're usually rehydrated with water and then topped with olive oil and other flavorings like herbs, cheese, and tomatoes.

This rich cake is light, pliable, and absorbent, so it forms the basis of many desserts, including tiramisu, baked Alaska, petits fours, and upside down cakes. You probably won't find them unembellished in markets, but they're easily made at home with cake flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, sugar, and salt.

These addictive British cookies are similar to ginger snaps, but harder. They're often crushed into crumbs for pie crusts.

These hard cookies are flavored with ginger and molasses. They're sometimes added to sauerbraten or beef stews, or they're crushed into crumbs for pie crusts. The British version of this is the ginger nut, which is similar but very hard.

These are used for pie crusts and to sprinkle on desserts. Markets occasionally carry these crumbs, but you'll probably have to buy whole gingersnaps and crush them yourself.

A "gordita" (Spanish for "little fat one") is like a corn tortilla, only smaller and fatter. It inflates a bit when grilled, so it can be split to form a pocket and filled.

These mildly sweet crumbs make a terrific cheesecake or pie crust. Look for the crumbs in baking supplies section, or buy whole graham crackers and crush them yourself. Many markets also carry readymade graham cracker pie crusts.

These moderately sweet crackers are made with whole wheat flour. They make great snacks for kids, but cooks often crush them and use the crumbs to make pie crusts. Cinnamon or chocolate flavored graham crackers are also available.

This is a Dutch fruitcake made with rye flour and candied fruit.

Hardtack is an unleavened, unsalted biscuit that sailors used to eat while on long sea voyages. Since it's very dry, it can be stored for a long time without refrigeration.

These mildly sweet crackers are a good base for hors d'oeuvres, but they're higher in fat than other crackers.

These Swedish flatbread is made with rye flour and flavored with aniseed and fennel seed.

A south Indian specialty, these rice cakes are steamed, then served with sauces.

A specialty of Native Americans in the Southwest, this flatbread is deep-fried just before serving.

Ethiopians use this slightly sour flat bread as both a plate and spoon when eating their traditional stews. The injera becomes saturated with juices, and is eaten at the end of the meal.

Like French bread, Italian bread has a dark, hard crust and a slightly chewy interior.

This German rye bread has a fine texture and is often thinly sliced.

This German specialty is a sweetened yeast bread with currants and almonds baked inside. It's usually shaped in a ring and served at breakfast.

Russians serve this rich, sweetened yeast bread at Easter. It typically has raisins in it and icing on top.

These are tongue depressor-sized sponge cakes that are used to make charlottes, tiramisu and other desserts. American ladyfingers are smaller and moister than their Italian counterparts. If substituting them for Italian savoiardi, use more and toast them briefly in the oven before using.

This Norwegian flatbread resembles a flour tortilla, only it's made with mashed potatoes. It's used as a wrapper for various sandwich fillings. Dried lefse should be moistened, then heated briefly in a microwave.

This delicious and fragrant rye bread is usually flavored with molasses, anise seed, and orange peel. Despite its exquisite flavor, it's hard to find in the United States.

These are soft cookies that are made with either almonds or coconut.

These are rich, cake-like cookies that are shaped like shells. They're often flavored with lemon, orange, chocolate, or almonds.