Crumbs! 14 Words for Bread that Baffle EFL Students

by | Feb 12, 2023 | Beginner classes, Business language courses, courses, EFL classes, English Language Classes, English Language Tuition, ESOL classes, Evening classes, Language classes, Language school, Languages, Local Knowledge, Skype language classes

A young Malaysian woman holding up a freshly baked loaf of bread.

As if learning EFL isn’t tricky enough! The sheer volume of bread-related nouns is enough to make even the savviest student feel like they’re a few sandwiches short of a picnic!

So, the irony of Real Bread Week, which is celebrated on 18th-26th February, isn’t lost. After all, bread means so many different things to different people across the length and breadth of the UK. It’s confusing for EFL students to know which one to plant their butter knives against.

Let’s take a look at the ‘roll’ call, based around a recent YouGov survey Cobs, buns, baps or barm cakes: what do people call bread rolls?:

  1. Roll – 52% – Most commonly used in the South of England
  2. Bun – 10% – Most commonly used in the North East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria, with a smaller slice in Lincolnshire, Merseyside and the East Riding of Yorkshire.
  3. Cob – 8% – Most commonly used in the East and West Midlands, plus Staffordshire and Worcestershire
  4. Bap – 6% – Most commonly used in Staffordshire, Cheshire, and Shropshire, plus to a lesser degree in Cornwall, Devon and the West Midlands
  5. Barm – 6% – Most commonly used in Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and also in Cheshire
  6. Tea Cake – 4% – Most commonly used in West Yorkshire, with smaller minorities in Lancashire and Cumbria.
  7. Muffin – 3% – Most commonly used in Greater Manchester
  8. Batch – 2% – Most commonly used in Warwickshire
  9. Bara – Most commonly used in Wales
  10. Softie – Most commonly used in Aberdeen
  11. Stottie – Most commonly used in the North east
  12. Breadcake
  13. Oven bottom
  14. Scuffler

 

At La Academia, we help hundreds of EFL students every year to sort out their barms from their batches! Get in touch if you’re looking for group or 1:1 EFL lessons that are fun but highly effective.