The Country That Produces By Far The Most Bread In The World

Ask the average person on the street which country makes the most bread, and they might respond with a country that is strongly associated with the baked good — like France or maybe even Germany. But the largest bread producer is actually the United States. Biz Community notes that the United States produces more than 15 million tons of bread per year, with China lagging about 5 million tons behind to take the second place slot.

It might be surprising that the U.S. makes the most bread — the country is not exactly known for it. American bread is most often thought of in terms of industrial sliced bread or even this lovely gem: canned bread. This is not exactly a rustic, idyllic bakery setting. In fact, there is no shortage of Reddit threads, YouTube videos, and blogs with Europeans complaining about American bread — and even some posts from Americans complaining about American bread. 

The criticisms are endless, with many people saying that American bread is basically cake, hard to digest, too sweet, and poorly textured. Some even call it toxic, and, in fact, many ingredients commonly found in American-made bread are banned in the European Union. However, you can't simply say that all bread made in the United States is terrible. There is a long history of breadmaking in the U.S. that combines indigenous traditions, recipes from immigrants, and, of course, industrialization to create the classic sliced white bread we know and love today.

American bread isn't all doom and gluten — or gloom. With a quick glance around America's cities and towns, you'll notice the rise of artisan bakeries. While there is no federal definition of "artisan," it generally refers to bread made in smaller quantities with better quality ingredients. For example, according to data from Mintel, units of bread from in-store bakeries rose 7.9% from 2023 to 2024, while manufactured units of bread from grocery aisles declined 2.6% (per Baking Business). 

During the pandemic, it was a little too easy to become obsessed with your sourdough starter or the latest and greatest baking techniques that bemused experts and home bakers alike. You might even faintly remember that when the pandemic first hit, grocery stores ran out of yeast. Americans seem to be ready for crunchy crusts, organic wheat, and the perfect crumb. Perhaps we have all been influenced by bread week on "The Great British Baking Show."

Whatever the cause, American bread seems to be changing. Whether you're making homemade bread with a little time, flour, salt, water, and yeast or grabbing one of the numerous options off the store shelf, it is safe to say that the United States has bread covered.