Bagels are an iconic New York City food: boiled, then baked hand-shaped, round rolls with a hole in the middle. It is a small and dense bread with a malty flavor and a dark, shiny, and crunchy exterior which should snap when bitten into it. Originally, they were brought to the United States by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.

There is a theory that bagels were popular in the Jewish community because the dough needs to rest for twelve hours before being baked, so it was convenient for Jews to let it rise during the Sabbath, when work is forbidden. New Yorkers claim that their bagels are the best due to the water's softness, as there are low levels of calcium and magnesium that could toughen the dough when combined with gluten. 

Invented by the Parker House Hotel during the 1870s, the Parker House roll is a butter-rich, soft, and delicate bread roll that is tender on the inside and crisp on the outside. An interesting fact is that these bread rolls are somewhat sweet, which has been a feature of American rolls during the 19th century.

Before baking, the oval pieces of dough are folded in half and dipped in butter. However, the dough can be cut into triangles and shaped into crescents, or cut into strips and braided.

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. 

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.