http://www.ehow.com/list_7161981_types- ... reads.html
According to the Lost in France website, in towns and villages of France, boulangeries, or bakery shops, sell fresh French bread daily, and many bakers make it to their own recipe. Real, traditional French bread must use fresh flour, salt and yeast. Some types of supermarket bread use frozen dough, but this is not regarded as real French bread. The types of rich bread with added butter and eggs are known as viennoiseries.
Baguette
The well-known, stick-like baguette can be found in most food shops and bakeries. Travel through the villages of France and soon you will see the freshly made long baguette sticking out of a paper bag, or from the basket on someone's bicycle. Crusty and crispy, the French baguette needs to be eaten fresh, as very little fat is used to make the baguette and it will not keep for much longer than a day.
Brioche
Brioche is a sweeter and richer type of French bread containing eggs and butter. With a soft, golden crust, brioche is often eaten at breakfast or used as a base for desserts. According to Classic French Food, the brioche is made either in a bun shape, the brioche a tête, or in a special loaf tin, which is known as the brioche Nanterre.
Croissant
Known as a viennoseries type of bread made with butter, like the brioche, the French croissant is a cross between a pastry and bread. Almost as popular now in countries like Britain, according to the Express.co.uk website, many people enjoy a warm, flaky croissant for breakfast or mid-morning. Some croissants have a chocolate, raisin or almond filling. They are also eaten with a savory filling for lunch, such as cheese and ham.
Pain de Campagne
The French word for bread is “pain,” and boulangeries usually sell several types of pain, including rye bread, also known as pain de seigle, and sourdough bread, or pain du levain. The traditional type of country farmhouse bread, pain de campagne, tends to keep a little longer than the long, thin baguette. According to About-France.com, the white flour is sometimes mixed with a little whole-wheat flour or rye. The thicker crust also enables it to keep for longer.
Pain de Mie
Similar to English and American white sliced bread, although slightly sweeter, pain de mie is generally used for sandwiches. It is often available in supermarkets already packaged, but according to About-France.com, it will not be on the fresh bread counter. Often toasted, this is the type of French bread normally used in croque monsieur, which is a toasted cheese and ham sandwich.