If you’ll be serving the bread soon after shopping, freshly baked sourdough or crusty farmhouse bread is a good choice for a dinner party when you don’t want to bake at home. Bake-at-home bread lets you plan exactly when to serve it, provided you have a suitable oven or air fryer. If you’re buying for a small group, don’t choose on appearance alone: consider the quantity, storage instructions and ingredients of the variety you select.
You want to put on a special meal or drinks for housemates, family or friends without spending hours cooking. You can serve fresh bread straight away; bake-at-home bread lets you decide when it comes out warm and ready to eat.
A whole loaf can be too much for one or two people. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises freezing ordinary bread in portions as soon as you buy it if you won’t eat it soon. For bake-at-home bread, follow the instructions on the packaging.
If you or a guest needs to avoid a particular grain or allergen, check the details for the exact variety. The sourdough breads described by PLUS contain wheat or rye, among other ingredients; sourdough does not mean a bread is gluten-free.
Best for: a meal where you want to serve bread as soon as you’ve finished shopping, without baking it at home.
Bear in mind: when you can buy the bread. Jumbo says its rustic sourdough breads are only available in-store.
Best for: guests arriving later, when you want to bake the bread just before the meal.
Bear in mind: the equipment, temperature and cooking time specified for your chosen variety.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance and flavour | Choose a type of bread that goes well with your meal and a size that suits the number of guests. | If bread will be a noticeable part of my first dinner party, I want to choose a variety I’ll be happy to put on the table. This is the top priority for around 40% of consumers. |
| When you’ll serve it | For bake-at-home bread, check which oven or air fryer you’ll need and how much preparation is involved. | If guests won’t be sitting down until later, I want to choose when the bread comes warm out of the oven. This is the main consideration for around 30% of consumers. |
| Quantity and ingredients | Check the quantity, storage instructions, ingredients and allergens for the exact variety. | In a one- or two-person household, I want to be able to store leftovers and know what I’m serving my guests. This is the most important consideration for around 30% of consumers. |
Sourdough refers to how the bread is made, not whether it contains gluten. The PLUS sourdough breads described here contain wheat or rye.
If you need gluten-free bread, choose a product specifically labelled as such and check the label for that variety.
If you’re cooking for one or two people, a large loaf may be left over and go stale before you can finish it.
After buying ordinary bread, divide it into portions and freeze them. Check the storage instructions for bake-at-home bread, as they may differ.
Your serving plan will only work if you have the oven or air fryer specified and the bread fits inside it.
Before buying, read the instructions for the exact variety, including the temperature and whether it needs to be defrosted first. Otherwise, choose bread you can serve without baking.
A dark crust, seeds or the word ‘multigrain’ don’t tell you how much wholegrain a loaf contains.
Look for the term ‘wholemeal’ if that’s what you prefer. For other breads, compare the ingredients list and nutritional information per 100 g.
The range includes various sourdough and OerDesem breads, including varieties made with spelt, seeds and wholemeal flour.
Jumbo describes rustic sourdough breads in varieties including wholemeal, multiseed and spelt.
The range described by PLUS includes both sourdough bread that’s ready to eat and bread to bake at home.
ALDI lists fresh bread baked daily and rustic Bakkersgoud varieties, including white and spelt bread.
Lidl describes, among other products, a rustic wholemeal wheat sourdough bread.
These bread options are suitable for a meal where you want to plan when you’ll serve the bread. They mainly differ in size and type, so check how much you need for each product and what oven preparation it requires.
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Four baguettes give you a handy amount to plan for a small group. You’ll need an oven to bake them; allow time for defrosting and check the baking time on the packaging.
If you have allergies, check the ingredients on the packaging you choose.
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This 550 g wholemeal round loaf is a good choice if you want to save some for later. The preparation instructions provided call for defrosting and a fan oven; check the baking time on the packaging.
A whole loaf calls for a plan to store leftovers in a small household. If you have allergies or are avoiding gluten, check the ingredients.
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This 550 g multigrain round loaf is an option if you want to serve a whole loaf with your meal. The bake-at-home instructions provided call for defrosting it first and using a fan oven; check the baking time on the packaging.
Multigrain doesn’t automatically mean wholemeal. Check the ingredients and allergens on the packaging.
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This pack contains two multigrain round loaves, each weighing 550 g. It’s a good fit if you’re planning bread for more than one meal and have enough room to store it.
The preparation instructions provided call for defrosting and a fan oven. Check the ingredients and allergens on the packaging too.
No. Sourdough doesn’t mean that no gluten-containing grains have been used. The PLUS sourdough breads described here contain wheat or rye; if you need gluten-free bread, always check the label and allergen information for the exact variety.
Usually not: according to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, bread goes stale more quickly in the fridge. To keep ordinary bread for longer, freeze it in portions as soon as you buy it; for bake-at-home bread, follow the packaging instructions.
Only if you have the equipment listed on the packaging and can set aside time to prepare it. For its multigrain sourdough baguette described here, PLUS gives instructions to bake it in the oven for 8–10 minutes at 220 °C or for 4 minutes in a preheated air fryer at 200 °C; these instructions won’t necessarily apply to other bake-at-home breads.
Don’t assume so. The PLUS and Albert Heijn bread varieties described here list iodised salt in their ingredients, but for any other bread, check its own ingredients list.
No. The term ‘multigrain’ doesn’t in itself mean that a bread is wholemeal. If you’re specifically looking for wholemeal bread, check for that description and compare the ingredients and nutritional information per 100 g of the varieties you’re considering.
