If your guests mainly want soft, light white bread, compare high-fibre white breads by checking their ingredients and fibre per 100 g; extra fibre doesn’t automatically make a bread wholemeal. Brown bread is a mixture of wholemeal flour and white flour, while the Netherlands Nutrition Centre says wholemeal bread is made from 100% wholemeal flour. If you need to cater for allergies, check the information for the specific bread before buying, whatever type you choose.
If a light flavour and soft crumb are top of your list for drinks, high-fibre white bread could be worth comparing. Check the nutritional information per 100 g: a higher fibre figure doesn’t mean the bread is wholemeal.
If bread made with wholemeal flour matters more to you than a distinctly white crumb, the product name can help you choose. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says wholemeal bread is made from 100% wholemeal flour; brown bread combines wholemeal flour with white flour.
If guests need to avoid certain ingredients, checking the details of the specific bread should come before choosing between white and wholemeal. Read the label on pre-packed bread, and ask for allergen information before buying unpackaged bread.
Start with what matters most for your get-together: a soft white crumb, choosing wholemeal flour, or avoiding ingredients your guests can’t have. White bread with seeds or maize may appeal for its flavour or appearance, but those additions don’t automatically make it wholemeal.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Soft white crumb and fibre | Compare fibre per 100 g and check whether the ingredients include white flour and added fibre. | If my guests mainly want soft white bread, I look for a higher fibre figure among those options; this combination is the top priority for around 44% of consumers. |
| Wholemeal flour | Look for the wholemeal designation if you prefer bread made from 100% wholemeal flour; brown bread also contains white flour. | When the type of flour matters more to me than a white crumb, I make a conscious choice between brown and wholemeal; an estimated 33% of consumers say they prioritise wholemeal. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the latest allergen information on the packaging, or ask about it before buying unpackaged bread. | For guests who need to avoid certain ingredients, I first want to know which breads are suitable; for around 23% of consumers, this check is the top priority. |
The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says wholemeal bread is made from 100% wholemeal flour. Brown bread also contains white flour, and additions such as seeds or maize don’t in themselves tell you how much wholemeal flour the bread contains.
Check the product name and ingredients if you want wholemeal bread; to compare fibre, also look at the nutritional information per 100 g.
Jumbo says its Wit Brood met Extra Vezels is no longer part of its online range. The ingredients in another high-fibre white bread may also be different.
For the bread you’re actually buying, check the current ingredients, nutritional values and allergen information.
You can’t tell whether a specific bread contains iodised salt from its colour or whether it’s called white, brown or wholemeal.
If the type of salt used matters to you, read the ingredients list for that bread.
Bread you don’t need can dry out. For high-fibre white bread, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre gives a storage time of 2–4 days in a kitchen cupboard and around a month in the freezer.
Freeze any portions you won’t be serving as soon as you get home, and follow the storage instructions on the packaging too.
Albert Heijn offers, among other options, white, wholemeal and white breads made with wheat and maize.
Jumbo offers breads that let you compare white and wholemeal options on the label.
Look for the wholemeal designation on the bread packaging. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says wholemeal bread is made from 100% wholemeal flour; brown bread is a mixture of wholemeal flour and white flour. A dark colour or seeds don’t prove that it’s wholemeal.
No. Adding fibre doesn’t automatically make white bread wholemeal. Check the ingredients to see what flour it’s made with, and compare fibre per 100 g if you want a soft white crumb with a higher fibre figure.
For pre-packed bread, read the allergen information on the label. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority says this information must be available before you buy unpackaged bread; ask if it isn’t clearly displayed. Don’t rely on whether the bread is labelled white or wholemeal.
Yes. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends freezing bread in portions as soon as you buy it. For high-fibre white bread, it gives a freezer storage time of around a month; also follow the instructions on the packaging of the bread you buy.
