Choose a festive stollen if you’re looking for a sweet centrepiece for breakfast or brunch at the Christmas market. A whole loaf is a good fit for a savoury table, while small rolls give guests more ways to combine their fillings, although bake-at-home varieties need a little preparation. Check the portions, ingredients, allergens and availability for each product: a festive name doesn’t tell you whether it’s wholemeal or suitable for someone with an allergy.
A stollen with almond paste and fruit can be shared at the breakfast or brunch table. PLUS includes stollen alongside scones and sugar bread in its Christmas brunch range. Check the filling if any of your guests avoid certain ingredients.
A whole loaf or baguette is an obvious choice with soup, starters or savoury fillings. ALDI features rustic loaves and multigrain baguettes, among other options. Choose your bread to suit the menu, and check separately whether it’s labelled as wholemeal.
Small rolls provide individual portions to suit a range of fillings. PLUS and Dirk both suggest rolls for Christmas breakfast and brunch. Check the ingredients and allergens for each product you choose; if you’re serving bake-at-home rolls, you’ll also need enough oven space.
First, decide what role the bread will play: a sweet centrepiece, an accompaniment to savoury dishes or small portions for a buffet. Then check the product information and make sure you can get the bread when you need it.
Choose this: if you’d like to share a sweet loaf at breakfast, with coffee or at brunch.
Bear in mind: fillings and allergens vary from one stollen to another; a sweet stollen won’t necessarily take the place of bread served with savoury dishes.
Choose this: if you’re serving bread with soup, savoury fillings or dinner.
Bear in mind: you’ll need to slice a whole loaf, and ‘rustic’ or ‘multigrain’ doesn’t automatically mean wholemeal.
Choose these: if guests want to help themselves to individual portions with different fillings.
Bear in mind: bake-at-home rolls need oven space and time to prepare.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet centrepiece | Check the stollen’s filling, size and number of portions. | For brunch, I want a sweet loaf I can share and put at the centre of the table; around 33% of consumers give this presentation top priority. |
| Savoury table bread | Choose a size that suits the menu, and look for the ‘wholemeal’ label if that matters to you. | For dinner, I’m looking for bread to serve with soup or savoury fillings, perhaps with a wholemeal base. Around 25% of consumers put this role at the top of their list. |
| Small portions | Check how many rolls are in the pack and, for bake-at-home products, how to prepare them. | If guests choose different fillings, I want to be able to serve bread in individual portions; around 25% of consumers prioritise this flexibility. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the label or ask for allergen information if the bread is sold loose. | If a guest needs to avoid an ingredient, I want to know what’s in the bread before serving it. Around 17% of consumers give this check top priority. |
Those words alone don’t tell you whether a loaf is made with wholemeal flour. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says bread labelled ‘wholemeal’ is made with 100% wholemeal flour.
If wholemeal matters to you, check the label on the specific loaf rather than judging by its colour or appearance.
A festive stollen can contain several allergens. PLUS lists wheat, rye, egg, milk and nuts, among other ingredients, in one of its own stollen; another bread may have a different recipe.
Read the label on packaged bread, and ask for allergen information before buying bread that’s sold loose.
Albert Heijn says its new Christmas range for 2026 will be announced from 28 November. Lidl notes that its fresh bread range may vary by store.
Check what’s available at your chosen shop shortly before you buy, and have another type of bread in mind that will also suit your menu.
If your first choice isn’t available locally, finding a substitute may take extra time or mean another trip to the shops.
Albert Heijn has dedicated sections for its Christmas range and for Christmas breakfast and brunch.
Jumbo’s Christmas inspiration is organised around occasions including brunch, dinner and drinks.
Lidl features a Deluxe seasonal range and a fresh-from-the-oven bread section.
ALDI features rustic loaves and baguettes, as well as a separate luxury stollen.
PLUS has separate Christmas sections for sweet festive loaves and for bread and bake-at-home rolls.
Dirk lists rolls, Christmas stollen and nut stollen for its Christmas breakfast.
These loaves and baguettes are suited to the savoury side of a Christmas meal or buffet. Choose the size you need and check the preparation instructions and ingredients for each product; these aren’t festive stollen.
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A whole loaf to share with a savoury meal. The pack contains two round loaves of 550 g each; check the preparation instructions and allergen information on the product before serving.
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Baguettes for a savoury table with a choice of fillings. This variety is listed as 4 × 135 g × 2; check the pack instructions if you’d like to bake them before serving.
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A round loaf to share with a savoury meal. The pack contains two loaves of 550 g each; if you’re specifically looking for wholemeal bread, check the product label, as ‘multigrain’ doesn’t automatically mean wholemeal.
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Two baguettes to serve with savoury fillings or dishes; the stated pack weight is 300 g. Check the current label for ingredients, allergens and any mention of iodised salt.
Choose a stollen if you’d like to share one sweet loaf; choose rolls if guests want individual portions with different fillings. If you’re serving both sweet and savoury fillings at breakfast, you can offer a stollen alongside savoury rolls.
Not necessarily: ‘rustic’ and ‘multigrain’ aren’t substitutes for the ‘wholemeal’ label. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, bread with this label is made with 100% wholemeal flour; check the name and label of the specific product.
For prepacked bread, read the allergen information on the label. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority highlights this labelling; if the bread is sold loose, ask for allergen information about the product you’re choosing before you buy it.
No, don’t assume that every loaf does. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre describes bread made with special baker’s salt containing added iodine as a source of iodine in the Netherlands. For a specific prepacked loaf, check the ingredients; if it’s sold loose, ask which salt was used.
