The table-setter
You want to serve a whole loaf or rustic baguettes with a meal of herring or as part of a sharing platter. Shape, crust and being able to slice the bread yourself are important to you.
Which option is right for you?
The wholemeal chooser
You want a loaf for a special occasion, but you also pay attention to the flour and ingredients. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre lists dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals as characteristics of wholemeal bread.
The host who wants to serve warm bread
You want to bake the bread shortly before the meal and can set aside oven space or a suitable air fryer. The cooking time and any defrosting time will determine when you need to get started.
What should you look for when choosing?
First decide what matters most for your meal: the look of a whole loaf, a wholemeal option or warm bread. Then check the product name and packaging: they tell you more about the specific bread than its rustic appearance alone.
Rustic whole loaf
Choose this if: you want to put a loaf on the table and slice it yourself.
Keep in mind: a sourdough or country-style name on its own tells you nothing about whether the bread is wholemeal. For fresh bread sold in store, check what your local branch has in stock, too.
Wholemeal bread
Choose this if: wholemeal flour and the ingredients matter more to you than the shape of the loaf.
Keep in mind: a dark crust, a multigrain name or a sourdough name is no substitute for an explicit wholemeal label.
Bake-at-home baguettes
Choose this if: you want to serve bread warm from the oven or air fryer just before the meal.
Keep in mind: the space, cooking time and any defrosting time specified on your packaging.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it's important to |
|---|---|---|
| Flavour and presentation | Choose between a whole loaf and baguettes, and consider whether you want to slice the bread yourself. | If the bread will take pride of place on the table, I mainly want a shape and crust that work well for sharing. For around 50% of consumers, flavour and presentation would be the first things to consider. |
| Wholemeal and ingredients | Look specifically for ‘wholemeal’ in the product name and check the ingredients and allergen information on the current packaging. | When bread is an important part of the meal, I want to know what flour it contains and which ingredients I'm serving. For around 30% of consumers, these checks would come first. |
| Serving warm | Check that your oven or air fryer is available, and follow the product's cooking and defrosting instructions. | I want to bake the bread just before eating, but I need to fit it into the rest of the preparation. Serving it warm would be the main reason for their choice for roughly 20% of consumers. |
Common mistakes
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Assuming sourdough means wholemeal
Sourdough does not tell you how much wholemeal flour a loaf contains. So if you want wholemeal bread, you can't rely on the crust or the sourdough name.
Check that ‘wholemeal’ appears explicitly in the product name and read the ingredients list.
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Planning on a particular fresh loaf without checking in store
Jumbo says that its rustic sourdough loaves, baked in store, cannot be ordered online. Lidl notes that ranges vary between branches, while ALDI's oven-fresh range is available at shops with an in-store bakery.
Check with your local branch in advance and think about another loaf that would work with the same meal.
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Forgetting the baking time
Warm bake-at-home bread takes up space and needs preparing at a time when you may also be getting the rest of the meal ready. PLUS gives different oven and air-fryer instructions for its Korenlanders multigrain sourdough demi-baguettes.
Read the instructions on your packaging before deciding when to serve the bread.
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Guessing the ingredients from the type of bread
A name such as multigrain or sourdough does not tell you which allergens or possible traces are listed on the packaging. Check the salt used in each loaf, too, if that matters to your choice.
Read the current allergen and ingredient information. For unpackaged bread, ask for the product information.
Bread ranges at selected supermarkets
These bread ranges offer different ways to round off a special meal. Check the details and availability of the individual loaf you want to buy.
Albert Heijn
Liefde & Passie and OerDesem are worth looking at if you're after a rustic sourdough loaf.
- Albert Heijn describes OerDesem as bread made using a three-day process.
- The range includes products available to order online as well as products sold in store only, so check the loaf you've chosen.
Jumbo
Jumbo's rustic sourdough loaves are worth considering if you want freshly baked in-store bread on the table.
- Jumbo describes eight rustic sourdough varieties, which it says are left to rise for more than 24 hours.
- According to Jumbo, these loaves, baked in store, cannot be ordered online; check with your local branch.
PLUS
Korenlanders multigrain sourdough demi-baguettes are an example of bread you can bake at home shortly before the meal.
- PLUS provides instructions for cooking this product in both an oven and an air fryer.
- Check the current packaging for cooking instructions, cereals containing gluten and possible traces.
Lidl
According to Lidl, its oven-fresh range includes a rustic wholemeal sourdough loaf.
- It's worth a look if you're after both a rustic shape and a loaf explicitly labelled wholemeal.
- Lidl says its fresh bread range can vary from one branch to another.
ALDI
According to ALDI, Bakkersgoud Rustiek includes rustic white, extra wholemeal, spelt and lightly multiseed varieties.
- The varieties mentioned give you different types of bread to compare for your table.
- According to ALDI, this oven-fresh range is available in shops with an in-store bakery.
Dirk
Dirk's bread range includes sourdough, hearth-baked bread, wholemeal bread, baguettes and rustic bake-at-home bread.
- You can compare different bread shapes and ways of preparing them side by side.
- Compare the name and ingredients of the loaf you've chosen; the category alone doesn't determine whether it's wholemeal.
Bread options at Joybuy
These options include rustic loaves and baguettes for a bread basket or to bake at home. If you're specifically looking for wholemeal bread, don't choose on the basis of a rustic name alone; check the packaging.
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Lekhaven Bakkerij Multigrain Rustic Baguette, 4 × 135 g
A good option if you want to serve several baguettes and bake them until warm.
Four 135 g baguettes. Allow time to defrost and follow the instructions on the current packaging for the baking time.
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Lekhaven Bakkerij Natural Rustic Baguette, 2 packs of 4 × 135 g
This multipack is a good fit for a meal where you want to bake several baguettes to share.
Two packs, each containing four 135 g baguettes. Allow time to defrost before baking.
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Lekhaven Bakkerij Natural Rustic Round Bread, 550 g
A whole round loaf you can slice yourself for the bread basket.
550 g loaf. Allow time to defrost, bake and cool before slicing; check the current packaging for the baking time.
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Lekhaven Bakkerij Natural Rustic Baguette, 4 × 135 g
A pack of four rustic baguettes to share with your meal.
Four 135 g baguettes. Allow time to defrost and check the cooking instructions and ingredients on this product's packaging.
Frequently asked questions
Is sourdough bread automatically wholemeal?
No. Sourdough and wholemeal describe different qualities of bread: to choose wholemeal, you need to check which flour has been used. Look for ‘wholemeal’ in the product name and check the ingredients.
What should I look for if the salt used in my bread matters to me?
Check the ingredients list for each loaf for baker's salt or iodised salt; don't infer this from the words sourdough, multigrain or wholemeal. For unpackaged bread, ask for the product information.
Can I order Jumbo's rustic sourdough loaves online?
Not the fresh rustic sourdough loaves baked in store and described on Jumbo's sourdough page: according to Jumbo, these aren't available to order online. If you want to buy one for a meal, check your local branch's range.