For your first shop, choose a half multigrain loaf that suits how much bread your household eats. ‘Multigrain’ does not automatically mean ‘wholemeal’, so check the ingredients, fibre, salt and allergens of the bread you’re considering. If you don’t expect to eat it within a few days, freeze it in portions.
If there are one or two of you and you don’t eat much bread every day, you can choose an amount that matches what you actually use. The Voedingscentrum recommends storing opened multigrain bread in a kitchen cupboard for 2–4 days. Freezing it in portions gives you longer to use it up.
If you’re considering multigrain bread for its ingredients, the front of the pack doesn’t tell you everything. Check whether the bread is also labelled wholemeal, and compare the fibre and salt per 100 g in the nutritional information.
Start with how quickly you’ll eat it, then compare the ingredients of the half loaves that suit your household.
| What to consider | What to check before buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Size and storage | Compare the weight or number of portions with how much you expect to eat. Check whether you can freeze the bread in portions. | I don’t eat bread every day and don’t want any left over. Around 42% of consumers prioritise choosing an amount that suits their needs. |
| Wholemeal and fibre | Look for the ‘wholemeal’ label and compare fibre and salt per 100 g. | I don’t want to rely on the word ‘multigrain’ when I’m looking for wholemeal bread and fibre; around 33% of consumers consider the ingredients most important. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the ingredients and allergen information for the exact variety, including when choosing between half loaves in store. | When doing my first shop, I need to be able to check which grains the bread contains. Around 25% of consumers prioritise checking the ingredients. |
According to the Voedingscentrum, ‘multigrain’ refers to bread made with at least three different types of grain. The name alone doesn’t mean the bread is wholemeal.
If you prefer wholemeal bread, look for an explicit ‘wholemeal’ label, then compare the nutritional information per 100 g.
Even a half loaf can go uneaten if you don’t eat much bread. The Voedingscentrum recommends keeping opened multigrain bread in a kitchen cupboard for 2–4 days.
Choose a size that suits your eating habits, and freeze portions if you don’t expect to eat the bread within that time.
The type of salt used in one loaf doesn’t tell you what’s used in another variety.
To find out what type of salt your chosen bread contains, read the ingredients list for that exact product and look for terms such as ‘bakers’ salt’ or ‘iodised salt’.
AH Vloerbrood meergranen half is an option if you’re looking for a half-sized artisan loaf and want to estimate how many portions it will provide.
Jumbo Boeren Donker Volkoren Meergranen Half is explicitly labelled ‘wholemeal’.
Lidl lists a 400 g dark multigrain half loaf for in-store purchase.
ALDI Boeren volkoren meergranen Half is a half-sized loaf explicitly labelled as wholemeal.
Dirk sells Bakker van der Akker Bakkers meergranen half as a half multigrain loaf.
No. According to the Voedingscentrum, multigrain bread contains at least three different types of grain, but that doesn’t automatically make it wholemeal. Look for the ‘wholemeal’ label and read the ingredients if that distinction matters to your choice.
The Voedingscentrum recommends keeping opened multigrain bread in a kitchen cupboard for 2–4 days, or in the freezer for 1–3 months. If you don’t eat much bread, freeze it in portions in good time.
Read the ingredients list for the exact loaf and look for terms such as ‘iodised salt’ or ‘bakers’ salt’. Don’t assume what type of salt has been used based only on the words ‘multigrain bread’.
Always check the allergen information for the exact variety. For Boeren Donker Volkoren Meergranen Half, Jumbo lists barley, oats, rye and wheat, among other things; the ingredients in another half loaf may differ.
