Choose bread for immediate use if you’ll eat it within a few days during your holiday. If you want to spread it over several days, sliced bread that you freeze in portions straight away is more practical. If you want wholemeal bread, check the description on the packaging rather than relying on its colour or name. Also check the slice thickness, ingredients and allergens of the bread you buy: ‘medium-sliced’ doesn’t mean the same clearly defined size in every shop.
If you don’t eat the same number of slices every day, it helps to decide in advance how much you’ll use straight away and how much you’ll freeze. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends a shorter storage time for opened wholemeal bread in a kitchen cupboard than in a freezer.
For breakfast, lunch or a lunchbox, it’s not just the type of bread that matters: the slices also need to suit your toppings and how you plan to use them. Check the slice thickness on the bag, in the product photo or in the shop.
If you specifically want wholemeal bread, check the product description and nutritional information for the bread you choose. If you have an allergy, the current ingredients and allergen information on that exact pack are important; the bread’s name alone isn’t enough.
First, work out how much bread you’ll use during your holiday and whether you can freeze it. Then check that the type of bread and slice thickness suit your everyday needs.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Storage and portions | Check the storage instructions and see whether you can freeze sliced bread straight away in daily portions. | If I eat bread on different days during my holiday, I don’t want the rest to be left until it goes stale. That’s why storage would be the main concern for around 28% of consumers. |
| Slice thickness | Check the description on the bag, a clear product photo or the slices in the shop; ‘thinly sliced’ and ‘medium-sliced’ aren’t necessarily interchangeable. | For a lunchbox or toppings, I want slices that are easy to use. Around 22% of consumers would give slice thickness the most weight. |
| Wholemeal and nutritional information | Look for the description ‘wholemeal’ and, if needed, compare the nutritional values per 100 g of specific loaves. | If bread is on the table every day, I want to know that it really is wholemeal and doesn’t just look dark. For around 22% of consumers, this would be their first question when buying. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the current ingredients list, allergen information and any ‘may contain’ warnings on the packaging. | If I need to avoid certain ingredients, the composition of the bread I choose is crucial. Around 17% of consumers would make this their first check. |
| Availability | Check with the shop where you do your food shopping to see whether it stocks the type and size of loaf you want. | If I’m shopping at my holiday destination, I want to be able to choose a loaf that’s actually available there. Availability would come first for around 11% of consumers. |
Shops use descriptions such as thinly sliced, sliced, whole and wholemeal to refer to different qualities. For example, you can’t tell anything about slice thickness from the word ‘wholemeal’.
Compare the description on the bag with the product photo, or look at the bread in the shop if slice thickness matters for your toppings or lunchbox.
According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre’s storage guide, opened wholemeal bread keeps for 2–4 days in a kitchen cupboard. Keeping a loaf for a longer stay entirely out of the freezer may not work well.
Divide sliced bread into portions when you buy it and freeze straight away any bread you want to eat later. Follow the storage instructions on the packaging too.
The colour, seeds or a multigrain name don’t confirm that a loaf is wholemeal. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, wholegrain products contain more fibre than white grain products.
If you want wholemeal bread, look for the description ‘wholemeal’ on the packaging and, for specific products, compare the nutritional information per 100 g if you wish.
A wholemeal or multigrain name doesn’t tell you which grains and other ingredients are in that particular loaf. Product information from PLUS, Jumbo and Lidl shows why it’s important to check the ingredients and allergen information for each product.
Read the current packaging of the bread you’re buying, even if you’ve bought bread with the same name before.
The bread range shown online can help you compare types and sizes. Before you buy, check the details of the specific loaf and what your shop has available.
Albert Heijn shows a range of wholemeal breads online, including whole and half loaves.
Jumbo has product pages for wholemeal and multigrain bread, among other products, with information about each item.
Lidl publishes ingredients and allergen information for its freshly baked bread range.
ALDI shows, among other options, a finely sliced wholemeal loaf described as sliced.
PLUS provides product information on ingredients, allergens and storage for specific wholemeal breads.
Dirk shows an overview of its bread range, including wholemeal, multigrain and sourdough, as well as whole and half loaves.
The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says opened wholemeal bread keeps for 2–4 days in a kitchen cupboard. Check the condition of the bread too and follow the storage instructions on the packaging; don’t eat mouldy bread.
Yes. Divide the bread into portions straight away if you want to take out a few slices at a time later. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says opened wholemeal bread keeps for 1–3 months in the freezer; its quality may deteriorate if it’s stored for longer. Also check the instructions for the bread you choose.
No. A dark colour or the name ‘multigrain’ doesn’t confirm that bread is wholemeal. If that’s the type of bread you want to buy, look for the description ‘wholemeal’ on the packaging.
You can’t tell from the general description ‘bread’; check the ingredients list for the specific product. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority explains the conditions for adding iodine compounds to bread through baker’s salt, but that information doesn’t tell you which type of salt was used in your loaf.
The current packaging gives you the information for the bread you’re buying now. Check the ingredients, allergens and any ‘may contain’ warnings, even if you’ve bought bread with the same name before.
