When choosing bread for a children’s party, don’t rely on the word ‘multi-grain’ alone. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, it means bread made with at least three types of grain, but that doesn’t automatically make it wholemeal. If you’re looking for bread for lunch, check for a wholemeal label and compare the fibre per 100 g. For easy serving, choose a format that suits your needs. Ask guests in advance about any dietary requirements or allergies, and check the current packaging before serving the bread.
You’re looking for bread to make filled bites or serve at lunchtime, and want to compare the wholemeal labelling and fibre per 100 g. The product description is more useful for this than the word ‘multi-grain’ on its own on the front of the pack.
You want to put the bread on the table without having to do lots of slicing. Pre-sliced hearth bread or smaller multi-grain rolls may suit your serving plans better than a whole, unsliced loaf.
You need to know which ingredients and allergens are in the bread you choose, and whether it carries warnings about possible traces. If a guest needs gluten-free bread, choose a product clearly labelled as gluten-free and keep it separate during preparation and serving.
First decide whether the bread is mainly for lunch, easy serving or a specific dietary requirement. Then compare the information on the packaging of products that suit your needs.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Wholemeal and fibre | Look for ‘wholemeal’ in the product description and compare the fibre per 100 g. Check the ingredients for baker’s salt if that matters to your choice. | If bread is going to be an important part of the party lunch, I want to know what I’m serving alongside the fillings. Around 40% of consumers prioritise this when choosing bread for lunch. |
| Size and serving | Check whether the bread is pre-sliced, or choose a size that suits the portions you want to serve. For bake-at-home bread, check the preparation instructions too. | With several children around the table, I want to be able to hand out filled bites quickly without spending much of the party slicing bread. Convenience is the top priority for around 30% of consumers. |
| Dietary requirements and allergens | Ask guests about their needs in advance and check both ‘contains’ and ‘may contain’ on the current packaging. Keep any special option that’s needed separate when preparing and serving. | If a guest has an allergy or needs to eat gluten-free, I want to choose a suitable bread and prepare it separately. This is the top priority for around 30% of consumers. |
According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, multi-grain means the bread is made with at least three types of grain. On its own, the word doesn’t tell you whether the bread is wholemeal.
If you prefer wholemeal bread, look for that wording in the product description, then compare the ingredients and fibre per 100 g.
A hearth loaf or sourdough loaf may look good on the table, but its shape and name won’t tell you whether it’s wholemeal or which allergens it contains.
Choose a size that suits the way you want to serve it, and check the ingredients and nutritional information for that specific loaf separately.
A gluten-free product isn’t automatically free from other allergens. For example, PLUS lists soya in Schär Meesterbakker Mehrkorn, with warnings that it may contain traces of lupin, mustard and sesame.
Ask about the guest’s dietary restrictions, read the latest allergen information, and keep the bread and fillings separate during preparation.
A product’s composition can change. Albert Heijn warns that ingredients, nutritional values and allergen information for its hearth bread may change, among other things.
Use online information to compare types of bread, then check the packaging of the loaf you’ve actually bought before serving it.
Onze Trots Vloerbrood Woudkorn half is a 400 g brown multi-grain loaf. As a half loaf, it may suit a smaller party table or work well alongside other sizes of bread.
Jumbo Stevig Meergranen is described as a wholemeal multi-grain loaf with seeds.
Lidl describes its Rustiek meergranen desembrood as a white multi-grain sourdough loaf with seeds.
Aldi offers several bread formats, including luxe vloerbrood meergranen, volkoren meergranenbrood and meergranenpuntjes.
PLUS offers, among other things, a dark, round multi-grain loaf and multi-grain sourdough bread for sharing at the table.
Dirk offers a range of sizes, including whole and half multi-grain loaves, multi-grain rolls and rustic multi-grain baguettes.
No. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, multi-grain bread contains at least three different types of grain, but that doesn’t tell you whether the bread is wholemeal. Check the product description and ingredients list.
Yes. Before a children’s party, ask guests whether they have any allergies or other dietary requirements. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre also recommends asking whether children avoid certain foods for religious reasons. Then check the allergen information for both the bread and the fillings you plan to serve.
You can’t tell from the name or the presence of seeds. As well as gluten-containing cereals, multi-grain breads may contain allergens such as sesame or soya; the other allergens listed vary from product to product. If a child has a known allergy, choose based on the latest information for that specific product.
No. Check the ingredients list for the specific loaf. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre refers to bread made with baker’s salt in its information about iodine, but the name ‘multi-grain bread’ doesn’t tell you which salt has been used.
