Choose a whole sourdough loaf if you want bread to share at the table, or a part-baked sourdough baguette if you’d like to bake it just before serving. When choosing between white and multigrain, check the ingredients and fibre per 100 g rather than relying on the name or colour alone. For guests who need to eat gluten-free, ordinary wheat, spelt or rye sourdough is not a substitute for bread explicitly labelled gluten-free.
You can slice or break up a whole or unsliced sourdough loaf to serve with savoury toppings, starters or a sharing platter. Albert Heijn has several OerDesem varieties, while Jumbo describes rustic sourdough loaves baked in store.
A part-baked sourdough baguette is a good choice if you have an oven or air fryer available shortly before the meal. PLUS provides instructions for both appliances for its baguettes. Bear in mind that other Christmas dishes may need the space at the same time.
When choosing between white and multigrain, check the proportion of wholemeal flour and the fibre per 100 g. Always check the label of your chosen bread for guests with a food allergy. According to the Dutch Coeliac Association, wheat, spelt and rye are among the grains that contain gluten; sourdough made with these grains is not automatically gluten-free.
First decide how and when you want to serve the bread. Then compare the ingredients and nutritional information of the loaves that suit your plans.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Presentation and flavour | Choose whether you want a whole, unsliced or sliced loaf; also check which grains and additions contribute to its flavour. | If I’m serving bread with savoury dishes, I want to be able to slice and share it myself. For around 33% of consumers, this combination of presentation and flavour comes first. |
| Baking and timing | Check the cooking instructions and whether the bread will fit in the oven or air fryer you have available. | If the oven is also needed for other Christmas dishes, I want to know whether I can bake the bread just before serving. This is the main consideration for around 25% of consumers. |
| Wholemeal and fibre | Check the proportion of wholemeal flour in the ingredients and compare the fibre per 100 g. | If I’m serving several types of bread, I want to compare their nutritional information rather than judge by the dark colour. Around 25% of consumers prioritise this. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the latest allergen information. If needed, look for an explicit gluten-free claim, and check whether the ingredients list mentions iodised salt if you have a question about iodine. | If a guest needs to avoid certain ingredients, I want to know which bread is suitable before serving it. This check is the top priority for around 17% of consumers. |
Sourdough describes how the bread is made; it doesn’t mean the bread is gluten-free. Sourdough made with wheat, spelt or rye is therefore not a gluten-free option.
For a guest who needs to eat gluten-free, choose a separately packaged loaf with an explicit gluten-free claim or an appropriate certification, as advised by the Dutch Coeliac Association. Use separate utensils when serving it to avoid contact with ordinary bread.
A part-baked baguette still needs to be cooked. During Christmas dinner, the oven may be needed for other dishes at the same time.
Read the cooking instructions before you buy and set aside a time slot for the bread. PLUS also gives air fryer instructions for the sourdough baguettes it has reviewed; check that the bread will fit in your appliance.
The colour and the word ‘multigrain’ don’t tell you how much wholemeal flour a loaf contains. Fibre levels can also vary from product to product.
Compare the ingredients and nutritional information per 100 g. PLUS states that its multigrain sourdough baguette contains 35% wholemeal wheat flour and 5,8 g of fibre per 100 g.
The ingredients in one loaf tell you nothing about the salt used in another sourdough. The terms ‘organic’ and ‘sourdough’ don’t provide any information about this in themselves.
Check the ingredients list of the bread you want to serve for iodised salt, or ask which ingredients have been used if you’re buying unpackaged bread.
These brands offer different types of bread to compare. Always check the specific product and its current packaging before choosing.
Albert Heijn offers several OerDesem varieties, including sliced and frozen loaves.
Jumbo describes rustic sourdough loaves baked in store and also offers a part-baked white sourdough baguette.
PLUS offers white and multigrain sourdough baguettes to bake at home.
Lidl lists a 600 g organic brown multigrain sourdough loaf with seeds.
Aldi lists a rustic white loaf in its bread range.
Dirk lists Wasa sourdough rye crispbread, which is a cracker rather than a loaf to serve at the table.
No, sourdough doesn’t automatically make bread gluten-free. The sourdough products described by PLUS and Jumbo contain grains that have gluten. When buying gluten-free, the Dutch Coeliac Association advises looking for an explicit gluten-free claim or the Crossed Grain Trademark.
Choose based on how you want to serve it and the nutritional information for the specific loaf. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, wholemeal bread contains more fibre, vitamins and minerals than white bread; a loaf labelled multigrain isn’t automatically made entirely with wholemeal flour. If this matters to your choice, compare the ingredients and fibre per 100 g.
This varies by product, so follow the instructions on the packaging. PLUS says to bake its white sourdough baguette for 8–10 minutes in an oven at 220 °C or for 4 minutes in a preheated air fryer at 200 °C. Albert Heijn’s frozen OerDesem spelt-buckwheat loaf needs to thaw in its packaging for at least 6 hours, then can be baked for around 15 minutes at 180 °C.
No, don’t assume that all sourdough contains iodised salt. It’s listed in the ingredients of certain products described by Albert Heijn, Jumbo and PLUS, but that doesn’t mean it’s used in other breads. Read the label of the loaf you choose, or ask about the ingredients if you’re buying unpackaged bread.
