If you want to eat the sourdough bread today, bakery-fresh bread is a good fit for a small top-up shop. If you want to order online and eat it later, look for a bake-at-home option and bear in mind that you’ll need to prepare it at home. In either case, check separately whether the bread is wholemeal, whether it contains baker’s yeast, and whether the label mentions iodised salt or baker’s salt.
You’re picking up bread as a small addition to your shopping and want to choose something in store that you can take away and eat straight away. Check what your local branch has in stock if you’re looking for a particular sourdough loaf.
You want to add bread to an online order or prepare it at a later date. A bake-at-home option could work if you have the time and a suitable appliance at home to bake it.
You’re specifically looking for wholemeal sourdough, bread without added baker’s yeast, or bread labelled with iodised salt or baker’s salt. The word ‘sourdough’ alone doesn’t tell you whether it meets these requirements.
First decide when you want to eat the bread and how you’re doing your shopping. Then compare the type of bread, ingredients and quantity of the product you’re actually buying.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Ready to eat | Check the sourdough bread in your local branch and see whether it’s ready to eat or needs to be baked at home. | I want to eat the bread today and choose it in person. For around 29% of consumers, being able to eat it straight away is the top priority. |
| Type of bread and ingredients | If you want wholemeal bread, look for an explicit ‘wholemeal’ description. Check the ingredients for baker’s yeast and iodised salt or baker’s salt. | If you’re looking for wholemeal bread or want to know which ingredients have been used, ‘sourdough’ on its own isn’t enough. For around 29% of consumers, checking the label comes first. |
| Ordering and baking at home | Check whether you can order your chosen bread online and what preparation instructions apply to a bake-at-home option. | If I want to add bread to my online shopping, baking it at home could be an option. Around 24% of consumers prioritise the convenience of ordering and preparation. |
| Quantity and storage | Compare the weight of the bread with how much you’ll use, and check the storage advice on the packaging. | If there aren’t many bread eaters at home, I don’t want to buy more than we can use or freeze. For around 18% of consumers, choosing the right quantity is the main concern. |
Sourdough describes how the bread is made; it doesn’t mean wholemeal flour has been used. AH Liefde & Passie OerDesem San Francisco, for example, is a white wheat sourdough loaf.
If you want wholemeal bread, look for an explicit ‘wholemeal’ description.
According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, bakers aren’t required to use baker’s salt. So the word ‘sourdough’ won’t tell you which salt has been added to the bread.
Check the ingredients for ‘iodised salt’ or ‘baker’s salt’, or ask the baker.
Bread can contain both sourdough and baker’s yeast. Albert Heijn lists 11% wheat sourdough as well as baker’s yeast in AH Liefde & Passie OerDesem San Francisco.
Read the full ingredients list if you’re specifically looking for bread without added baker’s yeast.
If you’re only doing a small top-up shop, a whole loaf may be more than you’ll use over the next few days.
Choose an amount that suits you, or freeze the bread in portions as soon as you buy it if you want to eat it later, as the Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises.
These examples can help you decide which type of bread and way of shopping to check; the range may vary between branches.
One packaged sourdough loaf you can compare by type of bread and ingredients is AH Liefde & Passie OerDesem San Francisco, a white wheat sourdough loaf weighing 600 g.
An in-store option if you want to buy rustic sourdough bread in person.
A shop to consider if you’re specifically looking for wholemeal sourdough.
A bake-at-home option if you want to add bread to an online order and prepare it at home.
An in-store option if you want to browse the bread range at your local branch.
An in-store option if you want to browse the bread range at your local branch.
No, sourdough doesn’t automatically make bread wholemeal. Look for an explicit wholemeal description if that’s the type of bread you want; sourdough can also be made with white wheat flour.
No. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, bakers don’t have to use baker’s salt. Check the ingredients on the packaging or ask the baker whether iodised salt or baker’s salt has been used.
Yes, you can freeze bread in portions to use later. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends doing this as soon as you’ve bought it; for opened wholemeal sourdough bread, it gives a freezer storage time of 1 to 3 months.
It depends on the bread and the shop. PLUS offers its white bake-at-home sourdough baguette online, while Jumbo says its in-store sourdough breads can’t be ordered online. Check how you can order the product you want to buy.
