If you want to take breakfast with you in the morning, sliced wholemeal sourdough bread is a practical choice if you prepare or portion it in advance. Part-baked sourdough rolls give you individual portions but need preparing; ready-to-eat sourdough toast is crisp straight from the pack, but a small piece of toast is not necessarily a substitute for a slice or roll of bread. Check the wholemeal claim, ingredients, allergens, nutritional information and preparation instructions for each product.
You want a slice of bread you can quickly top or toast, and you pay attention to the wholemeal claim and fibre per 100 g. Sliced sourdough is a different choice from small, crisp pieces of toast.
You want to be able to take rolls with you individually. Part-baked sourdough rolls will fit your morning routine only if you have time to prepare them according to the pack instructions, perhaps in advance.
You’re after a small, dry piece of toast you can grab from the cupboard. Think about how much you want to eat for breakfast and what you’d like to top it with; pieces of toast and slices of bread are not the same size of portion.
First decide whether you want a slice of bread you can top straight away, a roll that needs preparing or ready-to-eat toast. Then compare the packaging and nutritional information of products that fit the time you have available.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Wholemeal and fibre | Look for the wholemeal claim and compare fibre per 100 g; the word ‘sourdough’ on its own says nothing about whether it’s wholemeal. | If I often have bread as the basis for breakfast, I want to know which grains the product contains and how much fibre it provides. Around 33% of consumers say this is their top priority. |
| Preparation and portion | Check whether the product is sliced, ready to eat or part-baked, and look at the portion size. | On a busy morning, I want something I can take with me without an unexpected preparation step. For around 27% of consumers, this practical aspect matters most. |
| Flavour and texture | Choose between a slice of bread, a roll and crisp toast; check the ingredients if you have preferences or allergies. | If I’m looking forward to something crisp, the eating experience matters more to me than the shape of the packaging. This is the main consideration for around 20% of consumers. |
| Storage | Read the storage advice and consider whether you can portion and freeze a whole loaf in time. | I don’t get through a whole loaf quickly and want to be able to store what I’ll need later. That’s why around 20% of consumers make avoiding waste their top priority. |
Sourdough products can also be made with white flour. If you’re looking for wholemeal bread, you can’t tell from the word ‘sourdough’ alone.
Read the product name and ingredients, and compare the stated fibre per 100 g. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends replacing white bread with wholemeal or brown bread as much as possible.
The Jumbo sourdough rolls reviewed are sold part-baked. That means they’re not suitable for a morning when you don’t have the time or facilities to prepare them according to the pack instructions.
Check the preparation instructions and plan ahead if you want to take the rolls with you.
Jos Poell Sourdough Toast is a small toast product. Albert Heijn lists a 90 g pack and 1,9 g of salt per 100 g; the portion you eat may differ from a portion of bread.
Choose toast if that’s the crisp texture you want, and consider the portion, toppings and nutritional information when deciding what to have for breakfast.
If you only use a few slices at a time, you may have bread left over before you get round to eating it.
The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends portioning and freezing wholemeal sourdough bread as soon as you buy it. Also follow the storage advice on the pack.
These product ranges, reviewed here, offer sliced wholemeal sourdough bread for anyone who wants bread to top or toast.
The white and multigrain sourdough rolls reviewed are part-baked and sold in packs of four.
Jos Poell Sourdough Toast is an option if you’re specifically looking for small, crisp pieces of toast.
A product to consider separately if an explicitly gluten-free sourdough bread is a requirement.
Bolletje toasted bread is a separate toast option, not necessarily a sourdough product.
No. ‘Sourdough’ and ‘wholemeal’ describe different characteristics of bread. Check the product name and ingredients if you want wholemeal bread; according to Albert Heijn, the OerDesem wholemeal Allinson variety reviewed contains 57% wholemeal wheat flour and 6,3 g of fibre per 100 g, but those figures don’t apply to other sourdough breads.
Divide the loaf into portions after buying it and freeze what you won’t eat soon. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre gives a storage time of 2–4 days in a kitchen cupboard and 1–3 months in the freezer for opened wholemeal sourdough bread; also follow the instructions on the packaging for your loaf.
No. The word ‘sourdough’ doesn’t mean that a loaf is gluten-free. The regular products reviewed contain gluten-containing grains such as wheat, spelt or rye. If you avoid gluten, check for an explicit gluten-free claim and the allergen information on the current packaging.
