For an everyday lunch for your child during the school holidays, you could start with wholemeal or brown bread, as recommended by the Netherlands Nutrition Centre for children’s lunches. If you want to choose the thickness yourself, opt for a whole or unsliced loaf. Check the label and the slices, as ‘thick-cut’ doesn’t specify an exact thickness. If you need gluten-free bread, you’ll need to check the packaging separately and take care to avoid contact with ordinary bread crumbs.
If you’re having bread for lunch at home during the school holidays, choose the type of bread first, then decide which slice thickness will work best with your filling. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre lists wholemeal and brown bread as options for children’s lunches.
If you’re using a generous or moist filling, the thickness of the slice can be a practical factor. With a whole or unsliced loaf, you can cut the slices yourself; if you’re buying pre-sliced bread, check the actual slices.
If your child can’t eat gluten, slice thickness shouldn’t be your first consideration. Check that the product is explicitly labelled gluten-free and keep it separate from ordinary bread when preparing or serving it.
If you need gluten-free bread, check that it’s suitable first. Otherwise, choose the type of bread, then decide which slice thickness and quantity will work for the lunches you’re planning to make.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Type of bread | Check whether the bread is labelled wholemeal or brown; choose your preferred cut afterwards. | When I’m choosing bread for everyday lunches for my child, I want to know which type I’m taking home first. For around 33% of consumers, this comes first. |
| Slice thickness | Look at the slices, ask about the cutting options or choose a whole or unsliced loaf to cut yourself. | When I’m using a generous filling, I want to be able to judge for myself whether a slice is easy to handle. Around 27% of consumers prioritise their preferred slice thickness. |
| Gluten and allergens | Read the ingredients and allergen information; if necessary, check for an explicit ‘gluten-free’ label. | If gluten-free bread is essential, I also need to make sure it doesn’t come into contact with ordinary bread crumbs. For around 20% of consumers, this suitability is their main concern. |
| Storage | Choose an appropriate quantity and freeze the bread you’ll use later in portions straight away. | When the number of lunches at home varies, I want to take out only the slices I need. Around 20% of consumers prioritise planning and storing portions. |
The words don’t tell you how many millimetres thick a slice is. So it’s difficult to tell from the name alone whether the bread will work with your filling.
Look at the slices, ask the bakery counter about the cutting options or choose an unsliced loaf if you want to decide the thickness yourself.
In 2008, the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport published an agreement encouraging the use of iodised baker’s salt. According to NBC, its use is not a legal requirement in the Netherlands.
If iodised salt is relevant to your choice of bread, check the ingredients list of the specific product for ingredients such as baker’s salt or iodised table salt.
According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, spelt is a type of wheat that contains gluten. The term ‘multigrain’ doesn’t mean that bread is gluten-free either.
If you need to choose gluten-free bread, check that the product is explicitly labelled as such and avoid contact with crumbs from ordinary bread.
If you don’t use the same number of slices every day, some of the bread may be left uneaten.
Following the Netherlands Nutrition Centre’s storage advice, freeze the bread you’ll use later in portions straight away. Then take out only the slices you need for each lunch.
Albert Heijn’s online bread range includes sliced, whole and unsliced loaves in a variety of types.
These round loaves from Lekhaven Bakkerij are suited to an approach where you slice the bread yourself after preparing it for holiday lunches. If a wholemeal or gluten-free label is essential to your choice, check the packaging separately.
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If you want to choose the slice thickness yourself, you can slice this round loaf after preparing it.
The pack contains two 550 g loaves. Allow time for defrosting, baking and cooling before slicing.
If you’re specifically looking for wholemeal bread, check the label: the product name alone doesn’t confirm that the grain ingredient is entirely wholemeal.
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If you want to prepare a single round loaf and then slice it to your preferred thickness, this pack is a good fit.
The stated weight is 550 g. Allow time for defrosting, baking and cooling before slicing the bread for lunch.
If you’re choosing wholemeal bread, don’t rely on ‘Whole Wheat’ in the name alone: check the label and ingredients on the packaging.
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This round multigrain loaf is suited to a lunch where you want to slice the bread yourself after preparing it.
The stated weight is 550 g; allow time for defrosting, baking and cooling when planning your lunch.
Multigrain doesn’t automatically mean wholemeal. Check the label if the type of bread or a gluten-free label is important to your choice.
Wholemeal or brown bread is a good starting point for an everyday lunch for your child, as described by the Netherlands Nutrition Centre. Then decide whether pre-sliced bread would be practical or whether you’d prefer to choose the thickness yourself with an unsliced loaf.
No. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, spelt is a type of wheat that contains gluten. If you need gluten-free bread, check for an explicit label on the packaging and avoid contact with ordinary bread crumbs.
No, there’s no general legal requirement. In 2008, the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport published an agreement on the use of iodised baker’s salt; according to NBC, its use is not a legal requirement. Check the ingredients list of the bread you’re planning to buy.
Ideally, freeze any bread you won’t use straight away in portions after buying it, as recommended by the Netherlands Nutrition Centre. That way, you can take out the slices you need for each lunch without having to use the whole loaf at once.
