For a quick toastie or generously filled sandwich, start by looking at square white bread or toastie bread: Albert Heijn says its square white bread is suitable for toasties and club sandwiches, while Jumbo sells a separate white toastie loaf. These names don’t guarantee that the slices are thick enough for your snack. So check the slices if you can, ask about the available slicing options if necessary, and make sure the bread and filling will fit in your appliance.
You’re picking up bread at the last minute for a toastie or club sandwich and want slices that hold together while you add the filling and toast them. Albert Heijn recommends its square white bread for these uses, and Jumbo also sells a separate toastie loaf.
You’re looking for a slice with plenty of room for your filling. Check the shape and thickness of the bread itself: names such as square, farmhouse or toastie bread don’t indicate a standard slice thickness.
You’re picking up a whole loaf during a top-up shop, but won’t use it all straight away. Check the storage information: for the white breads reviewed, Albert Heijn says they can be frozen on the day of purchase.
First decide what you’ll use the slices for. Then consider whether you’ll use the whole loaf in time and which ingredients matter to you.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who this matters most to |
|---|---|---|
| Slices for toasties or substantial fillings | Check the thickness and shape of the slice. For a toastie, make sure the bread and filling will fit in your appliance. | When I’m making a toastie or a generously filled snack, I want slices I can fill and move around without them falling apart. Around 44% of consumers put this practicality first. |
| Using and storing bread | Check what’s available in your shop and read the use-by and freezing information for the bread you choose. | I pick up bread as part of my regular shop and want to be able to store any leftover slices. Convenience is the main priority for around 33% of consumers. |
| Ingredients and nutritional information | Check the current packaging for ingredients, allergens and nutritional values per 100 g or per serving. | When I’m buying bread for someone with an allergy or weighing up my usual choice, I want to know what’s in it. This is the top priority for around 23% of consumers. |
Whole loaf, farmhouse, tiger and square white describe the type of bread, not the thickness of each slice in millimetres. So a loaf with the name you’re looking for may still have slices that aren’t right for your snack.
Check the slices if possible, or ask the bakery counter what slicing options are available.
A thick slice doesn’t turn white bread into wholemeal bread. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends replacing white bread with wholemeal or brown bread as much as possible.
Choose the type of bread you want for your snack, and if you eat bread regularly, consider wholemeal or brown bread too.
Whether a loaf contains iodised salt is a product detail you can’t tell from the type of bread alone.
If you want to know, check the current ingredients list for the bread you’re buying.
Ingredients and allergen information can vary between white breads. So a familiar bread name is no substitute for checking the product you’ve chosen.
Read the current packaging, especially if you’re buying bread for someone with an allergy or intolerance.
Albert Heijn offers standard white bread as well as square white bread, among other options. The retailer says its square white bread reviewed here is suitable for toasties and club sandwiches.
Jumbo’s white bread range includes square white bread, farmhouse tiger white bread and a separate white toastie loaf.
ALDI offers standard white bread as well as square and farmhouse tiger white bread, among other options.
Lidl offers packaged white bread as well as a range of oven-fresh bread in store.
PLUS offers farmhouse white bread and whole farmhouse tiger white bread, among other options.
Under its Bakker van der Akker range, Dirk offers round white bread and square white bread, among other options.
Check the slices themselves if possible, or ask at the bakery counter about the available slice thicknesses. Words such as whole loaf, square white and toastie bread don’t indicate a standard thickness. For a toastie, the filled slice also needs to fit in your appliance.
Square white bread can be a good starting point: Albert Heijn says its extra-long-lasting square white bread is suitable for toasties and club sandwiches. That doesn’t mean every square white loaf is thickly sliced, so check the slices of the bread you choose.
For the white breads reviewed, Albert Heijn says they can be frozen on the day of purchase. For other loaves, check the storage information on the packaging and follow the defrosting instructions.
Check the current packaging for the specific loaf. The Albert Heijn white breads reviewed have different ingredient and allergen information, so don’t assume they have the same ingredients as another variety.
Read the ingredients list for the bread you’re buying and check whether iodised salt is listed. The term ‘white bread’ alone doesn’t tell you which salt has been used in that product.
