Choose tiger bread if you want a crisp crust and a light slice to go with your pea soup. If you prefer a firmer slice, a fuller sourdough flavour and wholemeal flour, take a look at wholemeal sourdough bread. A tiger crust or sourdough powder alone doesn’t prove that a loaf has been made with a sourdough starter; check the product description, ingredients and nutritional information per 100 g.
If you’d like a light slice with a distinctive tiger crust alongside your pea soup, tiger bread could be a good fit. Don’t assume it has also been made with a sourdough starter: the ingredients lists from Albert Heijn and Jumbo show why you should check this separately.
If the type of grain and fibre content matter more to you than a light, white crumb, compare wholemeal and brown varieties by checking their product descriptions and nutritional information per 100 g. Tiger crust is also found on wholemeal bread.
If you want to know whether a loaf contains iodised baker’s salt, or need to check allergen information, read the packaging currently in store. For unwrapped bread, ask for this information before choosing; according to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, not all bread is baked with baker’s salt.
First decide whether the tiger crust or wholemeal sourdough bread matters more to you. Then check the details of the specific loaf: the same crust doesn’t tell you anything about the type of grain or how the bread has risen.
Best for: a crisp tiger crust if you’re also looking for wholemeal bread.
Keep in mind: the crust doesn’t prove that it has been made with a sourdough starter; Albert Heijn’s tiger bread lists both baker’s yeast and rye sourdough powder.
Best for: anyone who values a firmer slice and a fuller sourdough flavour more than a tiger crust.
Keep in mind: bread described as wholemeal sourdough doesn’t automatically have a tiger crust; Lidl describes its rustic variety as wholemeal wheat sourdough bread.
Best for: anyone who simply wants a light slice with a tiger crust alongside their soup.
Keep in mind: the white varieties from Jumbo and PLUS that were reviewed each list 2.3 g of fibre per 100 g; compare this figure if fibre matters to you.
| What to consider | What should you check? | Who is this most important to? |
|---|---|---|
| Crust and texture | Look for the description ‘tiger bread’ if you want a tiger crust; check separately whether the bread is described as sourdough. | I want a crisp crust with my pea soup, but not a heavy slice. For around 42% of consumers, crust and texture are the main priorities when choosing bread. |
| Wholemeal and fibre | Read the product description and ingredients list; compare fibre on a like-for-like basis, per 100 g. | I’m looking for wholemeal bread and want to know how much fibre I’ll get from a slice. Wholemeal and fibre matter most to around 33% of consumers. |
| Iodised salt, salt and allergens | Check the ingredients and allergen information, including whether iodised salt or baker’s salt is listed; compare salt per 100 g. | If I need to watch my intake of iodised salt or salt, or check for allergens, I want to be able to check the details before buying. This label information is the main concern for around 25% of consumers. |
An ingredient with ‘sourdough’ in its name isn’t the same as a product description such as ‘sourdough bread’. According to Jumbo, its white tiger bread lists both inactive wheat sourdough powder and baker’s yeast.
Look for an explicit description such as ‘sourdough bread’, then read the full ingredients list if the way the bread has risen is important to your choice.
The crust doesn’t determine the type of bread: the tiger breads reviewed included white, brown and wholemeal varieties. So the crust doesn’t tell you how much fibre the bread contains either.
Check the product description and compare the fibre content per 100 g. Don’t go by the colour or crust alone.
Baker’s salt is iodised salt, but according to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, using it to bake bread isn’t compulsory.
Look for baker’s salt or iodised salt on the packaging. If you’re buying unwrapped bread, ask about it if this information matters to you.
Ingredients can change. With unwrapped bread, allergen information may not be available on packaging; the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority says this information must be provided to consumers in another way.
Check the current packaging or ask in store for allergen information before buying bread.
These product examples show why you should assess tiger crust, wholemeal flour and sourdough separately. Always check the latest product information before you buy.
AH Tijger volkoren heel combines a tiger crust with a wholemeal product description.
Jumbo Boeren Tijgerbrood Wit Half is a white tiger bread for anyone looking for a light slice.
Lidl describes Rustiek volkoren desembrood as wholemeal wheat sourdough bread.
Aldi lists Boeren tijger volkoren Heel as wholemeal tiger bread.
PLUS offers both a Korenlanders boeren-tijgerbruinbrood and a white tiger bread variety.
Dirk’s bread range includes both sourdough and brown tiger bread, including Bakker van der Akker Boeren tijger bruin heel.
No. The sourdough process alone doesn’t determine which nutritional information matters to you. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre describes the type of grain as an important difference between types of bread, so compare the product description, ingredients and values per 100 g rather than looking only for the word ‘sourdough’.
No. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, using baker’s salt to bake bread isn’t compulsory. For packaged bread, check the ingredients list; for unwrapped bread, ask which salt has been used.
No, sourdough powder as an ingredient isn’t enough to establish that. Jumbo lists both inactive wheat sourdough powder and baker’s yeast in its white boeren-tijgerbrood; if you’re looking for sourdough bread, check how the bread itself is described.
Ask for the allergen information for the specific bread before buying. According to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, this information must also be provided to consumers for unwrapped products, although it may be given in a way other than on packaging.
Follow the storage instructions for the bread you buy. PLUS says Korenlanders Boeren tijger bruin heel can be frozen at home on the day of purchase and should be used within one month; don’t assume the same instructions apply to other breads.
