If you want to cut your own thick slices for a generously filled university lunch, ask whether you can take a whole tiger loaf unsliced or have it cut to your preferred thickness. ‘Whole’ doesn’t guarantee that it will be unsliced. Then choose between white and wholemeal by checking the nutritional information for the variant you’re considering. If it’s par-baked, also check that you have time and access to an oven to finish baking it.
If you want a generously filled sandwich, you’ll want to choose the thickness of the slices yourself. If you’re buying a whole loaf, ask whether you can take it unsliced; a pre-sliced loaf won’t give you that choice. Albert Heijn lists a whole tiger wholemeal loaf, while ALDI describes its wholemeal variant in the range we looked at as pre-sliced.
If tiger bread is a regular part of your lunch, you can compare wholemeal and white variants by their fibre content per 100 g. The wholemeal loaves from Albert Heijn and PLUS that we looked at list 6,7 g and 6,4 g respectively; Jumbo lists 2,3 g for its white variant in the range we looked at.
If you have questions about allergens or iodised salt, check the label for the exact variant you’ve chosen. Read both the ingredients and allergen information, as product details can change.
First decide whether you want to cut your own thick slices or simply take a quick lunch with you. Then compare the type of bread, the label and any preparation instructions for the variant you have in mind.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing the slice thickness yourself | Ask whether you can take the whole loaf unsliced or have it cut to your preferred thickness. | For a generously filled lunch, I want to be able to cut slices to suit my filling. Around 33% of consumers put this choice first. |
| Fibre and wholemeal | Check that it’s labelled ‘wholemeal’ and compare the fibre content per 100 g of the variants you’re considering. | If I often take tiger bread with me, I want to know how much fibre my chosen variant contains. This comparison is a priority for around 27% of consumers. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the current label, including any warnings about possible traces of allergens. If you want to check for iodine, look for a mention of baker’s salt or iodised salt. | I need to know what’s in this particular loaf before taking it with me. For around 20% of consumers, checking this is the top priority. |
| Ready to take with you | Check whether the loaf is pre-sliced or still needs to be baked. | If I want to have lunch on campus without any preparation, the main thing is whether the bread is ready to eat. Around 20% of consumers prioritise this. |
‘Whole’ describes the loaf, not the thickness of the slices. A whole loaf may already be sliced, as ALDI states for its wholemeal tiger bread in the range we looked at.
Before buying, ask whether you can take the loaf unsliced or have it cut thickly.
The crust doesn’t tell you how much fibre the bread contains. Albert Heijn lists 6,7 g of fibre per 100 g for AH Tijger volkoren heel, while PLUS lists 6,4 g for Korenlanders Boeren tijger volkoren 1/2. Jumbo lists 2,3 g for Boeren Tijgerbrood Wit.
Look for the ‘wholemeal’ label and compare the fibre content per 100 g in the nutritional information for the variant you’ve chosen.
According to Voedingscentrum, bakers don’t always use baker’s salt. So, what’s listed for one loaf doesn’t tell you anything about the ingredients of another variant.
If you want to know which salt is used in your chosen loaf, check the ingredients list for ‘baker’s salt’ or ‘iodised salt’.
A loaf that still needs to be baked isn’t a ready-to-eat lunch option if you don’t have access to an oven. For the Korenlanders variant we looked at, PLUS gives instructions to bake it for 10 minutes at 200 °C.
Read the preparation instructions and plan to finish baking the loaf before taking it with you for lunch on campus.
These product examples show the differences you may come across when choosing supermarket bread. Check the information for the variant you actually buy.
AH Tijger volkoren heel is worth considering if you’re looking for a wholemeal tiger loaf.
Boeren Tijgerbrood Wit is a whole white tiger loaf whose nutritional information you can compare with that of wholemeal variants.
Korenlanders Boeren tijger volkoren 1/2 is a wholemeal variant with product information about its ingredients and preparation.
Boeren tijger volkoren is an option if you want to take a pre-sliced loaf with you.
At Dirk, you can weigh up a whole white tiger loaf against tiger rolls sold individually.
Lidl’s tiger roll is a roll option, not a whole loaf that you can cut into thick slices yourself.
Ask whether you can take a whole loaf unsliced or have it cut to your preferred thickness. The labels ‘whole’ and ‘pre-sliced’ don’t, on their own, confirm a particular slice thickness.
If you’re mainly comparing fibre, look for variants explicitly labelled wholemeal and check the nutritional information per 100 g. Albert Heijn lists 6,7 g of fibre for AH Tijger volkoren heel and PLUS lists 6,4 g for Korenlanders Boeren tijger volkoren 1/2, compared with 2,3 g for Jumbo Boeren Tijgerbrood Wit. Voedingscentrum recommends replacing white bread with wholemeal or brown bread as often as possible.
Check the ingredients list for the loaf you’ve chosen for ‘baker’s salt’ or ‘iodised salt’. According to Voedingscentrum, bakers don’t always use baker’s salt, so don’t rely on the type of bread or the shop alone.
Read the current packaging for the exact variant you’re buying, including any warnings about possible traces. The variants from Albert Heijn, Jumbo and PLUS that we looked at list wheat or cereals containing gluten; allergen information can vary between products.
Only if you can bake it according to the instructions before lunch. For Korenlanders Boeren tijger volkoren 1/2, PLUS says to bake it for a further 10 minutes at 200 °C. Without access to an oven, you’ll need to prepare this variant somewhere else.
