Choose a half loaf of toastie bread if you want to make hot toasties or toasted sandwiches; choose Melba toast if you want to serve crisp toast pieces straight away with cold toppings or dips. A half loaf is a better choice if you only need a small amount, but it will only help you avoid leftovers if you match the portions to your plans and freeze any bread you won’t use in good time.
A half loaf of toastie bread gives you slices for toasties or toasted snacks without having to buy a whole loaf. Consider how many portions you expect to use and freeze the rest if needed; the Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises freezing bread in portions straight after buying it.
If you want to put out crisp toast pieces straight away for an autumn half-term get-together, Melba toast is an alternative to bread that still needs to be toasted. Check the ingredients and allergen information on the packaging before buying.
The product information for the two half loaves of Jumbo toastie bread mentioned here lists 6,4 g of fibre per 100 g for the wholemeal version and 2,3 g per 100 g for the white version. Check the current nutritional information for the version you want to buy, and consider its fibre content alongside the type of snack you want to serve.
First decide whether you want warm slices or crisp, ready-to-serve toast pieces. Then choose a pack size and check the nutritional information to suit what you’re actually going to serve.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters most to |
|---|---|---|
| Amount and leftovers | Check that it’s a half loaf, how many portions the pack contains and how to store any slices you don’t use. | If I’m only planning a few snack occasions, I don’t want to be left with lots of unused bread. Having the right amount in stock is a priority for around 38% of consumers. |
| Hot or cold snacks | Choose bread to toast or make toasties with, or Melba toast to top or dip straight away. | For a get-together, I want crisp toast pieces ready to serve; for hot toasties, I need slices of bread. The way the food will be served is the deciding factor for roughly 37% of consumers. |
| Nutritional information and allergens | Check fibre and salt per 100 g, as well as the current ingredients and allergen information. | When several people are eating, I want to know which ingredients they’ll be having and what nutritional values apply to the version I’ve chosen. For around 25% of consumers, label information is their top priority. |
Melba toast is a ready-to-eat, crisp toast piece for toppings or dips. A half loaf of toastie bread consists of slices you can toast or use to make toasties, so the two products aren’t interchangeable for every recipe.
Decide what you want to serve before comparing pack sizes or nutritional values.
Even a half pack can contain more slices than you’ll use during your planned snack occasions. The half loaves of Jumbo toastie bread mentioned here each contain around 11 portions.
Plan how many slices you’ll need. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises freezing bread in portions straight after buying it and taking out only what you need.
A product name doesn’t tell you everything about its nutritional value or allergens. For example, the half loaves of Jumbo wholemeal and white toastie bread mentioned here have different listed fibre values per 100 g.
Read the current nutritional and allergen information for the specific pack, especially if someone eating with you needs to avoid certain ingredients.
The use of iodised baker’s salt doesn’t mean that every individual bread or toast product has a set iodine content. An agreement published in 2008 by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport encourages the use of iodised salt in bread and bread substitutes.
If iodine matters to your choice of product, check the current product information or ask the manufacturer.
Jumbo lists both a half loaf of wholemeal toastie bread and a half loaf of white toastie bread in its product information. This means you can choose the version that suits your plans while sticking to the same type of bread.
The multigrain Melba toast mentioned here is designed to be topped or dipped as a crisp snack, not used as half a loaf of toastie bread for hot toasties.
Bolletje is a brand to consider if you’re also thinking about crisp crackers as well as toastie bread and Melba toast.
Choose half a loaf of toastie bread for hot toasties or toasted sandwiches. Melba toast is for crisp toast pieces served straight away with, for example, cold toppings or a dip, so decide how you want to prepare your snacks first.
Freeze the slices in portions if you’re not going to use them soon. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises portioning bread straight after buying it and taking only what you need out of the freezer each time. You should also follow the storage instructions on the packaging.
Only choose after checking the current label for the specific product. The half loaves of Jumbo toastie bread mentioned here contain wheat and gluten; the multigrain Melba toast described contains wheat, oats and rye, among other ingredients. Check the full allergen information before buying too.
Don’t assume that every bread or toast product has a set iodine content. An agreement published in 2008 by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport encourages the use of iodised salt in bread and bread substitutes, but it doesn’t tell you what’s in a specific pack. Check the current product information or ask the manufacturer.
