For autumn half-term snacks, you can swap white bread for bread labelled wholemeal on the packaging. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises replacing white bread with wholemeal or brown bread as much as possible. Choose a fine-textured wholemeal loaf if texture matters, and compare the nutritional information per 100 g if fibre is your priority. If you have dietary requirements or allergies, check that the bread is suitable first: standard wholemeal wheat bread is not a gluten-free alternative.
These households want to swap white bread for several snack occasions, so they compare bread explicitly labelled wholemeal. To compare fibre content, they check the nutritional information for the product they choose.
If coarse bread isn’t popular, a finer-textured wholemeal loaf may be a better fit for the snack you have in mind. For example, Lidl describes a loaf made with extra-finely milled wholemeal flour.
If you follow a gluten-free diet or have a wheat allergy, you’ll need to check whether the bread is suitable. If you want to know whether baker’s salt has been used, check the label before buying or ask your baker.
If you have dietary requirements or allergies, checking that the bread is suitable comes before choosing its texture or size. Then consider which factor matters most for snacks at home.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Wholemeal and fibre | Look for the word wholemeal and compare fibre per 100 g and per portion in the nutritional information. | I want to replace white bread for regular snacks and know how much fibre my chosen bread contains. This focus on wholemeal bread and fibre comes first for around 36% of consumers. |
| Texture and taste | Compare fine- and coarse-textured wholemeal varieties; even with a fine-textured option, check that it is labelled wholemeal. | If coarse bread gets left uneaten at home, I’m looking for a finer texture that people will actually want to eat. This is the top priority for around 29% of consumers. |
| Portions and storage | Choose a half or whole loaf to suit how much you’ll use, and check how you can freeze portions. | For just a few snack occasions, I don’t want to buy more bread than we’ll use. For around 21% of consumers, portion size and reducing waste are the main concerns. |
| Ingredients and baker’s salt | Check for relevant allergens and, if needed, a gluten-free label or a mention of baker’s salt. | If I need to consider a diet, allergy or the presence of baker’s salt, I want to check before buying. This label check is the top priority for around 14% of consumers. |
The colour and a name such as multigrain don’t tell you whether the flour used is made entirely from whole grains. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority links the wholemeal label specifically to flour made from whole grains.
Look for the word wholemeal on the packaging rather than judging by the colour.
A claim that a product contains extra fibre applies to that particular product; values per loaf or portion aren’t necessarily comparable.
Compare the amount of fibre per 100 g, then consider the portion you’ll use for a snack.
According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, bread can contribute to your iodine intake through baker’s salt, but baker’s salt isn’t always used.
For packaged bread, check the ingredients list for baker’s salt. For unwrapped bread, ask the baker.
If you don’t eat the bread in time, some of it may be left over or go off.
Choose a size that suits how much you’ll use. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises freezing bread in portions straight after buying it if you won’t use it soon.
Albert Heijn offers a range of wholemeal breads, including round loaves, hearth-baked loaves and Zaans wholemeal bread.
Jumbo offers fine- and coarse-textured options, round loaves and wholemeal toastie bread.
Lidl describes a wholemeal kids’ loaf made with extra-finely milled wholemeal flour.
As well as wholemeal bread, ALDI lists a specific extra-high-fibre wholemeal variety.
PLUS offers fine-textured round, farmhouse and tiger wholemeal loaves, among other options.
Dirk offers wholemeal bread alongside other types, including a wholemeal bâtard.
The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises replacing white bread with wholemeal or brown bread as much as possible. It gives the examples of 3,4 g of fibre in a 50 g wholemeal roll and 1,2 g in a 45 g slice of hand-cut white bread. These portions aren’t the same, so compare the nutritional information per 100 g for the breads you’re considering before you buy.
Look for the word wholemeal on the packaging; colour or the name multigrain isn’t a substitute. According to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, the label means that all the flour used is made from whole grains.
No, baker’s salt isn’t used in every loaf. If its presence matters to your choice, check the ingredients list on packaged bread or ask the baker about unwrapped bread.
Standard wholemeal wheat bread isn’t suitable for a gluten-free diet or for anyone who needs to avoid wheat. If you follow a gluten-free diet, check for a gluten-free label. If you have a wheat allergy, also check the ingredients and relevant allergen information for the specific loaf.
Choose a size that matches how much bread you expect to use. If you won’t get through a whole loaf quickly, you could buy half a loaf or, following the Netherlands Nutrition Centre’s advice, freeze the bread in portions straight after buying it.
