Choose sturdy wholemeal bread for generous toppings, and check whether the slices are thick enough before you buy. Labels such as ‘whole’ and ‘coarse’ don’t confirm this. Also check the ingredients and allergen information for the variant you choose. If you’re shopping well ahead of the festival, freeze the bread in portions.
If you’re making generously topped sandwiches, you’ll want to check the thickness of the slices before buying the bread. ‘Whole’, ‘coarse’ or ‘sturdy’ on a product page doesn’t, by itself, tell you how thick the slices are.
If you buy bread before the festival, you can freeze it in portions and take out only what you need. The Voedingscentrum points out that quality can deteriorate if bread is frozen for a long time.
If wholemeal bread is a must, or guests need to avoid certain allergens, check the ‘wholemeal’ label and the packaging for the exact variant you’ve chosen. According to the Voedingscentrum, bread labelled ‘wholemeal’ is made with 100% wholemeal flour.
Start by checking the slice thickness for the toppings you plan to use. Then check the wholemeal label and ingredients, and decide how much bread you want to store in advance.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters most to |
|---|---|---|
| Slice thickness | Look at the slices or ask at the bakery counter for thick-sliced bread; don’t rely on ‘whole’ or ‘coarse’ alone. | For hearty or moist toppings, I want to check that a slice is thick enough to make a snack. This is the priority for around 38% of consumers. |
| Wholemeal content and ingredients | Check the ‘wholemeal’ label and read the ingredients and allergen information for the variant you’ve chosen. | When I’m buying bread for guests, I want to know which bread is genuinely wholemeal and which allergens they need to avoid. This is the main concern for around 37% of consumers. |
| Storage and portions | Follow the storage advice on the packaging and, if necessary, freeze bread bought in advance in portions. | If I shop earlier, I don’t want to have to defrost all the bread at once or risk it drying out. Portion planning takes priority for around 25% of consumers. |
These words don’t tell you how thick each slice is. You might only discover when making your snacks that the slices aren’t right for what you had in mind.
Check the slices before buying, ask at the bakery counter or see whether the packaging explicitly describes the slice thickness.
Dark or multigrain bread isn’t necessarily wholemeal. According to the Voedingscentrum, ‘wholemeal’ has a specific meaning on bread: it’s made with 100% wholemeal flour.
Look for the ‘wholemeal’ label on the packaging and read the ingredients for the variant you’re buying.
Bread can dry out before you make the snacks. Its quality can also deteriorate if it stays frozen for a long time.
Freeze bread bought in advance in portions, and take out only what you need. Follow the storage advice on the packaging.
Albert Heijn lists products including AH OerDesem volkoren Allinson heel gesneden, an 800 g loaf.
Jumbo lists a range of wholemeal breads, including fine, coarse and Stevig Volkoren Zonnepit.
PLUS has product pages for items including Grof volkoren heel and Volkoren tijger heel.
Dirk lists products including Vloerbrood volkoren heel.
ALDI’s fresh daily bread range includes products such as fijn volkoren and boeren-tijger volkoren.
Lidl lists an 800 g fine wholemeal loaf alongside other types of bread.
No. For the supermarket breads mentioned here, ‘whole’ refers to a whole loaf, not the thickness of individual slices. If you’re looking for bread to hold hearty toppings, check the packaging or ask at the bakery counter about the slice thickness.
If necessary, freeze bread bought in advance in portions, so you only take out what you’re going to use. The Voedingscentrum recommends keeping opened wholemeal bread in a kitchen cupboard for 2–4 days or in the freezer for 1–3 months; its quality can deteriorate if it’s frozen for longer. Follow the instructions on the packaging too.
Read the allergen information for the exact bread variant. The Albert Heijn and PLUS products mentioned list wheat and gluten; PLUS Volkoren tijger heel also warns that it may contain, among other things, nuts, sesame and lupin. Don’t assume the same information applies to a different loaf.
