For Friday afternoon drinks with fussy eaters, brown bread is an option if you’re looking for a mix of wholemeal flour and white flour; choose wholemeal bread if you want it to be made entirely from wholemeal flour. Fine wholemeal bread is worth considering if a less coarse texture matters, but check the ingredients and allergen information on the bread you actually buy.
If not everyone enjoys coarse bread, you could compare brown bread with fine wholemeal bread. Brown bread contains both wholemeal flour and white flour; with fine wholemeal bread, the product description matters more than the texture alone.
If you’re specifically looking for wholemeal bread, check the product description and ingredients rather than relying on a dark colour or visible seeds.
For a small group, half a loaf may be a better match for the amount of dips and toppings on the table. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises freezing any bread you want to keep in portions straight away.
First, consider which bread your guests are likely to eat, whether it’s essential to you that it’s made entirely from wholemeal flour, and how much you need. Then compare the packaging of the specific products.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Taste and texture | Compare brown bread with fine wholemeal bread, and read the product description and ingredients; a fine texture doesn’t guarantee that everyone will enjoy the taste. | If my guests leave coarse bread uneaten, I want to choose a texture that suits them. For around 42% of consumers, this is the first thing they consider. |
| Wholemeal content and fibre | Check whether the bread is labelled as wholemeal and compare the fibre per 100 g in the nutritional information for the products you’re considering. | If you want bread made entirely from wholemeal flour, don’t judge it by its colour alone. For around 33% of consumers, choosing wholemeal comes first. |
| Quantity | Check whether half a loaf is available, and decide how much you want to serve and possibly freeze in portions. | For a small get-together, I don’t want to put out more bread than necessary. Around 25% of consumers give the right quantity top priority. |
According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, brown bread is a mix of wholemeal flour and white flour. The term ‘multigrain’ doesn’t, on its own, mean that bread is made entirely from wholemeal flour either.
Check the product description and ingredients. Choose brown bread if you’re specifically looking for a mix of wholemeal and white flour for your group.
The colour doesn’t tell you which allergens bread contains; recipes can vary from product to product.
For packaged bread, read the label. For unpackaged bread, ask for allergen information before you buy, and take any warnings about possible traces into account.
The Netherlands Nutrition Centre lists bread as a food that is often wasted. You may have some left over after a small get-together, especially if you’re serving other snacks too.
Consider buying half a loaf, and freeze any bread you want to keep in portions straight away, as advised by the Netherlands Nutrition Centre.
The range includes different types of wholemeal bread, such as tiger bread and half loaves.
Jumbo offers fine wholemeal bread and half loaves of wholemeal bread, among other options.
Lidl describes a kids’ bread made with extra-finely milled wholemeal flour as an option for anyone concerned about texture.
The bread range includes fine wholemeal bread and round brown bread, among other options.
PLUS offers wholemeal and brown breads; one of the brown breads lists both wholemeal wheat flour and wheat flour in its ingredients.
The bread range includes white, brown, multigrain and wholemeal bread, among other options.
These products include flatbreads, round bake-at-home loaves and rye bread to serve with dips or toppings. They’re different types of bread, so check the packaging if you’re specifically looking for wholemeal bread or a mix of wholemeal and white flour.
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This flatbread is an option if you want to serve bread with dips. The pack contains six pieces; check the ingredients and product description on the label if the wholemeal content is important to your choice.
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This 550 g round loaf is an option if you want to share a bread made with wholemeal flour and wheat flour at your get-together. It’s a bake-at-home loaf, so allow time for defrosting, baking and cooling before serving. Check the packaging for allergen information.
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This rye bread is a different type of bread that you can serve in portions with toppings. The pack contains nine pieces; don’t assume the taste or texture will be like fine wheat bread, and check the ingredients on the packaging.
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Two round loaves may be a good choice if you want to share more bread at your get-together; it could be more than you need for a small group. According to the product information, the bread contains wholemeal flour and wheat flour, and needs to be defrosted, baked and cooled. Check the packaging for allergen information.
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This 500 g rye bread product is an option if you’d also like to serve rye at your get-together. If you’re choosing based on wholegrains, check the ingredients: as well as wholemeal rye, wheat flour is listed.
No. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, brown bread is a mix of wholemeal flour and white flour. If it’s essential to you that the bread is made entirely from wholemeal flour, check the product description and ingredients of the loaf you choose.
Ask for the allergen information for the specific bread before you buy it. According to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, this information is on the label of packaged bread; for unpackaged bread, don’t rely on its colour or a general description on the shelf.
Choose an amount that suits your guests and the other snacks you’re serving. For example, buy half a loaf if that’s available for the type you want. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises freezing any bread you want to keep in portions straight away.
