Bread lovers rejoice! Australia’s best sliced white loaf revealed

There may be a heap of different wholemeal brown breads on offer nowadays, with many people seeking healthier options for their morning toast, but sometimes you just can’t beat a classic white loaf. And now a consumer review, carried out by Choice, has found that plain old white bread actually has a whole lot of perks.

A total of 30 sliced white breads from brands including Abbott’s Village Bakery, Helga’s, Might Soft, Tip Top and Wonder White, were put under the spotlight and reviewed by the customer advocacy group.

“Choice brought together over 90 years of baking expertise to determine which white bread brand wins the expert vote,” Choice spokesperson Jonathan Brown said. “Our expert taste testers conducted a blind test of classic white bread brands and also gluten free brands that have been rising in popularity on store shelves. The big brands Wonder and Tip Top impressed the experts for classic white bread taste, while Coles and Aldi impressed for their gluten free options.”

And the winning loaf went to Wonder Wholegrain White Smooth Wholegrain, which landed an overall score of 78 out of 100. “This bread has a good overall appearance, with a soft, springy crumb,” Brown added. “It also has a nice flavour, although it does taste more like wholemeal bread.”

Meanwhile, Wonder Active Low GI + Protein secured second place, landing an overall score of 77 per cent. According to the experts, this bread has a good texture and a pleasant, subtle ferment aroma, and it only sets you back 50 cents per 100 kilograms, so it’s easy to see why the product came out on top and is recommended by Choice.

Coming in at third place is Tip Top’s The One White Sandwich, with an impressive score of 75 per cent. “This loaf is well baked and has an even, soft texture,” Brown said. 

In joint fourth were Coles High Fibre White SandwichLoaf, Lawson’s Original White and Abbott’s Village Bakery Rustic White, all landing an overall score of 74 per cent. While fifth place was secured by Aldi Baker’s Life Bakehouse White at 73 per cent. Meanwhile, Woolworths Country White, Wonder White High Fibre Sandwich and Wonder White Vitamins & MineralsSandwich came in at sixth place respectively with a score of 72 per cent.

When it came to gluten free white bread, Coles Gluten Free White Bread and Aldi Has No Gluten Free Sliced White Bread tied in first place and were both awarded overall scores of 77 per cent. Brown said the Coles home brand is the closest to plain old white bread, because “it’s springy and has a sweet, floury aftertaste”. 

Meanwhile, it was followed by Helga’s Traditional White Gluten Free with a rating of 74 per cent, Country Life Gluten Free & Dairy FreeWhite, landing an overall score of 73 per cent, Woolworths Free From Gluten WhiteBread, with a score of 66 per cent and Abbott’s Village Bakery Gluten FreeRustic White which scored the lowest at 64 per cent.

It comes after a 2017 study published in the Cell Metabolism journal found that brown or wholemeal bread is actually no healthier for you than plain old white bread. For the study, researchers split 20 participants into two groups: one who would eat only whole-wheat sourdough for a week, and the other group only white bread. They switched after a week, and the scientists monitored vitamin and mineral readings, fat and cholesterol levels, kidney and liver function, healthy gut bacteria, and looked for inflammation and tissue damage.

Much to everyone’s surprise, they found no marked difference between the two. They did note however that around half the participants had healthier blood sugar readings when eating white bread, while others did better eating the whole-wheat, leading them to conclude that individuals react differently, but neither bread was healthier than the other.

One of the study’s senior authors Eran Elinav said that “the nutritional values assigned to food have been based on minimal science, and one-size-fits-all diets have failed miserably”.  “These findings could lead to a more rational approach for telling people which foods are a better fit for them, based on their micro-biomes.”