Healthiest Breads at the Supermarket, Compared

For an everyday loaf, whole wheat bread is the strongest choice on the shelf. Per 100 g it has 6 g of fiber and 12.5 g of protein for 252 kcal, more than twice the fiber of white bread (2.7 g), and it scores 50/100 on the HowHealthyIs Score against 24 for white. Multigrain bread has even more fiber and protein in USDA’s data, 7.4 g and 13.4 g, with less sodium, but it scores 42 and those figures only apply to loaves that really contain whole grain. Corn tortillas also come close with 6.3 g of fiber and only 45 mg of sodium per 100 g. Sourdough and rye are better than their reputation in some ways and no better in others, and the biggest differences between breads come from sodium, fat and portion size.

How do the breads compare per 100 g?

All numbers below are calculated from USDA FoodData Central. The score is our nutrient density rating per 100 kcal, from 0 to 100. Simit, naan and pide are modeled from standard home recipes built from USDA ingredients, since USDA has no single entry for them. Added sugar is our estimate from the ingredients, because the USDA data we use does not report it.

Bread, per 100 g	kcal	Fiber (g)	Protein (g)	Sodium (mg)	Added sugar (g)	Sat fat (g)	Score
Bagel, plain	264	1.6	10.6	422	4.0	0.4	53
Whole wheat bread	252	6.0	12.5	455	3.5	0.7	50
Corn tortilla	218	6.3	5.7	45	0	0.5	48
Multigrain bread, includes whole grain	265	7.4	13.4	381	5.5	0.9	42
Rice cakes, brown rice, unsalted	387	4.2	8.2	26	0	0.6	37
Pumpernickel bread	250	6.5	8.7	596	0.5	0.4	37
Simit	316	3.3	9.9	418	5.3	1.1	35
Rye bread	259	5.8	8.5	603	3.0	0.6	28
Sourdough bread	272	2.2	10.8	602	0.5	0.5	25
White bread	266	2.7	8.9	490	4.5	0.7	24
Pita bread, white	275	2.2	9.1	536	0.5	0.2	23
Naan	305	2.0	8.0	482	1.3	2.8	19
Flour tortilla	306	3.5	8.2	736	1.5	2.9	17
Cheese pide	316	1.3	13.6	549	0	7.4	17
Croissant, butter	406	2.6	8.2	384	6.0	11.7	11

The bagel at the top needs a word of caution. Its score is lifted by USDA’s figures for vitamin E (7.46 mg per 100 g) and calcium (219 mg) in this enriched product, not by whole grain. Its fiber is among the lowest of the breads here, 0.6 g per 100 kcal, against 2.4 g for whole wheat bread and 2.9 g for corn tortillas. If you want fiber, the bagel is not the pick.

Our sourdough entry is USDA’s French or Vienna bread, which includes sourdough made with white flour. Our rye entry is USDA’s standard rye bread. Our pumpernickel entry is USDA’s pumpernickel, an American-style loaf that usually mixes rye and wheat flours, so traditional German pumpernickel made from coarse whole rye can differ. Our multigrain entry is a loaf that includes whole grain, so a multigrain loaf made mostly from refined flour will have less fiber than the table shows. Our pita entry is enriched white pita; whole wheat pita is not in our data yet.

What does a slice or a piece give you?

Per 100 g comparisons hide how much bread people actually eat. A bagel, a naan or a simit is a much bigger serving than a slice.

Bread	Typical portion	kcal	Fiber (g)	Protein (g)	Sodium (mg)	Added sugar (g)	Sat fat (g)
White bread	1 slice, 25 g	67	0.7	2.2	123	1.1	0.2
Whole wheat bread	1 slice, 32 g	81	1.9	4.0	146	1.1	0.2
Sourdough bread	1 slice, 32 g	87	0.7	3.4	193	0.2	0.2
Rye bread	1 slice, 32 g	83	1.9	2.7	193	1.0	0.2
Pumpernickel bread	1 slice, 32 g	80	2.1	2.8	191	0.2	0.1
Multigrain bread	1 slice, 26 g	69	1.9	3.5	99	1.4	0.2
Pita bread	1 large pita, 60 g	165	1.3	5.5	322	0.3	0.1
Corn tortilla	1 tortilla (6”), 26 g	57	1.6	1.5	12	0	0.1
Flour tortilla	1 tortilla (8”), 49 g	150	1.7	4.0	361	0.7	1.4
Rice cakes	2 cakes, 18 g	70	0.8	1.5	5	0	0.1
Bagel	1 medium, 105 g	277	1.7	11.1	443	4.2	0.4
Croissant	1 medium, 57 g	231	1.5	4.7	219	3.4	6.6
Naan	1 naan, 95 g	290	1.9	7.6	458	1.2	2.7
Simit	1 simit, 110 g	348	3.6	10.9	459	5.8	1.3
Cheese pide	Half, 110 g	348	1.4	14.9	604	0	8.1

A medium bagel weighs as much as just over three slices of whole wheat bread, yet has less fiber (1.7 g) than a single one of those slices (1.9 g). A simit has the most fiber of the large single pieces (3.6 g) and 90 mg of magnesium, much of it from the sesame crust, but also an estimated 5.8 g of added sugar from the grape molasses dip. A large pita has about the calories of two slices of whole wheat bread (165 kcal against 161) but less fiber than one of those slices, 1.3 g. One croissant carries 6.6 g of saturated fat, a third of the 20 g daily value, and half a cheese pide carries about 41%.

What should you look for on the label?

Whole grain first. The first ingredient should say whole wheat, whole grain or whole rye. “Wheat flour” or “enriched wheat flour” means refined flour, even when the bread is brown. Names such as multigrain, seeded or wheat bread describe the grains or the color, not whether they are whole, so the ingredient list is what counts.

Fiber per slice. In our data a slice of whole wheat bread has 1.9 g of fiber, about 7% of the daily value, and a slice of white bread 0.7 g, about 2%. A bread with around 2 g per slice or more is in whole grain territory; one with under 1 g behaves like white bread whatever the packaging says. Slice weights differ: a 26 g slice of multigrain has the same 1.9 g as a 32 g slice of whole wheat, so compare per slice and per 100 g.

Sodium. Bread is salty for how bland it tastes. Two slices of rye, pumpernickel or sourdough give about 385 mg of sodium, about 17% of the daily value, two slices of whole wheat give 13%, and two 26 g slices of multigrain give 9%. A medium bagel gives 19%, one 8 inch flour tortilla 16%, and one large pita 14%. Corn tortillas and unsalted rice cakes are the low outliers here, at 45 mg and 26 mg per 100 g.

Sugar and fat. White, whole wheat and rye bread in our data have 3 to 4.5 g of added sugar per 100 g, so a slice adds about 1 g. Multigrain is higher at an estimated 5.5 g, or 1.4 g per 26 g slice, and sourdough, pumpernickel and pita have 0.5 g. Croissants and filled or enriched pastries are where sugar and saturated fat climb.

Why are sourdough and rye so often recommended?

Sourdough is leavened with lactic acid bacteria and wild yeasts instead of baker’s yeast alone. A 2024 systematic review by Rolim and colleagues found that sourdough bread had a lower impact on blood glucose after a meal than industrial bread, especially when made with whole wheat flour, but the certainty of the evidence was low to very low. A 2023 systematic review by Ribet and colleagues, covering 25 trials, concluded that it is difficult to establish a clear consensus on sourdough’s benefits, because the microbes, fermentation and flour all vary.

On the nutrient side, white sourdough is still refined flour. In our data it has 2.2 g of fiber and 602 mg of sodium per 100 g, against 2.7 g and 490 mg in white bread, so the label matters more than the word sourdough.

Rye is interesting for a different reason. In a 2003 trial in 19 postmenopausal women, Juntunen and colleagues found lower insulin responses after rye breads than after refined wheat bread, while glucose responses were mostly similar. The authors concluded that total fiber did not explain the difference, but the structure of the rye breads might. In our data rye bread has 5.8 g of fiber per 100 g, close to whole wheat, though its sodium is among the highest of the loaves. Pumpernickel has a little more fiber, 6.5 g, with 596 mg of sodium, and scores 36 against 28 for rye bread.

Individual responses also vary. In a 2017 crossover trial by Korem and colleagues, one week of traditional whole-grain sourdough bread and one week of industrial white bread showed no significant difference in multiple clinical measures on average, while glycemic responses to each bread differed from person to person.

How much bread is a sensible portion?

Two slices of whole wheat bread give 161 kcal, 3.8 g of fiber and 8 g of protein, a reasonable base for a sandwich. A whole bagel, naan or simit has the calories of three and a half to four slices or more, so half of one with eggs, cheese or vegetables often fills the same role. Bread works best as part of a meal with protein and vegetables, and for a higher fiber breakfast without bread, oats and bulgur are worth a look.

The short answer

Choose whole wheat, whole-grain rye or a multigrain loaf for everyday slices, check that whole grain is the first ingredient, and compare sodium between brands. Corn tortillas are a low-sodium, high-fiber option, and croissants, naan and cheese pide fit better as occasional choices. See white bread vs whole wheat bread, multigrain vs whole wheat bread, pumpernickel vs rye bread, pita vs white bread, naan vs white bread, bagel vs simit and lahmacun vs pide, read brown rice vs white rice for the same whole grain question in rice, browse every grain in grains, or put any two breads side by side with the compare tool.