Bread is a universal favourite food, and for good reason! It’s delicious, quick to prepare and a great vehicle for lots of other delicious foods and flavours. But I’m often asked by parents IF babies can have bread and how to choose the best bread for their baby or toddler.
Supermarket bought breads and “ultra-processed foods” in general have received quite a bit of media attention recently, which can make the whole topic even more confusing for parents! Let’s be honest, regularly baking bread from scratch at home isn’t top of the to-do list for many parents!
In this blog, I’m going to break down the nutritional benefits of bread, how and when to offer it and what to look out for when choosing a bread for your little one.
Can my baby have bread?
Bread can be offered to babies right from the start of weaning, once they are developmentally ready for weaning. However, it is a potential allergen as it contains gluten, so it’s important to follow guidelines for introducing allergens to babies when you first offer it.
Many parents are often worried about the choking risk when offering bread to young babies. When weaning your baby, it’s important to be aware of the difference between choking and gagging, to help you feel more confident when offering your baby solid foods.
It’s best not to offer babies bread which contains large seeds (or even lots of scratchy seeds on the outside), especially when they are young and new to weaning. Hard seeds in foods such as bread COULD pose a choking risk for babies. However, once your little one has really developed the ability to bite and chew foods properly, and has a few teeth, introducing bread with small seeds in should be fine.
Some people are also worried about bread as a finger food as it can get a little tacky in the mouth and form a sticky ball. To prevent this happening, there are some things can help:
- Initially cut babies bread into thin finger shaped pieces
- Try to offer small amounts of wholemeal bread to baby as this is less ‘tacky’ than white bread, in my experience
- Try lightly toasting the bread first, so it’s not too hard but also not quite so soft either
- Avoid serving it with large amounts (a thin spread is fine) of peanut butter
What nutrition does bread contain for my baby?
Bread contains plenty of nutrients and offers a good option for babies and toddlers as a finger food or as mini meals.
By law, white bread has to be fortified with various vitamins and minerals to ensure that it contains similar nutrients to wholemeal bread. This includes calcium, iron, niacin (Vitamin B1) and thiamine.
Wholemeal bread still tends to be slightly higher in fibre than white bread, as well as higher in some other nutrients too.
Fibre in bread
Many parents I speak to are also concerned about the fibre content of bread and have heard that babies shouldn’t have any wholemeal or wholegrains in their diet. This isn’t strictly true, and the NHS advice is the following:
“You can give your child wholegrain foods, such as wholemeal bread, pasta and brown rice. But it’s not a good idea to only give wholegrain starchy foods to under-2s.”
So wholegrain foods are fine for baby, but as they are high in fibre, lots of them could fill baby up and therefore displace other foods/limit the variety of your little one’s diet.
Additionally, wholegrains do contain some compounds such as phytates that can limit the absorption of calcium and iron. However as long as your little one doesn’t have ONLY wholegrains, doesn’t fill up on wholegrains and refuse other foods and is offered plenty of variety in their diet, then offering some wholegrains is perfectly fine from around 6 months of age.
Ideally mix up the carbohydrates you give to your little ones – wholegrains and white varieties – but also remember there are other starchy foods out there such as couscous, quinoa, pasta, buckwheat, potato, oats etc.
You can read more on fibre for babies and toddlers, in my blog.
Is there too much salt in bread for babies?
I’ve written about salt recommendations for babies before, which covers a lot more about salt levels generally in your little one’s diet.
However, in the UK bread is a fairly big contributor to salt intakes and the 2009-2010 National Diet and Nutrition Survey indicated that bread was the single largest contributor of salt to the UK diet “providing almost a fifth (18%) of the salt intake from processed foods” (BMJ 2012)
In recent years the level of salt in bread has decreased from around 1.23g/100g in 2001 to 0.98/100g in 2011, which is a really positive change. However, Action on Salt hasn’t reviewed levels since 2011, and there are some suggestions that salt levels of some varieties have increased – e.g. Sainsbury’s Medium Wholemeal which has increased 19% from 0.74g/100g in 2011 to 0.88g/100g in 2023.
When it comes to bread for babies, I recommend checking the food labels for the lowest levels of salt per 100g, or per slice, so you know which ones to opt for, based on where you usually shop.
What are high and low salt levels in food?
The NHS suggest the following as “high” and “low” amounts of salt in general labelling terms, not specific to children:
High: more than 1.5g of salt per 100g
Low: 0.3g of salt or less per 100g
It’s very difficult to find breads that would be considered as “low” in salt, which is one of the reasons why many parents are worried about offering bread to babies, but many breads in the UK are labelled as “medium” for salt intake (between 0.3g and 1.5g/100g) and so it’s ultimately best to go for breads with salt levels toward the lower end of the medium spectrum.
Salt levels in UK bread
The image below is taken from Action on Salt, from a survey carried out in 2023. It breaks down different breads by category, with higher and lower salt options in each one.
Table 1. Examples of bread with higher and lower salt content, split by category, Action on Salt 2023
Based on these findings, ideally aim to find breads that have a salt level of 0.75g/100g and under, as they are easily accessible and offer lower levels of salt. Remember that some options in the table above, such as the seeded loaves might not be suitable for babies and sourdough may also be a little tough to chew for babies new to weaning.
Other ingredients in bread
Salt isn’t the only ingredient in bread some parents have questions about. Some bread can also have added sugar, which ideally should be limited for babies and toddlers. Always check the label of the bread you’re opting for, and ideally choose one that has no added sugar, or that sugar is far down the ingredients list.
Lots of supermarket-bought breads contain additives such as preservatives or emulsifiers, which have also garnered a lot of attention recently. Whilst media headlines can seem scary, food additives are constantly being researched and tested for safety levels, and the amounts that are in our food supply are regulated to be within safe levels.
Of course, if you prefer to opt for varieties that don’t contain additives, that’s absolutely fine. Some options include: Jason’s Sourdough Ciabattini, Waitrose White Sourdough, Spelt Sourdough, Wheat & Rye Sourdough, Bertinet Bakery and M&S Wildfarmed White Bread. But if you can’t afford those options, or simply don’t have the time or the inclination to look for them, that’s absolutely fine as well.
Feeding kids is hard enough, and I don’t think we need to add extra worry around offering nutritious, accessible foods for our little ones. What matters is coming back to variety – varying the types you offer, choosing lower salt and ensuring that you’re not offering bread every single day. In the context of a varied, balanced diet, we don’t need to worry too much about individual foods or ingredients.
Different types of bread for babies and toddlers
One of the wonderful things about bread, is how many different varieties there are. Whether it’s white, wholegrain, seeded, sourdough or other types such as pitta, wraps, chapatis, naan or flatbreads – there are so many to choose from.
This can be a great and simple way to offer a little variety to little ones, as it can be very easy for them to get set in their ways when it comes to their favourite foods. Simply changing up the TYPE of bread you offer, along with different toppings, can help them to learn not to expect foods to always be the same.
How to offer bread to babies and toddlers
Here are some of my favourite ways to offer bread to babies and toddlers:
- Sandwiches – a perfect quick and easy lunch or snack and ideal for taking on the go. I love how versatile sandwiches can be, and they make an ideal balanced meal. Try my 10 healthy sandwich fillings for kids
- Toast – this is often a breakfast favourite in our house and another quick and easy option. Lightly toasted bread with a topping is also one of my favourite first finger foods for babies. Try my 10 nutritious toast topping ideas
- Wraps – I often make a super quick and simple wrap with some avocado and hummus for a quick and nutritious meal or snack. You can also try my pizza wraps recipe or my healthy enchilada recipe for the whole family.
- Pitta pizzas – a super quick option and a great way to get kids involved in choosing their toppings and spreading the sauce. Try my easy pitta pizza recipe
- Eggy bread – this can often be an easy way to add some egg into little one’s diets who may be a little less keen on egg. I have a super easy recipe in my book How to Wean Your Baby
I hope you’ve found this blog helpful. For more tips on feeding little ones, my book How To Feed Your Toddler has plenty of advice on navigating the tricky toddler years, as well as lots of delicious, nutritious, family-friendly recipes.