Pound for weight, some breads far exceed the baguette, which is around 270 kcal per 100 g. The coach @gymbrother5 also reminds us in a post: “What makes you gain weight is not bread. This is: excess calories, lack of satiety, an unbalanced diet“. It remains to be seen which breads make the meter go up…
The 4 breads with more calories than the baguette are…
Among these breads with more calories than the baguette, we find the
soft bread brioche, nut bread, naan bread and
sourdough bread. All are, according to Marmiton, between 293 and 340 kcal per 100 g, while the baguette remains at 270 kcal. Brioche sandwich bread rises to around 340 kcal, walnut bread to 310 kcal, naan to 294 kcal and sourdough bread to 293 kcal per 100 g. On a piece of toast, the difference seems minimal, but over the course of meals, it ends up counting. Looking in detail at their composition is therefore essential.
Take brioche sandwich bread for example. It is soft, slightly sweet, seemingly perfect for breakfast. But it has around 340 kcal per 100 g, which is much more than a simple baguette.
“However, a simple exchange of brioche bread for wholemeal bread, and you gain: more fiber, more satiety, fewer calories“, specifies the coach.
Then, walnut bread, with its crunchy pieces and its rustic appearance, is often considered a very healthy bread. However, Marmiton places it at around 310 kcal per 100 g, because nuts are very energetic.
Next comes naan bread, the star of Indian restaurants. Often topped with cheese or brushed with butter, it reaches around 294 kcal per 100 g. Nothing dramatic, but better to keep it for occasions – not everyday use.
Baguette, sourdough bread, naan: what the numbers say
With its thick crust and long fermentation, sourdough bread is associated with better digestion (its longer fermentation improves digestibility and allows more gradual absorption of carbohydrates). Marmiton specifies, however, that it is close to 293 kcal per 100 g. It is therefore a little more caloric than the baguette. On a single slice, the difference remains small, but, added to cheese, butter or sauces, it weighs in the caloric balance of the day.
To see clearly, here are the values recorded for 100 g of bread.
How to continue to eat bread (without consuming too many calories)?
For coach @gymbrother5, the most important thing remains overall balance: “Bread can stay in your diet. What matters is: your total calories, your bread choices, and your regularity“.
Opting for wholemeal or semi-wholemeal bread, richer in fiber, can help you feel fuller for longer and naturally limits the quantity of bread consumed.
This being said, “the most important thing is not to only compare the calories between sandwich bread and baguette for example, but to also look at the quality of the flour and the manufacturing methods”, recalls in conclusion Julie Boët, dietitian-nutritionist.