Bread is a popular, nutritious and staple food in the UK diet. When it comes to introducing bread to your baby, there are important considerations to ensure they are getting the nutrients they need.
From choosing the right type of bread to preparing it in a safe and age-appropriate way, this blog will provide valuable information on what to look for and how to serve bread to your little one.
When can babies eat bread ?
Bread can be offered to babies from around 6 months, once they start weaning and are developmentally ready. If you are not sure if your baby is ready for weaning then look for these 3 signs and how to start.
The main ingredient of bread is flour, typically wheat flour but other types of flour are also used. As wheat flour contains gluten and is a potential allergenic food you will want to consider if your baby is high risk to the gluten before starting to introduce bread.
Also make sure you are offering bread on its own to begin, so if there is a reaction you will know where it is likely to have come from.
If you are worried about introducing allergens to your baby then check out these steps to introducing the main food allergens and how to do it.
Nutritional benefits of bread for babies
Bread is a great source of carbohydrate as well as other nutrients.
According to The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998: In the UK white bread flour must be fortified with calcium carbonate, iron and the B vitamins (B1 and B3)
Wholemeal bread also contains a good source of fibre.
Fibre in bread
Wholemeal and wholegrain bread contains fibre as well as seeded. Babies are fine to have wholegrain types of bread but be mindful that they are more filling than white bread and it is not recommended to only have wholemeal or wholegrain bread at a young age. It will fill your baby up and this will result in them not eating so much of other foods, limiting variety.
Eating too many wholegrains can also reduce the absorption of calcium and iron due to their phytate content. Ensure your baby has a mix of white and wholegrain breads to get the best nutrition.
Best bread for babies
Bread for babies under 1
What to look for when choosing bread for babies
Here are my recommendations:
- Bread options (types of bread, brown, whole wheat, white) mix it up so that they are getting a variety if you can.
There are many bread options including sliced, pitta, bagels, wraps and more. Your baby can be offered a variety of these but be mindful of soft white bread that goes into clumps in the mouth so you should lightly toast breads whilst young and they get used to different textures.
- Small seeds – only offer bread with small seeds, not large seeds like pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds as they pose a choking risk. Small seeds like linseeds, chia and poppy seeds are fine.
- Low salt levels – Salt intake for babies between 7 – 12 months should be less than 1 gram a day. It increases slightly as they get older. This is very little salt.
Salt or sodium levels are surprisingly high in supermarket bread ranging from between 0.5g – 1 gram per 100g or more. So you want to be looking for the lower salt types.
Check the labelling for salt per 100g and look for the low salt brands or close to low as possible.
Low salt = 0.3g salt or less per 100g (green)
Medium salt = 0.3 – 1.5 grams of salt per 100g (amber)
High salt = More than 1.5g salt per 100g (red)
The labelling of salt can be confusing as it can be labelled as just sodium. Sodium will appear as a lesser amount as this makes up part of salt. So you need to times the sodium by 2.5 to get the amount of salt.
Find out how to manage your babies salt intake and easy swaps you can make
- No added sugars – some supermarket breads like white and brioche contain sugars or sweeteners. Check the ingredients list for sugars, sweeteners, molasses, corn syrup or honey and avoid these.
Bread alternatives without added sugar are typically whole grain bread, sourdough and sprouted grain bread.
- Check for allergens – if your baby needs a gluten free diet then check for gluten in the ingredients.
Ingredients to avoid in baby bread
- Honey
Honey should be avoided for babies under 1 year due to the risk of infant botulism. Babies can’t tolerate the toxin so it is important to make sure they are not eating any breads with honey in them. Even though the bread is cooked it won’t be safe to eat.
Check for honey in the list of ingredients and avoid offering to them until after 12 months.
- Additives and emulsifiers
You don’t need to avoid these and they are certainly difficult to avoid as they are common in processed supermarket bread.
If you choose to avoid them then you may find certain brands that don’t contain them. Artisan bread sold in bakeries won’t use them but it is more expensive.
How to serve bread to babies and toddlers
- Start by serving bread as finger foods, so strips of lightly toasted bread that are less likely to get stuck in the mouth.
When can babies eat toast?
Babies can have toast straight away from 6 months or when they are ready to start weaning.
- Toast bread lightly for easier chewing and digestion. Toast only very lightly with very little colour is best so that it has some bite but not too much.
- Use bread as a base for healthy spreads or toppings like smooth nut butter or mashed avocado. Avoid large amounts though of spreads like peanut butter as they can get quite sticky in the mouth.
Toast for babies and toddlers can be made with lots of creative toppings. Here are some ideas:
- Smooth peanut butter
- Mashed avocado
- Tinned mashed sardines
- Scrambled egg (well cooked)
- Tuna pate
- Beans
- Chickpea hommous
- Soft cream cheese
- Melted cheese
- Tomato hummus
Tips for incorporating bread into a baby’s and toddlers diet
- Experiment with different types of bread (e.g., multigrain, sourdough, sprouted, whole wheat bread etc).
- Gradually increase portion sizes and textures as your baby grows. Once your baby reaches around 18 months you can start to offer fresh bread.
- From 18 months make bread into sandwiches or other fun ways like filled pitta bread, wraps, cinnamon bread, eggy bread.
- Consult with a pediatrician if you are concerned about allergies or digestive issues
Making homemade baby-friendly bread
If you want to make your own bread then this is a great alternative to shop bought bread and you can avoid adding salt, sugar and preservatives. Here are some bread recipes for babies:
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