Can White Bread Taste Great With Nutrition?

White bread is such a maligned foodstuff that it's actually used as an insult. How often have you heard a bland pop album or uninteresting cultural event referred to as "whitebread?" It's come to symbolize everything that is flavorless, unappetizing, unappealing or lame in American culture.

In the 1950s, just about every sandwich dished up by mom to her adoring youngsters was made from white bread. White bread is what most of us over 35 grew up eating.

So what happened?

In the health-food-crazed '70s, anything made with refined sugar or white flour was deemed unhealthy or a tool of the establishment. The shift to whole-grain, wheat and other darker breads began in earnest. These days, you'll find far more of those varieties than old-fashioned white bread in the grocery store bakery aisle.

But white bread is still around, and it's changing to keep up with today's more health-conscious consumers. It even sometimes hides in plain sight. For instance, that expensive brioche that you bought at the bakery is not too many steps removed from that loaf of Wonder Bread in the white wrapper.

For this comparison, we took six white breads from major national bakers that should be available at your local grocery store. Each one was taste-tested both plain and lightly toasted and topped with 2 teaspoons of unsalted butter. Since this is white bread, after all, we also conducted the peanut butter test, where an untoasted piece was subjected to being smeared with chunky peanut butter. Anyone who's ever had a piece of "light" or "diet" bread turn into bread crumbs in their hand while trying to make a PB&J knows the need for this test.

Each bread gets a letter grade based on taste, aroma and appearance. The peanut butter test results will be included, also.

In some cases, the "whole grain" white breads have dietary fiber amounts equal or nearly equal to wheat or other whole-grain darker breads.

Nutritional information for two slices.

Wonder Classic White Bread: 60 calories, .5 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 130 mg sodium, 13 grams carbs, 0 grams dietary fiber

This is it, the flagship of the white bread armada. And, based on the test results, there's no mystery why so many people fled to darker breads. The texture was oddly rubbery, the aroma was not distinguished at all and, once toasted, it became somewhat tough. It's also completely free of dietary fiber. It did pass the peanut butter test with flying colors, as you'd expect. Final grade: C-

Nature's Own Whitewheat: 100 calories, 2 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 230 mg sodium, 22 grams carbs, 5 grams dietary fiber

When this bread first came out, there was a bit of hue and cry among the wheat-bread crowd. One of its top commercial brands was making a white bread. If you'll notice, though, it's got a hefty 5 grams of dietary fiber per two-slice serving. The bread itself is quite good, too. It has a nicely yeasty aroma, a light but not insubstantial texture and one of the best crusts in the bunch. Toasted and buttered on the same setting as the other breads, it develops a bit of a burnt aftertaste, though. It passed the peanut butter test, with just a bit of tearing. Final grade: B+

Pepperidge Farm White Sandwich: 130 calories, 2.5 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 250 mg sodium, 23 grams carbs, less than 1 gram dietary fiber

Pepperidge Farm is just about the biggest name in boutique bakery goods, which makes the nearly complete failure of this bread a puzzle. The aroma was nonexistent, the texture was doughy and the crust was almost indistinguishable from the rest of the bread. Toasted, it looked fine, but the butter did little for it. The peanut butter dug itself a crater in the middle of the bread, also. Final grade: D.

Sara Lee Soft&Smooth Classic White: 160 calories, 2 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 30 grams carbs, 1 gram dietary fiber

The old slogan said "Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee," and while copy editors everywhere may writhe at seeing it repeated, this bread bears witness. It really showed its best side toasted, with a light, lattice-like structure that drank the butter without tasting greasy at all. Straight out of the bag, it had an appealing aroma and a texture that might have been just a touch too soft, considering the damage that peanut butter did to it. Final grade: B.

Pepperidge Farm Hearty White: 120 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 250 mg sodium, 22 grams carbs, 1 gram dietary fiber (per slice)

We're closing the test with two higher-end white breads, the ones with the wide slices that come double-bagged and sell for about a buck more per loaf. This first one almost redeems the earlier poor showing by Pepperidge Farm, with an excellent aroma and a really nice, firm crust. Toasted, however, it reminds one a bit of melba toast, overly dried and crumbly. Untoasted, it stands up to peanut butter very well. Final grade: A-

Nature's Pride Country White: 120 calories, 2.5 grams fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 20 grams carbs, less than 1 gram dietary fiber (per slice)

OK, so this one's not the grand champion when it comes to fiber content, but it's seriously good bread in every other respect. The texture is light but not limp, the crust has a faint sweetness to it and the aroma makes you think you've walked into a bakery. This bread, from Interstate Bakeries, by the way, the nice folks who bring you Twinkies, toasts up beautifully and takes butter very well. The peanut butter did no damage to it whatsoever. Final grade: A+.

While the Nature's Pride bread wins hands-down, it's not the best buy for this test by any stretch. That title goes to the Nature's Own Whitewheat, which costs about half as much as the high-end breads and packs five times their fiber per serving. It's as close to a no-brainer as you're likely to find.