Glycemic Index of Bread

The glycemic index of bread depends on the types of grains and refined sugars used during the baking process.

Care should be taken to select breads with a low GI value, which includes a number of popular sourdough and rye breads.
Certain types of bread, particularly those with larger, coarser grains, our sourdough breads whose acidity counteracts the rapid release of glucose, are excellent choices.

Take care when choosing regular grocery store breads however.  Most of these are heavily refined and ‘enriched’.  Look for coarse grains, seeds, and heavier blends!

The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how quickly a carbohydrate-containing food raises blood sugar levels. Generally, bread made from refined white flour has a higher GI compared to bread made from whole grains. Here are some common types of bread and their GI scores:

  1. White bread – high GI score (70 or above)
  2. Whole wheat bread – medium GI score (56-69)
  3. Sourdough bread – lower GI score (50-69)
  4. Rye bread – lower GI score (40-59)
  5. Pumpernickel bread – lower GI score (41-46)

It’s important to note that the GI score is just one factor to consider when making food choices, and that other factors such as the amount and type of carbohydrate, fiber content, and overall nutritional value should also be taken into account.

Glycemic Index of Wheat Bread, White Bread, Sourdough

Type of Bread Glycemic Index Score
glycmeic index of dark rye bread Dark Rye 51
glycemic index of french baguette bread French Baguette 95
glycemic index of hamburger bun Hamburger Bun 61
glycemic index of kaiser roll Kaiser Roll 73
glycemic index of pita bread Pita Bread – Whole Wheat 57
glycemic index of sourdough Sourdough 52
glycemic index of fruit bread Fruit Bread 53
glycemic index of white bread White Bread 70
glycemic index of wonder bread Wonder Bread, White 71
glycemic index of stoneground wheat bread Wheat Stoneground Bread 53
glycemic index of whole wheat bread Whole Wheat 69
glycemic index of bagel Bagel, plain, white 72
glycemic index of wholegrain bread Wholegrain Bread 40
glycemic index of multigrain bread Multigrain Breads 45
glycemic index of english muffin English Muffin, Whole Grain 45
glycemic index of oat bread Oat Bread 65
glycemic index of rye bread Rye Bread 50
glycemic index of bran muffin Bran Muffin 65

7 comments

  • Alex

    No, it’s not work this way, it means your product will have 71 glycemic index, but you will reduce glycemic load by half.

  • Dee

    What happened to SPROUTED breads?!

  • sandra D ketchum

    Hi,
    My name is Sandra
    I have a question to ask if I may, thank you,
    If I mix unbleached white (wheat) all purpose flour 71 glycemic index and almond flour 0 glycemic index, will the mixing of this two with equal parts reduce the glycemic index by half of the 71 glycemic index of the unbleached all purpose flour.
    The other question is if I use a flour using the same equal parts mixture as the previous question but this flour has a glycemic index of 50 will the total glycemic index be 60.5.
    For each mixture I divided the glycemic index in half of each flour because I used equal parts of each flour.
    I’m just using this mixture percentage as a way to understand the lowering of the glycemic index using lower or zero glycemic flours. Hope I haven’t confused you, I didn’t really know how to ask the question professionally or correctly I hope you can answer my question
    Thanks

  • mark neschleba

    sourdough jewish rye, george greenstein, secrets of jewish baker, use 3 cups sourdough and 4 cups ap flour, sourdough is 50/50 dark rye/ap flour, (use king arthur), i’ve been a diabetic for 46 years, eating this bread is like not eating bread, I mean i would not eat this for a low blood sugar situation, bread keeps easy for a week or longer even with out potato water, sourdough has been used for at least 5000 years, baker yeast bread only 150 years.

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