Contents
55-75 kcal per normal slice
A standard slice from a pre-sliced loaf weighs 25-30 g. A slice of white bread is about 74 kcal, a slice of baton (the classic Russian sliced white loaf) 66 kcal, rye 54 kcal, Borodinsky (a dark Russian rye bread with coriander) 62 kcal.
The gap between white and dark bread is smaller than people expect: 10-20 kcal per slice. Thickness matters far more. A home-cut slice from a whole loaf often weighs 50-60 g, twice as much as a store slice.
Table: calories in a slice of bread
Figures per 100 g and slice weights come from our catalog, where every bread has a typical slice listed.
| Bread | kcal per 100 g | Slice | kcal per slice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rye | 181 | 30 g | 54 |
| Black bread (rye-wheat) | 206 | 30 g | 62 |
| Borodinsky | 208 | 30 g | 62 |
| Bran bread | 227 | 30 g | 68 |
| White wheat bread | 246 | 30 g | 74 |
| Whole grain | 247 | 30 g | 74 |
| Baton sliced loaf | 263 | 25 g | 66 |
| Toast bread | 265 | 25 g | 66 |
| Baguette | 270 | 10 cm piece, 40 g | 108 |
| Thin lavash | 236 | quarter sheet, 20 g | 47 |
| Pita | 275 | 1 pita, 60 g | 165 |
| Rye crispbread | 320 | 1 piece, 10 g | 32 |
Whole grain bread has the same calories as white, and its advantage lies in the fibre and in keeping you full for longer.
What a slice of bread really weighs
Ask two people for "a slice of bread" and one will hand you a thin piece for the toaster while the other saws a thick hunk off a round loaf to go with soup. That difference is bigger than the one between white and rye:
| Slice | Weight | White bread, kcal | Rye, kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thin, pre-sliced | 20-25 g | 50-60 | 36-45 |
| Normal, pre-sliced | 30 g | 74 | 54 |
| Thick, home-cut | 50 g | 123 | 91 |
| Heel of the loaf | 40-60 g | 100-150 | 72-110 |
To find out what your own slice weighs, put one on the kitchen scales, and if you cut bread yourself, weigh a slice two or three times so you get a feel for "your" thickness. Toasting doesn't make it any lighter, as toast, rusks and stale crusts lose water rather than calories. A 30 g slice of white bread comes out of the toaster at 25 g with the same 74 kcal, so if you only weigh it after toasting, count it like rusks, at 330-400 kcal per 100 g.
Why dark bread is lighter than white, but not by much
Rye flour carries more fibre and its dough holds on to more water, so 100 g of rye bread contains less dry matter and fewer calories. Most of the "black" bread sold in Russia, though, is a rye-wheat mix with malt and molasses. Borodinsky, whose recipe the Moscow Bakery Trust approved in 1933 (the story about General Tuchkov's widow and the Battle of Borodino was attached to it later), gets so much molasses and sugar that it nearly catches up with wheat bread.
For weight loss, 10-20 kcal per slice makes almost no difference, and what matters far more is how many slices you eat. Two slices with lunch every day add up to 110-150 kcal, but if the bread sits on the table at every meal and three slices go each time, that's 500-650 kcal a day.
How much bread you can eat while losing weight
There's no reason to ban bread, because the overall deficit is what counts, and a couple of slices a day fit into almost any target. The trouble with bread is how easily it disappears in passing, with soup, with salad or buttered as a snack, without you noticing. Rye or whole grain is the better deal here, with almost the same calories but more fibre and longer-lasting fullness. A thin 20 g slice instead of a 50 g one saves 40-75 kcal without feeling like a restriction at all. And the thing to watch most closely is what goes on top: a thin 5 g layer of butter adds 37 kcal to a slice, a slice of doktorskaya sausage another 55-65, and an ordinary sandwich easily equals two or three slices of bread.
How to stop counting bread by hand
In MyFoodMate AI you do not need to weigh bread: from a photo the app recognises the type of bread and roughly how many slices there are, and if the slice is thicker than usual, just write "thick slice" or "2 slices of Borodinsky". Bread you eat every day is then easier to add from "My dishes": the app fills in the portion you had last time. See Repeat meals.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories in two slices of bread?
Two normal 30 g slices: white 148 kcal, rye 108, Borodinsky 124. Two 25 g slices of baton: 132 kcal.
How many calories in a slice of bread with butter?
A slice of baton (66 kcal) with a thin 5 g layer of butter (37 kcal) is about 103 kcal. With a "childhood-style" 10 g of butter it is already 141 kcal.
Which bread is the lightest?
Per 100 g, rye (181 kcal). Per piece, crispbread: one rye crispbread weighs 10 g and has 32 kcal. But two or three crispbreads equal a slice of bread, so you only gain if you eat as many of them as you used to eat slices.
How much bread a day is OK when losing weight?
There is no strict rule. In practice 2-4 slices a day (110-300 kcal) fit comfortably into a deficit if the rest of the menu is counted.
We check blog materials against current WHO recommendations.
