I like bread.

More specifically, I like bread when it’s topped with butter and a generous amount of apple butter.

On the left is Sara Lee Soft & Smooth 100% Whole Wheat. On the right is Sara Lee Soft & Smooth White.

I prefer my bread to have some weight to it, like a twelve grain. It is hefty and full of crunchy bits. I love it.

Toasted, with butter and apple butter.

My husband, however, likes his bread white and smooth. It’s a dilemma.

Sara Lee sent us a few samples from the Soft & Smooth line, and I set up a taste test to see if we could agree on one of the breads.

I put butter and apple butter on all of the bread so that no one would be able to tell which bread was which by appearance. Both breads are smooth with no discernible seeds to crunch. The white bread is softer than the 100% whole wheat. The wheat bread is stiffer, for lack of a better word. Neither bread was stiff or stale feeling, but the white bread was a lot softer and more pliable than the whole wheat.

Grace ate both pieces of bread and asked for more. I asked if she liked one better than the other, and she said Butter is mah favorite. She would eat butter right off the stick, so I don’t think we can rely on her opinion.

Joe ate both pieces of bread and also asked for more. He liked both, and he said he’d rather we buy the Soft & Smooth line than continue to make our own whole wheat bread.

I’m not sure how I feel about that opinion.

Joe also said that he thought all whole wheat bread was like eating cardboard, so this was a welcome change. He couldn’t tell the difference between the white and the 100% whole wheat, even though the whole wheat has three times more whole grains than the white.

In all honesty, I was not crazy about the white bread. It was so light that it did not please my palate. It didn’t taste bad (quite the opposite, it had a nice flavor), but there wasn’t much substance to it.

If we were making sandwiches, I would be happy with the Soft & Smooth 100% Whole Wheat bread. It’s nicely cut, it’s got a good flavor, and it would be very convenient for that purpose.

For eating with butter and apple butter or butter and homemade jam, I’d rather a more substantial bread, like my own homemade whole wheat bread or Sara Lee’s 100% Whole Wheat bread.

Who should try Sara Lee Soft & Smooth white bread with whole grains?

Anyone who likes white bread and is concerned about his or her intake of whole grains. We should all be concerned about eating more whole grains, and the Soft & Smooth bread will help us achieve that goal.

Who should try Sara Lee Soft & Smooth 100% whole wheat bread?

Anyone who is adverse to crunchies in or on top of their bread. Joe hates what he calls “500 grain bread,” for example, but he really enjoyed the Soft & Smooth 100% Whole Wheat. Also, anyone who wants to eat a healthier bread or who is trying to escape the white bread habit.

The Soft & Smooth 100% Whole Wheat bread is a good compromise for my family.