Low Calorie Bread
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This low calorie bread recipe is soft and fluffy inside with a tender, sliceable crumb. It’s perfect for toast, sandwiches, and more.
Why this low calorie bread recipe works
Bread is one of those foods that’s surprisingly hard to ‘lighten up’ without ruining the texture. The first time I tried to reduce the flour, I ended up with a dense, heavy loaf. Cutting back on the fat didn’t help either. It just made the bread dry and crumbly.
After testing multiple variations in my kitchen, I went back to basics and loosely adapted my mom’s whole-wheat bread recipe. From there, I made small, intentional tweaks to lower the overall calorie density while keeping the loaf soft, sliceable, and sturdy enough for sandwiches.
My recipe yields two loaves, each with about 20 thin sandwich slices. When sliced evenly, each piece stays moderate in calories while still feeling substantial.
Key Ingredients
Here’s what goes into my low cal bread, along with kitchen notes. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Flour. I used whole wheat flour, as it pairs well with the wheat germ and has a lovely flavor when toasted. White all-purpose flour can also be used.
- Bread flour. Provides structure and strength to the dough. It also helps the loaf rise properly and maintain a soft crumb.
- Wheat germ. Adds a subtle nutty flavor and extra fiber, while contributing to the bread’s overall structure .
- Salt. Enhances flavor and strengthens the dough structure.
- Sugar. Provides mild sweetness and helps activate the yeast for a proper rise.
- Olive oil. You need some fat to give the bread some richness and a golden crust.
- Yeast and warm water. The water should be around 43C/110F in temperature.
- Yogurt. Plain yogurt is preferred, but Greek or natural yogurt can also be used. Your yogurt must be room temperature, not chilled.
How to make low calorie bread
In a small bowl, combine the flour, wheat germ, salt, and sugar. In a large, separate bowl, add your warm water and yeast and let it dissolve. Add the small bowl of dry ingredients, along with the oil and yogurt, and whisk together until combined. Slowly add the bread flour until a firm dough remains.
Next, lightly flour a kitchen surface and transfer the dough to it. Gently knead the dough for 5-6 minutes, until smooth. Lightly grease two large mixing bowls and divide the dough into two equal portions. Place each portion of dough into the bowls and roll it around to lightly coat the exterior in oil. Cover each bowl of dough and let it rise in a warm area for an hour, to rise.
Now, remove the dough from the bowls and once again, place it back onto a floured surface. Shape each portion of dough into a loaf and place it in a lightly greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Cover each loaf and let it rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Finally, preheat the oven to 185C/375F. Place the loaves in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Remove the loaves from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, lightly brush the top with melted butter or olive oil.
Troubleshooting and frequently asked questions
Yes, I recently (Feb 2026) tested this in a bread machine, but there are a few changes. Add the wet ingredients first, then the dry ingredients, and add the yeast at the very end. Use either the whole wheat or basic sandwich bread setting and allow the full knead-rise-bake cycle to complete (very important). Slice only after the loaf has cooled completely.
My recipe keeps calories modest by using minimal added fat and sugar, and producing consistent, thin slices. Traditional homemade loaves are often sliced thicker (as toast slices), which naturally increases the calories per serving, even with identical ingredients. Also, most standard sandwich breads contain 70-110 calories per slice.
The most common causes are inactive yeast or water that isn’t the right temperature. Also, your dough should not be too dry. If it isn’t soft and slightly tacky, add tablespoons of warm water (one at a time) to adjust the texture.
Since retesting the recipe, each slice is about 54 calories (based on a 20-slice loaf). If you want slightly thicker slices, slice each loaf into 16 slices, each with about 68 calories.
Storage instructions
To store: Once sliced, the low calorie bread can be stored in a sealed paper bag or bread box. They will keep fresh for up to 3 days. If you’d like to keep the bread longer, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
To freeze: Place leftover bread in ziplock bags and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
✅ Nutrition reviewed
Nutrition information is calculated using weighed ingredients and analyzed by our in-house registered dietitian. Values are estimates and may vary depending on specific brands, ingredient substitutions, and portion sizes. For best accuracy, we recommend weighing ingredients where possible.
Low Calorie Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups white whole wheat flour 360g, or whole wheat flour
- 1 cup bread flour 120g
- 1/2 cup wheat germ 60g, toasted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 9g
- 1 tablespoon sugar 12g
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 7g
- 1 1/2 cups warm water 360ml, 45C/113F
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt 180g, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon olive oil 15ml
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the white whole wheat flour, wheat germ, salt, and sugar, and mix until combined. In a large mixing bowl, add the yeast and warm water and let it dissolve. Add the bowl of mixed dry ingredients, along with the oil and yogurt, and whisk until combined. Gently fold through the bread flour until a firm dough remains.
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Lightly grease two mixing bowls. Divide the dough into two portions and place each ball of dough into the greased bowls, and roll around, until the exterior is covered in some of the oil. Cover each bowl of dough and let it sit in a warm area for around an hour, to double in size and rise.
- Grease two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans and set them aside. Remove the balls of dough and place them once more on a floured surface. Shape each ball of dough into a loaf shape and place them into the greased loaf pan. Cover the pans and let them rise until around double in size, approximately 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 185C/375F. Place the loaves in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown on the outside. Remove the loaves from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before carefully transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, brush the crust with butter or olive oil.
Notes
- Nutritional information and serving size: This recipe. makes two loaves of bread, and each loaf produces 20 thin slices, about half an inch in thickness, and 0.9 ounces (25g).
- For a slightly higher calorie count (68 calories), slice each loaf into 16 slices. Each slice would be 3/4 of an inch thick and 1.1 ounces (31g).
- Leftovers: Keep in sealed paper bags for 3 days or in the fridge for one week. Freeze loaves in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
More low calorie recipes
- Low calorie ice cream– A creamy frozen dessert with just two ingredients.
- Low calorie candy– Chewy, soft, and tastes like gummy bears.
- Low calorie cookies– Soft, chewy, and a decent size!
- Low calorie peanut butter– Enjoy all the peanut butter flavor.
- Low calorie pancakes– These are so thick and fluffy.
Originally published July 2021. Updated February 2026 to improve measurement accuracy, retested dough, and provided revised nutrition estimates.
I have made your recipe before and I love the low calorie aspect. However, when I enter the ingredients, their amounts and the 40 servings into My Fitness Pal, the calorie count comes out to 76 calories. Did you use a different calorie calculator?
Thanks!
Hi Ang! I’ve actually completely re-tested the recipe to both confirm the calorie count, improve the texture, and also give metric measurements. Our in-house dietitian calculated it as 54 calories per slice with each loaf having 20 slices, or 68 calories per slice when each loaf has 16 slices 🙂
I want to make this in bread machine do you have recipe for that and what setting to cook it at. I have tried a few times but it rises but it sinks before the bread is done.
Hi Karen- I don’t sorry, not for this. I’ve got it on my list to test using a bread maker, so when I do, I’ll shoot you an email!
Hi Karen!! Just circling back as I’ve tested it in the bread machine 🙂
Can you share the bread machine instructions please???
Hi Kim! Yes, it’s in the troubleshooting and frequently asked questions section 🙂
I bake a lot, and the “cups” measurement of the flour didn’t work. I had to add a lot more bread flour to get a workable dough. I used 240g wheat flour and 600g bread flour to get the dough to come together. This changes the macros a great deal. It’s 84kcal per slice.
It’s odd to see a bread recipe without the flour quantity measured in grams. I essentially had to add an EXTRA 200g of bread flour to get the dough to firm up. Thus the nutritional facts posted here are not quite accurate.
Hi Rob- I really appreciate the feedback. It’s what made my team and I re-test the recipe and provide metric measurements. I’m not sure why you needed to add excess flour, but the updated recipe (with updated measurements) should alleviate all of that 🙂 Let me know how you go!
This is my regular sandwich bread recipe. I make sourdough otherwise. It’s an easy recipe to make.
Thank you Michelle for you kind words! This was one of the first breads I learned in culinary school and just tweaked it slightly to be lower calorie. I would love to one day develop a low calorie sourdough- sourdough is just too delicious!!!!
If I swap wheat germ for flax seed will it still be 42 calories
I haven’t tried it with flax seed so I can’t vouch for the results. In terms of nutrition, you could plug it into myfitnesspal and see!
Is a serving 1 or 2 pieces? Thanks
Each loaf makes 20 slices, so one slice per serving.
I’m diabetic and need to watch my carbohydrates and i want to know how many onces are in one serving of this bread and how many carbs per once or serving for this bread?
Thank you Carmella Capezzuto
Hi Carmella- We’ve retested the recipe again and provided metric measurements, along with weight of each slice. I hope you find it helpful! 🙂
Can this be adapted to bake in bread machine
Hi Terri- Yes, it can. I’ve just added an FAQ to address this 🙂
This bread is absolutely amazing! I have never had a homemade bread that works so well for making delicious sandwiches. Being a bread lover makes dieting difficult but not with this one. Give it a try!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Hurla- I appreciate your kind words!
I want to use metric for more precise baking ( grams for flour). You mentioned in an older comment that this would be included in future but I dont see it. Is it available somewhere? If not do you recommend packing flour loosely or compact into cups?
Hi Jet! We’ve just retested this recipe and included full metric measurements, along with a nutritional breakdown of the ingredients, including metric weights per slice. I hope you find it helpful!
I put this recipe through Cronometer recipe importer with ingredients exactly as written.
The calorie count is 77 for 1/40 37g serving
Any ideas where the discrepancy could be? Did you mean for a serving to be 1/2 slice?
I was so happy to see this low calorie recipe but thought it too good to be true as I’ve been looking forever. What am I missing?
Following are calorie counts for ingredients: ( I so want this to work!) quantity as stated in recipe.
Whole Wheat Flour 880
Wheat Germ: 207
Sugar 96
Yeast 46
Yogurt Plain 149
Olive Oil 238
Bread Flour 1466
Do you see where the problem could be to cause such a large difference?
Thanks everyone
Hi there! I’ve had my in-house dietitian calculate the macros, and I’ve updated the recipe to include metric measurements. Each slice works out to be 54 calories for a 20 slice loaf, or 68 calories for a 16 slice loaf. Let me know if that helps!