After spending all your time and energy baking the perfect loaf of homemade fresh bread, you owe it to you and your bread to store it in the best way possible. Otherwise, you might bite into your expertly upgraded white bread only to find it stale and inedible — or worse, full of mold. Some folks recommend storing your bread in a plastic resealable bag, but it turns out that’s one of the worst things you can do to your loaf (along with these common baking mistakes). The main culprit in most cases of food spoilage is moisture, since it provides a breeding ground for mold and bacteria. If the stored bread has any moisture, it will become confined in the plastic bag, leading to soggy, spoiled bread.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the plastic can also transfer an unpleasant taste to the bread. This may also be the case if you wrap fresh bread too tightly in plastic wrap. However, if a plastic bag or wrap is your only option, you can lessen the negative effects by poking holes in the plastic for some air flow. Keep in mind that this only applies to freshly made bread; mass produced sandwich bread has enough preservatives that it will be perfectly fine if it stays in the packaging. To make store bought bread last even longer, you can store it in the fridge or freezer.
Keep bread dry and dark
Using a plastic bag is probably one of the worst methods for storing fresh bread. Luckily, there are many other storage solutions that do a much better job at keeping baked goods fresh. One of the best places to keep bread is in a bread box, like this one from Amazon. Bread boxes are designed to keep out light and dirt while providing enough airflow to keep the loaves nice and dry. For some extra protection against the elements, you can also loosely wrap the bread in butcher paper or put it in a special cloth bread bag before stowing it in the box. Bread kept at room temperature won’t last indefinitely, but it should stay fresh for a few days. To extend its shelf life even further, don’t slice off a piece unless you’re going to eat it to protect the bread’s interior.
If you want to keep a homemade loaf fresh for a long period of time, you’ll need to freeze it. Before putting the bread in the freezer, put it in an airtight container. It’s also wise to slice it up first since the task will be much more difficult once the bread is frozen. Frozen bread will stay good for a few months. Now that you know the best place to store your freshly baked creations, time to find out the best place to proof bread!
