For many years, we have been storing bread (bought and home-made) in the deep freeze. No deteriorationi in quality or taste. Saves money, as a large loaf is not wasted.
7 Likes
I have never kept bread in the fridge, it ends up hard and dry. Ours goes straight into the freezer.
7 Likes
Also our experience of crusty specialty breads and rolls after a few days.
But are all breads the same? The mass produced plastic bagged bread typically pre-sliced keeps very well in our fridge. Possibly a quality imparted by the special blend of food additives to stabilise the product for longer shelf life once sliced? Does this bread freeze and recover better than a crusty organic local bakery loaf sold off an open air rack?
Consider?
ColesWorth etc purchase bread from the big name brands. The product can bear witness to 1000 km or greater in food miles depending on where one lives. Less if one lives in one of the 3 big cities near to which most production is located. Far further if one looks carefully at the packaging. The internet offers little joy in tracking down where our daily bread is actually baked, when it comes mass produced in a plastic bag.
4 Likes
So many almost rhetorical questions … but this one does have an answer: yes, except that the slicing is irrelevant.
There are numerous anti-staling agents that are often used in commercial bread. They attempt to slow or prevent the chemical changes to bread starch that result in stale bread. In my experience they do work and add several days to the life of bread.
I doubt it has any effect. The texture of some food degrades through the freezing cycle due to expansion of the ice which damages cell walls. I can’t see how that applies. The starch and gluten that hold bread together don’t seem to be affected.
3 Likes
For the crust.
Putting frozen bread rolls in the ‘nuke’ or thawing on the bench the crust needs a stint under the grill to crisp up again.
5 Likes
And older bread that has not been frozen doesn’t benefit from this treatment? Re-heating does to some extent reverse the staling process which is one of the reasons for the popularity of toast.
4 Likes
Exactly! Queensland is fridge pretty much immediately from September to April.
3 Likes
In sticky conditions we may have to prioritise keeping bread free of mould and edible. But putting it in the fridge will also accelerate staling. Maybe in that case freezing should be the default and just warm up enough for the immediate purpose. Keeping it in the freezer reduces both problems, mould and staling.
Depending on your situation you could also buy fresh from your nearby hot-bread shop daily or bake daily and bequeath the remains to the chooks. Baking daily may seem excessive but if the house eats the whole loaf (or nearly) each day and you have a bread machine it may even be fresher and cheaper than store bought. You can also make a large batch of dough and freeze it in packets, this will provide hot fresh rolls for lunch or dinner in less time than the full bread-making cycle.
5 Likes
On a slightly related note, in our toaster test, we have a frozen bread test where we toast a slice of frozen bread - usually there is a defrost setting.
5 Likes
I put my bread straight into the freezer. That way it doesn’t go stale & get mouldy.
7 Likes
Out toaster a Delonghi also has a defrost setting.
When used it actually toasts the frozen bread. Not sure if it’s added value, a defect or error between design and manufacture with the labelling. 
3 Likes
As empty nesters bread isn’t used much. So, we buy toast loaf split it into sandwich bags, (3 or 5 each) and freeze it. Then it is generally toasted. It works for us.
7 Likes
i freeze the bread.
7 Likes
Always in freezer. Would only temporarily leave in fridge ifvwss placing later in the freezer
6 Likes
I keep mine in the freezer. It works extremely well.
I just take a slice when I need it.
7 Likes
I keep my bread in the refrigerator, I have found that the longevity of bread depends a lot on the brand, some brands of bread can be kept in the fridge for a week or more and still be perfectly edible and some brands of bread also freeze quite well.
Many other brands start losing freshness within days and simply do not freeze well. It is a simple matter of trial and error to discover the type and brand of bread which satisfies your taste and suits your needs.
The longevity of bread has a lot to do with the amount of preservatives they add to the bread, of course some people prefer foods that have no preservatives or have bad reactions to preservatives and must avoid them.
7 Likes
There is a difference between additives that delay mould etc and those that delay staling. You could say they are both preservatives in a sense but they are not the same.
3 Likes
I defrost half as I purchase artisan bread and slice it in half prior to freezing.
Defrost, take what I need. Freeze.
Have been doing it for a few years. No issues.
4 Likes
I’ve got a Sunbeam toaster thats now at the stage where it toasts a slice on one side but not very well on the other… defrosting has never been very efficient so after the first couple of fails I reverted to a 20 sec microwave. Works well enough
3 Likes
Due to absurd levels of humidity the last few weeks the bread is now in the fridge for a while as it was growing fungus sitting in the breadbox while still fresh. Cold and stodgy is better than furry.
The tree frogs are loving it though, they have noisy orgies daily.
4 Likes
