Should bread be frozen or refrigerated
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blissful
Master Chef
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2008
- Messages
- 7,211
it depends on the bread. lots of breads are made with preservatives and can stay on the counter for a number of days before mold starts.
Dave's killer bread and Ezekiel bread are natural breads with whole grains and i know ezekiel bread is found in the freezer department. it's best taken out and toasted just 2 slices at a time.
The homemade whole wheat bread i make, after it cools and i slice it, i freeze it in 4-6 slice bags, then use it straight from the freezer or it keeps in the refrigerator for 2 days.
Dave's killer bread and Ezekiel bread are natural breads with whole grains and i know ezekiel bread is found in the freezer department. it's best taken out and toasted just 2 slices at a time.
The homemade whole wheat bread i make, after it cools and i slice it, i freeze it in 4-6 slice bags, then use it straight from the freezer or it keeps in the refrigerator for 2 days.
My parents froze bread all the time. It tasted okay to me as a kid. I haven't done it as an adult with more discerning taste buds, but it should be okay.
I do refrigerate bread in the summer in North Texas. In winter, my pantry is cool and dry. Summer... not so much. I can get science projects pretty fast in summer months. Down in Houston where my sister lives, yeah, you need to put your bread in the fridge all year around.
So, I think it depends on where you live, but my refrigerated bread tastes just fine. Five seconds in the microwave and you'd never know it was in the fridge.
BTW, I buy good, fresh baked breads from the HEB bakery, not the supper processed big brand breads, and like I said, five seconds in the microwave.
CD
I do refrigerate bread in the summer in North Texas. In winter, my pantry is cool and dry. Summer... not so much. I can get science projects pretty fast in summer months. Down in Houston where my sister lives, yeah, you need to put your bread in the fridge all year around.
So, I think it depends on where you live, but my refrigerated bread tastes just fine. Five seconds in the microwave and you'd never know it was in the fridge.
BTW, I buy good, fresh baked breads from the HEB bakery, not the supper processed big brand breads, and like I said, five seconds in the microwave.
CD
jennyema
Chef Extraordinaire
I leave mine out for a few days and then it goes in to the freezer. English muffins, too
I refrigerate bread. If I don't think I will get through it in a reasonable amount of time, I freeze it. As others have mentioned, you can take out the number of slices that you need and toast them from frozen. That works best with sliced bread. I have frozen whole, unsliced loaves of bread and that works fine if they are well sealed. You just have to let the whole loaf defrost before you can easily slice it for use.
I learned about freezing sliced bread in a resto in a small town in Quebec. It used to be the law that restos that served bread had to make whole wheat bread available to their customers. This was a small town with very little call for whole wheat bread, but I always ask for whole wheat. This was the regular sort of supermarket bread from a factory. It worked fine. I mentioned that I was surprised they had whole wheat and the owner said he always has some in the freezer. That was also when I found out that he was legally required to have it around. I don't think that law is still on the books or if it is, it isn't being enforced any longer.
I learned about freezing sliced bread in a resto in a small town in Quebec. It used to be the law that restos that served bread had to make whole wheat bread available to their customers. This was a small town with very little call for whole wheat bread, but I always ask for whole wheat. This was the regular sort of supermarket bread from a factory. It worked fine. I mentioned that I was surprised they had whole wheat and the owner said he always has some in the freezer. That was also when I found out that he was legally required to have it around. I don't think that law is still on the books or if it is, it isn't being enforced any longer.
pepperhead212
Master Chef
Depends on the bread, and very much depends on the time of year, as to whether it gets put in the fridge here.
Refrigerating bread will actually make it go stale faster, and in cooler weather, I usually will eat a loaf of bread before it would mold, but after 4 days, I'll put the small amount left in the fridge, and usually use it toasted. But in the summer, I almost always put it in the fridge later on the 2nd day after baking, when I might have about a third of a loaf remaining, and it would probably get moldy.
As for freezing bread, I usually bake 2, sometimes 3 loaves, of rye bread, and freeze all but one of the loaves as soon as it is totally cooled. And think of it this way - the more fat a bread has in it, the longer it will keep, in the freezer, at room temperature, or refrigerated! Sweet breads are the longest keepers (but probably not on the kitchen counter!
), with all the eggs, fat, and sugar, and simple breads like French bread, with just flour, yeast, salt, and water, are the fastest to go stale, and even in the freezer, doesn't keep well much over a month.
Refrigerating bread will actually make it go stale faster, and in cooler weather, I usually will eat a loaf of bread before it would mold, but after 4 days, I'll put the small amount left in the fridge, and usually use it toasted. But in the summer, I almost always put it in the fridge later on the 2nd day after baking, when I might have about a third of a loaf remaining, and it would probably get moldy.
As for freezing bread, I usually bake 2, sometimes 3 loaves, of rye bread, and freeze all but one of the loaves as soon as it is totally cooled. And think of it this way - the more fat a bread has in it, the longer it will keep, in the freezer, at room temperature, or refrigerated! Sweet breads are the longest keepers (but probably not on the kitchen counter!
), with all the eggs, fat, and sugar, and simple breads like French bread, with just flour, yeast, salt, and water, are the fastest to go stale, and even in the freezer, doesn't keep well much over a month.
What do people mean when they say that bread is stale? Do they mean that it got dry or dryish? I think of stale as a degradation in flavour, which I haven't noticed when I refrigerate bread. If it has been in the fridge, I will almost always toast it.
Aunt Bea
Master Chef
I don’t refrigerate or freeze bread if I can avoid it.
The formation of moisture or ice crystals is a problem for me. It helps if the bread can be placed in a paper bag or wrapped in paper towel and then placed in a plastic bag.
I thaw bread in the microwave wrapped in a paper towel for 20 seconds or so and use it immediately.
I’ve also had good results reheating day old or frozen bread in a paper bag that has been run under the faucet and placed in a 400-450f oven for a few minutes. I’m not sure how healthy that method is but it’s something that I learned from my mother.
When I was a kid we had one of these little stovetop ovens to refresh less than perfect baked goods. The little well, in the center, was filled with water and set on medium heat for a few minutes.
The formation of moisture or ice crystals is a problem for me. It helps if the bread can be placed in a paper bag or wrapped in paper towel and then placed in a plastic bag.
I thaw bread in the microwave wrapped in a paper towel for 20 seconds or so and use it immediately.
I’ve also had good results reheating day old or frozen bread in a paper bag that has been run under the faucet and placed in a 400-450f oven for a few minutes. I’m not sure how healthy that method is but it’s something that I learned from my mother.
When I was a kid we had one of these little stovetop ovens to refresh less than perfect baked goods. The little well, in the center, was filled with water and set on medium heat for a few minutes.
Badjak
Sous Chef
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2010
- Messages
- 724
I live far from shops, so when I get there and buy bread and/or flat bread, I buy more than I can eat in a couple of days and freeze most.
I leave home baked sourdough out on the counter (except if I baked far too much). It gets a bit dry, but I don't mind that. It stays good for quite a long time, even in my extreme climate.
I do think that may partly be due to the fact that it is sourdough bread
I leave home baked sourdough out on the counter (except if I baked far too much). It gets a bit dry, but I don't mind that. It stays good for quite a long time, even in my extreme climate.
I do think that may partly be due to the fact that it is sourdough bread
Roll_Bones
Master Chef
I freeze bread as soon as I get it home from the store. This way I have fresh bread anytime.
bethzaring
Master Chef
When I make my own stuffing for Thanksgiving, I cube the bread and leave it out on the counter a day or two. The cubes get a little crusty. That is stale bread.
I make most of the bread we eat and use all whole wheat flour. As soon as the bread is cooled, I slice it and put it in the freezer.
My homemade goes stale quite fast, so I also freeze half of it. I find store bought, although it might not go stale (dry out) it is liable to go moldy - so again, I freeze half. Seeing as I'm only feeding me, myself and I, I don't always know if I'll go thru it fast or not.
I bought a loaf of white square sandwich bread, specifically to make "shrimp toasts". The leftover bread lasted over two weeks in my cupboard.
Talk about something healthy and nutritional - my body will probably be preserved for centuries after eating that stuff! Maybe not my brain - but oh wait! - that's why I drink lots of wine - to pickle and preserve my brain.
I bought a loaf of white square sandwich bread, specifically to make "shrimp toasts". The leftover bread lasted over two weeks in my cupboard.
Talk about something healthy and nutritional - my body will probably be preserved for centuries after eating that stuff! Maybe not my brain - but oh wait! - that's why I drink lots of wine - to pickle and preserve my brain.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
We have to freeze bread otherwise ¾ of it would be lost.
If I put frozen slices of bread right into the toaster, they toast beautifully and you wouldn't know the bread was frozen.
When I don't want toast, I can defrost the bread in the microwave. You have to be careful. Too long and the bread is ruined.
If I put frozen slices of bread right into the toaster, they toast beautifully and you wouldn't know the bread was frozen.
When I don't want toast, I can defrost the bread in the microwave. You have to be careful. Too long and the bread is ruined.
Well done on successfully thawing bread in the MW. I have given up. I have ruined bread more than once.
HeyItsSara
Sous Chef
Even though mold is free penicillin, I generally freeze bread. I keep some wraps in the fridge though.
So difficult when the question is really subjective to the individual. Their needs. Their situation in so far as place. So many other factors it's impossible to answer directly.
So georgevan, you've gotten all sorts of different answers based on individual needs.
Would you let us know which one suits your life style best?
So georgevan, you've gotten all sorts of different answers based on individual needs.
Would you let us know which one suits your life style best?
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Not all molds produce penicillin.
Linda0818
Head Chef
I do the same thing. I buy 2-3 loaves at a time, then put them into my chest freezer until one of them is needed. However, once I take a loaf out of the freezer, it stays on the counter until it's gone. I never put bread in the fridge. One loaf of bread doesn't last long in our house because my son could literally survive on peanut butter sandwiches and eats them daily. So I can't remember the last time we had a loaf of bread go stale.
Silversage
Head Chef
Freeze it. Bread in the refrigerator will go stale more quickly. Refrigerators actually have a dehydrating effect on food. It will stay fresher in the freezer
Read it here from the experts. https://www.seriouseats.com/does-refrigeration-really-ruin-bread
Read it here from the experts. https://www.seriouseats.com/does-refrigeration-really-ruin-bread
During hot muggy weather I keep my bread in the fridge. But when I freeze my bread I also put a sheet of paper toweling in the bag. That toweling stays in the bag when I take it out of the freezer. It helps to keep the bread from going soggy and at the same time keeps it from getting that hardness around the edges and going stale. Bit of an oxymoron I know - but it seems to work for me.
