How to keep bread

Staling is not drying out

Bread goes stale because the starch that gelatinised during baking gradually recrystallises, moving water out of the crumb structure. The crumb becomes firm and dry-feeling even in a sealed bag where no water has left the loaf.

That recrystallisation happens fastest at fridge temperature — several times faster than at room temperature. A loaf kept in the fridge for three days is staler than the same loaf left on the counter.

Drying out is a separate problem caused by air. Both happen, and confusing them is why people refrigerate bread and are surprised.

Where to keep it

Bread bin or a paper bag

The default. Slows drying and keeps the crust reasonably crisp. Two or three days.

Cut side down on a board

For a crusty loaf being eaten within a day. The crust stays perfect and the cut face is protected.

A plastic bag

Keeps the crumb soft and destroys the crust. Right for a soft sandwich loaf, wrong for sourdough.

A cloth bag

A compromise. Better than plastic for crust, worse than plastic for softness.

The freezer

The only genuinely effective long-term answer. Staling essentially stops below freezing.

The fridge

The worst option. Staling runs fastest there.

Freezing and reviving

1. Freeze bread on the day it is baked, not once it has started to go. Freezing preserves; it does not restore.
2. Slice a loaf before freezing if you will want single slices. They toast straight from frozen.
3. Wrap tightly — a bag with the air pressed out, or two layers. Air causes freezer burn, which is a separate problem from staling.
4. To revive a whole loaf, run it briefly under a tap or spritz it, then put it in a hot oven for ten minutes. The crust re-crisps and the crumb softens.
5. This works because staling is partly reversible with heat: the recrystallised starch re-gelatinises above a certain temperature.
6. It works once. A revived loaf goes stale again quickly, so eat it that day.
7. Toasting does the same thing on a smaller scale, which is why stale bread toasts perfectly well.

By kind of loaf

• Crusty sourdough or a bloomer. Cut side down on a board for a day; paper bag or bread bin after that; freeze anything beyond two days.
• Soft sandwich loaf. Plastic bag at room temperature. The crust is not the point.
• Enriched breads — brioche, challah, panettone. Stale more slowly because of the fat and sugar. Wrapped, at room temperature.
• Flatbreads. Wrapped and eaten fast, or frozen. They stale very quickly.
• Rye. Keeps far longer than wheat bread — days rather than a day. Wrapped in a cloth.
• Baguettes. Effectively a same-day food. Freeze immediately if not eating it.
• Anything past reviving. Breadcrumbs, croutons, panzanella, bread sauce, bread and butter pudding, a soup thickener.

Common questions