Storing Bread

Sliced Wholemeal Bread

Storing Bread

Once I have cooked my carefully prepared and lovingly made bread I want to eat it at its best and freshest to enjoy it like it has just been baked. I will cook two or three loaves or around 18 rolls for each of my bakes. I know that I’m not going to eat all of the bread that day but I do want it to be at its best when I’m ready to eat it. The next day the bread will not be at its best and by day three it will have dried out and only good for toast and it will certainly be of no use for my favourite sandwich. 

Sliced Wholemeal Loaf

Once the bread has cooled it starts to slowly deteriorate and will continue to do so and this will happen at a faster rate if left uncovered. The rate of deterioration will increase if the bread is cold or too warm. Storing bread in the refrigerator in an attempt to prolong its life is one of the worst things to do along with having it sat uncovered in a warm room. Covering the bread in a plastic bag and removing the air surrounding the bread helps preserve the bread but it is still slowly drying out and passing its best.

I have found a method to successfully store your my excess bread which will give almost the same just baked texture and quality bread that I baked several weeks ago. After testing different methods to preserve the bread I have found a reliable method of freezing the bread and then a process to defrost it. Once the bread has defrosted I want it to be as close to the original bake as possible which means that the bread’s texture and taste should be almost perfect.

Wholemeal Bread

Once the bread has been removed from the oven I remove the parchment paper and let the bread cool naturally until the bread has completely cooled down. Previously I have cut warm bread up and then placed it in the freezer and I found that the bread had created moisture as it froze. As the bread freezes, ice crystals form around the bake which can make it go soggy when the bread defrosts at room temperature, I would recommend that you avoid that.

Sliced Wholemeal Loaf

Once sliced I bag the bread in plastic fruit and vegetable bags that you can get from the supermarket. I expel all of the air but don’t squash and force too much air out because I have found it very hard to part individual slices of bread when I need them. For bread rolls I wrap them up in cling film wrap which makes a nice tight fit for each roll. Take each piece and carefully place them in your freezer. I try not to squash them or stack them on top of one another because they can deform and they don’t recover very well when they thaw out.

Sliced Wholemeal Loaf

I like to take the loaf out of the freezer and simply flick the slices away from one another with a kitchen knife. They easily flip off the adjacent piece by lightly pushing the knife between the grooves. Once I have the slices that I want I return the resealed loaf to the freezer. I have found that placing the slices upright to allow air to circulate around them in an oven or a microwave that is turned off is a good method to defrost bread. Depending on how warm your kitchen is it can take around 20 minutes. Once the chill has gone from the slices and they have come to room temperature they are perfect to eat. For bread rolls I keep them in the cling film wrap and place them in a plastic box with a sealed lid. I find that this method is the best as it keeps them super fresh and allows them to defrost to their very best.