# How much longer is bread good for if you refrigerate it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 11, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-is-bread-good-for-if-you-refrigerate-it/228554 "2004-02-11T00:41:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-is-bread-good-for-if-you-refrigerate-it/228554/1 "2004-02-11T00:41:04Z")
Assume you buy some bread or hot dog buns on feb 10th and they say ‘best by feb 18th’. That gives 8 days of being generally mold free at room temperature. If you refrigerate generally how much longer will they be good for? will it be along the lines of 50% longer lasting without much mold growth, twice as long lasting, or what? ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-is-bread-good-for-if-you-refrigerate-it/228554/2 "2004-02-11T00:59:06Z")
IME it usually lasts at least twice as long, sometimes 3x, without molding. Seems to get stale just as fast, though. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-is-bread-good-for-if-you-refrigerate-it/228554/3 "2004-02-11T02:16:21Z")
I just ate some perfectly good bread that’s been in the freezer for several weeks to a month. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-is-bread-good-for-if-you-refrigerate-it/228554/4 "2004-02-11T02:26:50Z")
Refrigerating bread isn’t recommended, it can negatively affect its texture. Freezing works well, however, and as **xgxlx** indicated, can keep it for quite a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-is-bread-good-for-if-you-refrigerate-it/228554/5 "2004-02-11T02:48:37Z")
> [@xgxlx](#): > > I just ate some perfectly good bread that’s been in the freezer for several weeks to a month. well yeah freezing would do that and keep it for months, but im talking about refrigeration, ie storing it just above freezing temperatures. ---
**Author:** ![jweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@jweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jweb)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-is-bread-good-for-if-you-refrigerate-it/228554/6 "2004-02-11T04:10:47Z")
I’ve eaten bread that’s been refrigerated for close to three weeks. No visible molding was apparent, but I’m sure there was mold there, it was just too small to see. I figure it’s just more practice germs to keep my immune system in good shape. 🙂 **Gary** is correct though, bread that has been refrigerated for even a couple of days assumes a very rubbery texture. I’ve heard that this is compounded by storing it in a plastic bag, the local Yuppie Grocery Store tells me you’re supposed to store bread in a paper bag to preserve texture and flavor.