# Storing Bread
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 13, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508 "2011-01-13T20:10:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/1 "2011-01-13T20:10:18Z")
I have a bread problem.
We buy bread, but we don’t eat it fast enough. So we end up eating half a loaf and throwing the other half away. It gets mould on it pretty quick.
1. How long is bread supposed to last?
2. What storage methods (other than freezing) will keep it for longer?
I’m not interested in freezing and defrosting slices when I need them; I’d rather just buy some more at that point. But how can I optimise my bread-storage strategies?
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### Author:  [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/2 "2011-01-13T20:33:58Z")
Have you tried keeping it in the fridge? That’s what we do when we’re not going through bread fast enough, and it extends the life for about a week longer than non-fridged.
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### Author:  [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/3 "2011-01-13T20:41:10Z")
Why not freeze half then defrost the entire half when the first half is done?
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/4 "2011-01-13T20:52:17Z")
The fridge works great. Especially if you warm up the slices in a toaster, the quality is excellent and it takes a long time to get moldy.
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### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/5 "2011-01-13T21:04:54Z")
I just checked on my bread in the fridge at work. I still have about eight slices from a loaf I bought two months ago. Nary a sign of any mould. Maybe they don’t like the taste of the kind I buy. The work fridge is usually kept below 40º F.
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### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/6 "2011-01-13T21:10:09Z")
[Storing Bread: Avoid the Refrigerator](http://books.google.com/books?id=bKVCtH4AjwgC&pg=PA542&lpg=PA542&dq=%22Storing+Bread:+Avoid+the+Refrigerator%22&source=bl&ots=qVPGlhK8qe&sig=j0XQe_pIv_vURusRf77Y-M0Vm4M&hl=en&ei=A2ovTdisN8Oblgf9p5T_Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Storing%20Bread%3A%20Avoid%20the%20Refrigerator%22&f=false), unless it’s to be toasted.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/7 "2011-01-14T01:27:00Z")
> [@sachertorte](#):
>
> Why not freeze half then defrost the entire half when the first half is done?
That’s basically what I do - I like to eat buns for lunch, and I can’t eat a pack of 12 buns fast enough before they mold, so I put them in the freezer and take out three or four at at time. Half a loaf frozen/fresh at a time should clear the OP’s problem right up.
Also, if you’re making sandwiches for lunch, frozen bread is preferable to fresh bread because it’s easier to spread things on it, and it’s nice and fresh by lunchtime (after keeping your lunch at a healthy temperature all morning).
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### Author:  [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/8 "2011-01-14T03:11:42Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#):
>
> That’s basically what I do - I like to eat buns for lunch, and I can’t eat a pack of 12 buns fast enough before they mold, so I put them in the freezer and take out three or four at at time. Half a loaf frozen/fresh at a time should clear the OP’s problem right up.
>
> Also, if you’re making sandwiches for lunch, frozen bread is preferable to fresh bread because it’s easier to spread things on it, and it’s nice and fresh by lunchtime (after keeping your lunch at a healthy temperature all morning).
I find I can’t keep defrosted bread fresh. You have a tiny window in which to use it. I’d take it out of the freezer to make a sandwich, leave it while I went for a shower, and it’d be good. But if I took a shower and, I dunno, ran out to the corner store for a few minutes I’d come back to dry bread. But sometimes popping it in the microwave to defrost would make it too moist.
I figure a loaf of bread is cheap, so I’m willing to deal with the waste now.
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### Author:  [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/9 "2011-01-14T03:28:50Z")
Depends what you want to use the bread for. I keep half of the loaf in the freezer, but only use that one for toast. Freezing bread causes it to dry out faster, but if you’re planning to make dark toast, that’s not a big deal.
The other half of course needs to be kept in some sort of relatively airtight container and used up before it goes stale. That’s not so hard with only half a loaf.
Of course, if you’re talking unsliced bread, it gets a bit trickier…
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### Author:  [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/10 "2011-01-14T17:22:23Z")
> [@Athena](#):
>
> Have you tried keeping it in the fridge? That’s what we do when we’re not going through bread fast enough, and it extends the life for about a week longer than non-fridged.
It seems to me that it dries out in the fridge.
> [@](#):
>
> Why not freeze half then defrost the entire half when the first half is done?
Defrosted bread just doesn’t taste nice to me. I don’t know what changes when it’s frozen, but it’s not good.
Nah, I think I need to find a non-freezer based storage solution; even if I only get an extra day or so out of it, that’s better than nothing.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/11 "2011-01-14T19:08:08Z")
> [@kushiel](#):
>
> I find I can’t keep defrosted bread fresh. You have a tiny window in which to use it. I’d take it out of the freezer to make a sandwich, leave it while I went for a shower, and it’d be good. But if I took a shower and, I dunno, ran out to the corner store for a few minutes I’d come back to dry bread. But sometimes popping it in the microwave to defrost would make it too moist.
>
> I figure a loaf of bread is cheap, so I’m willing to deal with the waste now.
I hesitate to ask because I don’t want you to think I think you’re stupid, but you are defrosting it in a plastic bag, right? Not just out on a counter top?
**Candyman** , if it’s the taste you don’t like, I don’t think I can help you. Maybe try to find a cooler place in your kitchen to store it - like away from the stove or any heat sources? Maybe a breadbox would actually help you.
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/12 "2011-01-14T19:41:02Z")
We always freeze bread.
I’ve never, ever noticed a discernible difference in thawed versus fresh bread. 😕
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### Author:  [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/13 "2011-01-14T21:04:13Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#):
>
> I hesitate to ask because I don’t want you to think I think you’re stupid, but you are defrosting it in a plastic bag, right? Not just out on a counter top?
I am not. Maybe I am stupid! Well, it’s worth trying.
> [@](#):
>
> Maybe a breadbox would actually help you.
That we have, although it’s cheap.
Would a better box help? Does airtightness affect the situation?
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### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/14 "2011-01-14T21:11:55Z")
> [@medicated](#):
>
> Depends what you want to use the bread for.
And it also depends on what kind of bread you have. If it’s Wonder Bread, it doesn’t matter much what you do with it.
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### Author:  [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/15 "2011-01-14T21:13:49Z")
> [@guizot](#):
>
> And it also depends on what kind of bread you have. If it’s Wonder Bread, it doesn’t matter much what you do with it.
It’s not; never heard of that brand. Don’t think I would buy bread called “Wonder Bread”.
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/16 "2011-01-14T21:35:55Z")
> [@Candyman74](#):
>
> It’s not; never heard of that brand. Don’t think I would buy bread called “Wonder Bread”.
What [del]planet[/del] country are you in?
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/17 "2011-01-14T23:15:55Z")
> [@Candyman74](#):
>
> \
> That we have, although it’s cheap.
>
> Would a better box help? Does airtightness affect the situation?
I don’t really know what breadboxes do - maybe they help control the environment of the bread.
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### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/18 "2011-01-15T02:11:04Z")
Some of these questions have definitive scientific answers.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/19 "2011-01-15T02:28:31Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#):
>
> I don’t really know what breadboxes do - maybe they help control the environment of the bread.
Bread boxes serve several functions:
1. Protect the bread from vermin, from rodents to insects. Hopefully, this is not really a problem in your household, but it is one reason to use them.
2. Moisture that evaporates from the bread tends to stay in the box, increasing the ambient humidity and helping to reduce further moisture loss. This helps keep the bread from drying out and getting stale.
3. Physically protects the bread from being squashed.
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### Author:  [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-bread/567508/20 "2011-01-15T02:31:02Z")
> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> What [del]planet[/del] country are you in?
England.
Google tells me it’s a brand in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
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