If you’re looking for a way to keep your bread fresh for longer, then this expert has a top tip for you – and it’s a pretty easy one to follow, too
Bread is a staple in most households, featuring in every meal from breakfast to dinner.
However, it can often go stale too quickly, especially if different members of your household prefer different types of bread. This can lead to wastage and unnecessary costs. But don’t fret, an expert has shared a handy storage hack that will keep your bread fresher for longer.
Sophie Carey, from Matthews Cotswold Flour, said that simply freezing your bread may not be enough to preserve its freshness. Without proper storage, your bread could suffer from freezer burn, ruining its taste when you eventually defrost it. According to Carey, the bakery development manager at the flour company, you should wrap your bread twice in cling film before adding a layer of tin foil around the outside and then placing it in the freezer.
It may seem like a bit of a faff, but Carey assures that this is the first step to savouring the freshest bread possible. When you’re ready to tuck into your bread and take it out of the freezer, Carey suggests letting it sit at room temperature for about ten minutes. Then dampen it slightly with water and pop it in your oven to bake at 180 degrees for just ten minutes. “The bread will taste as fresh as the day you got it”, the expert professed.
She also cautioned against storing your bread in the fridge, even if it might seem like a sensible idea on the surface. She stated: “Bread should never be stored in the fridge. Although the cooler temperature of the fridge does slow the growth of mould, refrigerated conditions will speed up the staling of a loaf making it inedible far sooner than it could go mouldy. This is due to the starch present in the bread re-crystallizing when it is chilled.”
Carey clarifies that keeping bread in the freezer is a much better plan than sticking it in the fridge, even if a little more effort goes into preparing and defrosting it this way. The best option is to store your bread in an entirely airtight bread bin on your countertop, she recommends – but if you aren’t reaching for your loaf daily, the freezer is likely the best choice for you.
