How To Keep Store-Bought Bread Fresh

Nowadays, instead of making bread from scratch, people prefer buying bread from bakeries, which saves them time, but the real problem is how do you keep it fresh tasting?

Therefore, learning how to keep store-bought bread fresh is a something we should all learn since it is a common household staple.

The Principles

Before learning how to keep store-bought bread fresh, it is essential for you to get some critical knowledge.

Firstly, the better the bread is, the younger it dies. Second, the two primary culprits of stale bread are time and air exposure.

To get a more careful explanation, you should look at the spoiling process of bread. The primary ingredients for making it are flour, yeast, and water.

What causes stale bread is a chemical reaction named starch retrogradation. Right after being removed from the oven, the bread gradually changes in the starch molecules, making them crystallize.

The process stimulates water vaporizing and results in bread, staleness, which we all loathe.

So, you cannot finish the food soon, try to keep it away from the air to slow down the chemical reaction.

Somebody may think putting bread in the refrigerator is a good idea, which is not true.

In fact, doing so will make it dry faster and lose the freshness. If you want to prevent the air exposure, wrap the bread carefully.

How To Keep Store-Bought Bread Fresh And Yummy

1. Store The Bread In Room Temperature.

Before the invention of the freezer, the breadbox to the top helpful tool in the kitchen of almost all the families. They are less used today, though. But you should know about them owing to their outstanding effects on the bread.

The boxes are the best place to keep the bread. They can help to preserve the loaves for a long time. And it will free you from the thawing and reheating the bread as it does with the freezing method.

The breadbox is made from wood, sometimes metal or plastic, even ceramic and bamboo. If you want to check the quality of one, take a closer look at its closing door.

The storing time in a breadbox is certainly shorter than that in the freezer. But it is still useful when you don’t need to keep it for such a long time, which often happens because bread is a primary food item, can be used in every meal.

A bread box’s job is to keep the interior soft (owing to the balanced humidity), and the crust crusty (thanks to the air circulation.

Some people may think wrapping the bread before putting in the box is a good idea, but it is not. The box alone can do all the tasks of preservation. More interference will cause moisture trapping and crust destruction.

To store the bread, just follow my instruction below:

1. Choose the size of the box, depending on the amount of bread you typically leave uneaten after meals. Spacey ones are better since the air circulation inside the box is critical for preservation and mold keep-away.
2. Find a cool and dry area in your kitchen to place the breadbox. Keep in mind, that location should be not directly in contact with the sun or too humid.
3. Just put the bread into it. Note: Don’t wrap anything outside of bread because the breadbox can protect them well by itself.

2. Store The Bread In The Freezer

You may not believe it, but freezing is the most efficient way to preserve the original state of the bread.

After thawing and reheating, high chances you will get the crusty crust, soft interior just like before you put it in the freezer. In fact, by freezing the bread, you also “freeze” the chemical process causing staleness, therefore, keep the food in its prime.

In areas whose weather is always humid, it is the most recommended method to preserve your bread. The temperature and humidity in such climate are ideal for mold to develop.

To freeze the bread, just follow the below steps:

1. Put the remaining of your meal in a zip-top, vacuum bag.
2. Get rid of the air inside.
3. Pop the food in the freeze. Your bread is safe there for up to three months if you don’t screw up with the bag.

Before using it again, reheat it in the oven or the toaster will re-gelatinizes the starches, making the texture springy and chewy.

To reheat the frozen bread, thaw it at room temperature. Then, put the whole loaf in the oven or slices in the toaster and wait for your treat.

The bread is ready to enjoy after a few minutes. I bet you can hardly tell the difference between the one with freshly bought bread.

Tips For Better Keeping Your Breads At Home

1. The Refrigerator Is Not Recommended To Keep The Bread

Just like I have told you before, we shouldn’t store the bread in the fridge. Of course, the device is useful when it comes to preventing the mold, but the staleness will progress six times faster in the refrigerator than on the kitchen counter.

2. Different Kinds Of Bread Require The Different Wrappers For Storage

Somebody may say that wrapping the bread stimulate mold development or something else, but no, the wrapper cause nothing but goodness.

The problem here is the type of wrapper you have chosen. Perhaps it is incompatible with the kind of bread.

Common store-bought bread often has a tender crust, so you can use plastic bags to wrap it. On the other hand, hard-crusted breads should be stored in a layer of the paper bag.

Typically, the original packages of the bread when you take them off the shelf of the bakery is the best.

3. Restoring The Crustiness

Losing the crunch typically happens in breadbox storing bread, but the situation can be saved in a blink. To restore the crustiness, wrap the bread in foil and place them in a 250 °C preheated oven for about ten minutes.

Then you can enjoy the bread with the perfect crunch we all love.

4. We Can Save Partially Stale Bread

Indeed, it is true. Reheating in the oven will save your partially stale bread. The method may save most of the minor problems with your bread, including dryness, rubbery texture, and taste, etc.

However, reheated bread should be consumed quickly after that.