How to Store Bread to Keep It Fresh and Delicious

A loaf of bread can go a long way, from avocado toast and grilled cheese sandwiches to an accompaniment for a bowl of soup. But it's only going to taste its best if you know how to store it correctly. Whether you make bread yourself or buy it, you probably always have a loaf on hand. But as you've likely noticed, bread can quickly spoil, begging the question of where it should be kept for optimal freshness. We reached out to food scientists to learn more about keeping loaves at their most-delicious, mold-free best.

How to Store Bread for Freshness

A few factors come into play when considering how to store bread. For starters, it depends on your consumption habits and its provenance.

• Daily bread eaters: If you plan to eat the bread quickly, you can store it on your countertop, says Margarethe A. Cooper, PhD, assistant professor of practice and Victor P. Smith Endowed Chair in Food Safety Education at the University of Arizona. 
• Occasional bread eaters: "If you take a long time to consume your bread, [if your kitchen] is warm and humid, and especially if the bread is homemade, it is worth refrigerating to prevent mold growth," she adds. 
• Commercially baked vs. baked at home: Homemade bread does not contain the preservatives that help keep it from spoiling that most store-bought breads have, so again, try the refrigerator or freezer.
  

Does Bread Last Longer in the Fridge?

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, store-bought bread and rolls that are stored in the fridge have a longer shelf-life, lasting 7 to 14 days. You can expect bread that's stored at room temperature to stay fresh for 2 to 4 days. The USDA notes that any bread containing meat or hard-cooked eggs must be refrigerated within 2 hours of purchase.

Pros and Cons of Refrigerating or Freezing Bread

When you keep bread in the fridge, a few changes occur. The cold temperature in the refrigerator causes the starch to recrystallize and become dry, says Lisa Young, PhD, RDN, author of Finally Full, Finally Slim, nutritionist in private practice and adjunct professor at New York University. The result? The bread will develop a stale flavor and texture. There are ways to counteract that altered state—though there's a caveat:

• Wrap it right: If you tightly wrap your bread in plastic and put it in the refrigerator, you can help slow the staling process. 
• Pop it in the freezer: Freezing bread is an option to help prevent it from going stale and developing spoilage microbes. You can take it out when ready to use and it will taste as fresh as when you froze it in the first place.
• Taste consideration: Keep in mind that when you thaw frozen bread, it will get stale faster than if it were refrigerated, Cooper says.

Signs of Spoilage

Wherever you store your bread, if you see any mold (fuzzy green or black spots), you'll need to discard the entire loaf. It's important to dispose of the whole package, even if you only see mold on a couple of slices since it can produce harmful toxins (fungus). But mold isn't the only red flag. You should also dispose of the whole loaf under these circumstances:

• Contaminated flour: Ropiness is another sign that bread is going bad; this happens when bacterial spores make it through the baking process and grow inside the loaf.  
• Moister loaves: "This type of spoilage can occur in bread and in baked goods with higher moisture content," notes Cooper. 
• Telltale spoilage: "If the inside of the loaf develops a soft mass that is stringy with a fruity smell, that indicates rope, or bacterial spoilage of the bread." 
• Other indicators: Young adds that you should also toss out your bread if it becomes very dry and hard and if it starts to smell sour.