It’s always a shame when bread goes stale, whether fresh bakery bread or grocery store-bought sliced white bread. The signs as mold spots appear even if you recently bought the bread. How to keep store-bought bread from molding can elude the best of us, yet not that difficult to do.
If you want to keep your bread fresh, know that growing mold does so quickly with the right conditions and a humid climate. Mold thrives and reproduces by dispersing spores through the air to travel around your home. Mold loves damp, warm areas and a plentiful food source. Bread, baked goods, and other foods offer all it needs. Our guide teaches you how to prevent bread from molding using proven techniques and practices.
By the end, you’ll know the best ways to care for more bread for longer. You’ll also have bread fresher for when you make your favorite sandwiches; now you know how to prevent bread mold. (Learn How To Remove Mold From Clothes With Hydrogen Peroxide)
How Do You Make Bread Last Longer?
Bread has one major downside: how long it lasts before it dries out or goes moldy. Bread stays fresher for longer in a reasonably air-tight environment, whether it’s store-bought, bakery-fresh, or homemade, because circulation speeds up the staling process. Mold grows in warm, airy environments, so store your bread somewhere cool and dry.
The shelf life of bread is something to be aware of. Because fat is a natural preservative, anything with more fat has a better chance of preserving or freezing and lasting longer. Loaves with eggs or butter, such as banana bread, will grow stale faster than leaner French bread. With that in mind, here’s how to store bread properly, as well as some essential advice on how to keep bread fresh for longer. (Read Bamboo Charcoal Bags For Mold)
How to store fresh bread
- Divide the loaf in half. Using a knife, cut the bread into thirds. You could also cut them into slices. If you’re going to store freshly baked bread, make sure it’s entirely cool.
- Set aside a portion of the cake to cool at room temperature. Eat within three or four days after storing in a bread box or an airtight container.
- Prepare the remaining portions to be stored for a long time. Wrap the remaining parts in plastic wrap separately and tightly.
- Place in the freezer until ready to eat. Place them in a zip-top bag and freeze them.
- Enjoy after thawing. When you’re ready to make another batch, defrost another portion.
Quick tip: Store-bought bread lasts five to seven days at room temperature, while homemade bread lasts three to five days.
Use a Breadbox
Bread boxes are the most traditional way to store bread. A bread box works better than an airtight container since it’s permeable and creates the ideal balance of airflow and humidity, preventing your bread from absorbing too much moisture from the air.
Wrap bread in plastic
For people who quickly eat a loaf of bread, wrapping it in plastic or sealing it in a zip-top bag is the simplest way to ensure a fresh loaf. It is a reliable short-term storage strategy because the bread will not rest on the counter for an extended period. Bread can be kept fresher for longer by storing it in reusable plastic or a glass-sealed container. If you want to eat the bread within three or four days, keep it in an airtight container on the counter.
Use the Original Wrapper
While canvas bread bags are fashionable and environmentally friendly, they do not always prevent stale bread. If you don’t consume bread regularly, storing a 24-slice loaf in a canvas bag for a week may lead it to spoil faster. If you place handmade bread in a canvas bag that isn’t in a plastic wrapper, the outside will likely become hard because it isn’t as well protected. If you want to keep shop-bought bread fresh, all you have to do is keep it in its original plastic wrapper and store it in a cool place.
Freeze
In the end, freezing bread is the most effective approach to prevent it from warping or becoming stale too soon. While it is not essential, freezing bread in slices makes it easier to defrost a complete loaf. Frozen loaves can last three to six months, depending on the bread’s fat content and protein composition — whether store-bought or homemade. Brioche and croissants bounce back fresher than a loaf of French bread. So, it can be three months for French bread, and for croissants, it is six months in the freezer.
Storage Tips:
Now that you’ve seen many mold-fighting techniques for your bread, you’ll need to implement them. Here are some tips on how to store your bread.
- Before storing the bread, make sure it has completely cooled.
- Avoid touching the bread with your hands as much as possible to avoid further contamination.
- Cut only what is required. When you slice the bread, more moist core is exposed, which is more conducive to mold growth than the dried crust.
- Store in a cool, dry location with plenty of airflow to keep the bread dry. Cabinets, kitchen counters, and kitchen drawers are suitable, but close to a dishwasher or on top of the refrigerator are not.
- Avoid plastic bags since they collect excess moisture.
- Since there will be ample airflow, the molding process won’t start quickly in a brown paper bag, kitchen towels, or linen bread bags. Using a bread box is the better option.
- Avoid using the refrigerator since, while it will prevent mold, it will promote staling.
- If the bread is not consumed for a few days, the most straightforward technique to avoid mold is to freeze it (and staling). Wrap it tightly in plastic and a freezer-safe bag to avoid moisture and freezer burn.
Does putting bread in the fridge make it mold?
Bread should never be kept in the refrigerator. When the bread is refrigerated, the starch molecules in the bread recrystallize quickly at chilly temperatures, causing the bread in the fridge to stale quickly. Instead of keeping store-bought loaves in the fridge, keep them at room temperature in an airtight plastic bag, paper bags, or bread boxes. However, other individuals see things differently. (Learn How To Kill Mold On Wood)
Store Bread in the Fridge to Prevent Mold
Some folks insist on storing their bread in the refrigerator. The good news is that bread kept in the refrigerator doesn’t mold because of the chilly, dark environment. The bad news is that it will quickly get stale once you learn how to store bread this way.
The water in bread naturally flows outward from the center, resulting in a dry interior and a soft crust. The environment speeds up this process in the refrigerator. Warming stale bread in the oven might bring it back to life. Place a complete loaf or individual slices of bread on a baking sheet coated with parchment paper and bake for three to five minutes.
Halt Mold Using Your Freezer
Some others swear by storing bread in the freezer, which keeps mold at bay without producing staleness. It is easier to take individual slices of store-bought loaves from frozen bread or slice an uncut loaf before freezing it. This is the finest method for freezing banana bread and other varieties of bread. Freeze homemade bread the same day it’s baked to avoid it drying out in the freezer. Make sure it’s cool before doing so.
Wrap the entire loaf with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and place it in a large freezer bag or suitable plastic container. Place wax paper to separate the slices sticking together. Bread can be kept frozen for up to three months. The disadvantage of freezing bread is that you must defrost the whole loaf before eating it. A few slices can be thawed on the kitchen counter in a few minutes, or a complete loaf can be left out overnight.
Stop Bread Mold with a Bread Bag
Because circulation speeds up aging, bread stays fresh longer in a somewhat airtight environment. Keeping bread in a cloth bread bag is like a bread box in function, except it takes up less space. When the bag is tightly closed, air circulation is restricted while just enough air may pass. Bread bags come in a variety of charming designs. An alternative can be wrapping bread in a large, clean tea towel as it works the same.
Storing Bread in a Cabinet
A kitchen cabinet serves the same purpose as a bread box if it is not located above the refrigerator. It allows for air circulation, but not enough to prevent the bread from becoming stale. Stashing bread in a cupboard is a splendid solution if you have little counter space but don’t want to deal with stale fridge bread or defrosting frozen bread. Either a sealed paper bag or an open plastic bag would suffice.
Keep Bread Fresh in a Drawer
When someone opens a drawer in your kitchen, one of the last things they expect to see is bread. A deep drawer is ideal for hiding an artisan loaf of bread if you have one empty. Wrap the bread in a clean tea towel to keep it warm. (Learn How Much Liquid Chlorine To Add To Pool)
Change Your Bread Recipe to Discourage Mold
Use various components or varying amounts of ingredients when preparing your bread to lessen the risks of mold forming. More flour results in a denser loaf with a harder time spreading the mold. Acidic substances can help prevent mold spores from growing.
Acid to Bread Ratio
- ½ tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 to 2½ cups of water
Another option is to insert a natural preservative like lecithin, ascorbic acid, or lactic acid. Garlic, cinnamon, honey, and cloves are all effective, but they change the flavor of the bread significantly.
Will Some Bread Go Moldy Faster Than Others?
The rate at which bread molds is often influenced by the type of bread used. On average, store-bought bread lasts longer because of additives inhibiting mold growth than storing freshly baked bread. Darker, denser bread, including rye, whole wheat, and sourdough, keep mold at bay for longer. The acidity of sourdough bread is a bonus.
Unfortunately for people with gluten intolerance or celiac disease, gluten-free bread molds quickly because of its wet nature and lack of preservatives. That’s why gluten-free bread is frequently found frozen in supermarkets. Because more surfaces are exposed to air when sliced bread is stored at room temperature, it molds quickly. If you’re slicing your bread, consider cutting portions from the middle of the loaf and then pressing the two sides of the loaf together to keep the bread fresh.
Try one or more of these ways to protect the bread from molding before it gets to that point. For mold prevention, storing a loaf of bread in an appropriate area, such as well-sealed paper bags, the fridge, or the freezer, has a significant impact.
