Nothing is worse than opening the breadbox only to discover that the last slice of bread has gone stale and mouldy, but it may be spoiling quickly as you keep it in the wrong place.
It may seem obvious to keep bread stored away in a bread box but this is actually one of the worst areas to store it in the kitchen.
Mary Payne Moran, a chef with over 20 years of experience and founder of Hail Mary Food of Grace, has explained that breadboxes are very humid environments which is why bread spoils so quickly.
Chef Mary said: “The truth is that bread needs to be kept in a cool place with little moisture. A dark and warm breadbox is the perfect place for mould and bacteria to grow.”
Bread will also become stale if kept in the refrigerator due to the cold environment which causes the starch to crystalise, which makes it much drier and tougher.
Chef Mary explained: “The refrigerator may seem like the perfect place, but if the bread isn’t wrapped tightly enough then the cold temperature can penetrate through the plastic wrapping and create a tough layer that has a stale-like consistency.”
Bread can be tricky to keep fresh which is why freezing it is often the best course of action if you really need to preserve a loaf for longer.
Chef Mary said: “Bread wrapped tightly and kept in the freezer is the best way to keep bread fresh over a week’s period. It’ll keep the flavour and the flaky consistency.”
However, not everyone has the time to let a whole bread loaf defrost if they fancy a piece of toast in the morning, so you can also keep bread fresh at room temperature someplace in the kitchen.
As soon as you get it home from the shops, wrap up your bread tightly into individual pieces depending on how much you use in a day and store away from hot appliances like the oven.
Then whatever you are not going to use in the next few days can be frozen and taken out of the freezer the night before you need it.
Chef Mary said: “Keep it on your counter in a cool spot and, if you don’t eat it in two days, cut it into individual portions. Wrap each portion tightly and separately then store in the freezer.
“This method allows you to pull out exactly how much you’ll eat and prevents the whole loaf from going bad.”
Any unfrozen bread is better stored in a bread basket wrapped in breathable cloth as it allows more air to reach the bread so there is no way for moisture to build up and will prevent mould.
If you are freezing bread, always make sure to slice it beforehand as it can be incredibly difficult to cut it up if you do not want to wait for it to defrost.
Chef Mary said: “Like the bread loaves, try slicing bagels in half and then individually wrapping them and store in the freezer. It’s nearly impossible to slice a frozen bagel and I’ve heard many horror stories from those attempts.”
Taking the time to wrap up individual bread, storing it somewhere cool away from hot areas in the kitchen and then freezing unused bread can make a whole loaf last for weeks longer than it normally would.
