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Storing Bread: This Is How Bread Stays Fresh Longer

It doesn’t matter whether it’s made from wheat, rye or wholemeal flour: Fresh bread simply tastes delicious. But what is the best way to store bread so that it lasts as long as possible and does not become dry?

Bread stays fresh longer at room temperature.
A paper bag is good for storage, but a plastic bag is not.
A bread box is a good purchase for larger amounts of bread.
Whether with butter, spread, cheese or (vegan) sausage: bread is an important staple food in Germany. And the loaves come in a wide variety of flavors, from grainy wholemeal bread to fluffy white bread. We will tell you how to store bread properly so that you can enjoy the grain loaf for a long time.

How to properly store bread

The best way to avoid hard leftover bread is to start shopping wisely. Before you go shopping, think about how much bread you are really going to eat in the next few days. In the bakery you have the opportunity to determine the bread size and quantity yourself.

Once the bread has been bought, it is important to store it correctly. These two tips keep bread fresh longer:

It is best to store bread in a bread crock or bread box made of clay, wood or metal. With a bread box, it is important that either the material is breathable or the box has ventilation holes. This allows the moisture in the bread to escape and the bread starts to mold much more slowly. It is best to pack the bread in a paper bag as well.
If you don’t have a bread bin at home, bread keeps for a long time in a paper bag. The paper absorbs the moisture that the bread gives off.
Basically, dark bread stays fresh longer than light bread. The reason for this is the high proportion of wheat in white breads, which causes the bread to harden more quickly. You can even store wholemeal bread for a few weeks.

This is not how you should store bread

A plastic bag for storing bread is not a good idea: wrapped in a plastic bag, bread starts to mold faster because no air can get in and the moisture cannot escape.
Bread doesn’t feel right in the fridge either. The cold doesn’t keep the bread fresh for long. The optimal temperature for bread is a room temperature between 18 and 22 degrees.

More tips for long-lasting bread

It is better to buy bread and rolls in the bakery than at the discounter or in the bakery. The baked goods become hard and old faster.
If you know you bought too much bread, freeze it as soon as possible. To do this, slice the bread and freeze it in a plastic wrap. Later you can remove the slices of bread individually as required. The fresher you freeze the bread, the better it tastes when thawed. With some types of bread, however, it is also advisable not to freeze them until the second day so that they can lose moisture in the air beforehand. Here it is worth experimenting a little to find the most favorable moment for freezing the bread.
If you bake your own bread, you can determine the exact amount yourself. Ready-made baking mixes are a support for beginners. But: Not all products did well in the bread baking mix test. Cancer suspect acrylamide was a problem in baking.

If, despite storing it properly, your bread gets dry or hard, we have great recipe ideas for you: Use old bread: too good to throw away.

Important: You should always dispose of moldy bread. Even if you discover mold spots in just one spot, the mold spores may already have spread all over the loaf of bread.

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Written by Florentina Lewis

Hello! My name is Florentina, and I'm a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a background in teaching, recipe development, and coaching. I'm passionate about creating evidence-based content to empower and educate people to live healthier lifestyles. Having been trained in nutrition and holistic wellness, I use a sustainable approach toward health & wellness, using food as medicine to help my clients achieve that balance they are looking for. With my high expertise in nutrition, I can create customized meal plans that fit a specific diet (low-carb, keto, Mediterranean, dairy-free, etc.) and target (losing weight, building muscle mass). I am also a recipe creator and reviewer.

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