Why bread goes stale faster in the fridge, and what to do
Bakers say a cold shelf ruins a loaf within a day, while paper, a freezer and a hot oven keep it good. Here is how to store, revive and use up bread.
By
Owen Caldwell
In brief
- Bakers quoted by The Guardian say the fridge is the worst place for bread.
- A paper bag at room temperature is the favoured option among the experts quoted.
- Freezing suits loaves that will not be eaten within a few days.
- Bread past its best can become croutons, crisps, breadcrumbs or garlic bread.
Putting a loaf in the fridge feels like the careful thing to do, yet the bakers consulted by The Guardian say it is the quickest way to a dry, tired crumb. Florin Grama of Tarn Bakery in north London put it bluntly: “It’s the worst thing you can do.”
Why bread goes stale, and why cold makes it worse
Sophia Handschuh, co-founder of Sourdough Sophia in London, explains the mechanism. During baking, the starch in the flour expands and takes in water, which is what leaves the crumb soft and fluffy. Once the loaf leaves the oven and touches any surface, it begins to dry out. The starch, she says, does not like being kept in the air, and that is the point at which bread goes stale.
Cold speeds the process up rather than slowing it. Grama says bread in the fridge will go stale in about a day, and the claim has an experimental basis: Harold McGee reported in his book On Food & Cooking a comparison between two storage conditions.
Storing bread at room temperature
Handschuh keeps her loaf at room temperature in a greaseproof paper bag, the kind a bakery hands over, and avoids plastic. “That’s probably the best way, no plastic,” she says. Rachel Morgan, co-founder of Twelve Triangles in Edinburgh, also prefers paper. Their views differ from the usual habits of many households on two points: the bread bin and beeswax wrap.
| Option | What the bakers say |
|---|---|
| Paper bag | Favoured by both Handschuh and Morgan |
| Beeswax wrap | Usable, but expensive, and Handschuh says you should not have to buy it just for bread |
| Bread bin | Morgan avoids it, since it can trap moisture |
| Plastic | Avoided by Handschuh |
In favour of paper: it is what the loaf usually comes home in, so it costs nothing extra.
Against a bread bin: Morgan says trapped moisture makes bread sweaty, softens the crust and encourages mould.
These are the opinions of working bakers, not test results, but both point in the same direction.
Freezing and reviving
- Freeze if you will not finish the loaf within a few days. Grama calls it by far the best option, especially if you plan to toast. His method: slice, wrap tightly, freeze, then toast from frozen, so you take out only what you need.
- Or freeze it whole. Handschuh lets it defrost, then warms it through in a low oven, about 160C.
- Revive a loaf a couple of days old. Put it in the oven for five to 10 minutes. “Warming bread enables the water to evaporate and for the starch to reactivate,” she says, and it should then stay fresh a day or two longer.
Using bread that is almost finished
- Croutons. Handschuh tears the bread up, tosses it with plenty of olive oil, flaky sea salt, a little garlic and fresh thyme, and bakes it for 10 to 20 minutes until browned.
- Sourdough crisps. Slice very thinly, drizzle with olive oil and dry out completely in the oven.
- Breadcrumbs. Morgan saves stale ends for crumbs, fried in olive oil to top pasta, used to coat chicken for schnitzels, or mixed into fritters, meatballs and cakes.
- Garlic bread. Grama sprinkles an old loaf with water, slices it and stuffs it with herby garlic butter, perhaps with cheese.
Photo: FRANCIANO PUHALES [FF8] / Pexels
