Due to conflicting answers and some common misconceptions, many people are confused about whether it makes sense to keep bread in the refrigerator. Does bread last longer in the fridge? Yes! The fridge doesn’t necessarily keep your bread fresher, however.
Storing your bread in the refrigerator will help retard molding. However, it will not keep it from going stale. In fact, the opposite is true. Stale bread is not “fresh” bread. Nevertheless, it is perfectly edible bread. It has not gone bad.
What is Stale Bread?
Although stale bread seems like bread that has dried out and gone stiff and crumbly, the moisture level remains constant. It is the recrystallization of starch, irregularly bound to water, which causes bread to change texture and become what we call stale.
Breads made with no fat or oil are more prone to becoming stale. So, French bread will become stale faster than a loaf of store-bought white bread, sliced or not.
Stale Bread Can be Brought Back
As before, stale bread is still perfectly edible bread. It is not fresh simply because it is not fresh out of the oven. But it is also not bad. And, warming stale bread in the oven does a miraculous thing. It reverses the process, causing those crystalized starches to go back into their more flexible gel-like form.
So, stale bread can be brought back from the brink. And, if your sliced bread has gone stale, what do you do? You put it in the toaster. See what’s going on here?
🍞Did you know? For a short time, it was illegal to sell sliced bread in America. Find out the bizarre history behind this bread-related snafu.
Read More: That Time Sliced Bread Was Outlawed
Putting Bread in the Refrigerator Causes It to Go Stale Faster
Like so many people online have said, putting bread in the refrigerator causes it to go stale faster, as the colder temperature speeds up the process.
Incidentally, however, putting bread in the freezer halts the staling process altogether, so it is true that to keep bread for a long period of time, you can put it in the freezer, then take it out and let it thaw at room temperature.
🤢Tempted to cut the mold off some bread and eat it anyway? Part of it’s still good, right? Find out why this is a bad idea!
Read More: Can You Cut the Mold Off Bread and Still Eat It?
The advantage of Keeping Bread in the Refrigerator
If you cannot finish a loaf of bread in a few days, then putting it in the refrigerator is the right call. The bread will not grow mold as fast, giving you a few more days to eat it. You’ll probably end up toasting sliced bread or warming a loaf bread in the oven, but this is better than wasting it.
French Baquettes Are an Exception
A French baguette is not likely to ever mold; it will just get harder and harder, so there is no big advantage to putting it in the fridge. Such bread has so little moisture that mold does not grow on it. The refrigerator will do nothing to halt the hardening process, so there is simply no point. However, French bread can be stored in the freezer, tightly sealed in plastic wrap or a storage bag, for 3 to 4 months. You can take it out and heat it in the oven when you’re ready.
