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I did this while I was in college, it works.

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Sure it will last longer but the bread dries out in the fridge.

I've not had that experience - I keep it sealed and it stays moist.

If you leave it unwrapped.

A typical loaf stored in its original plastic bag doesn’t dry out.

It needs to be sealed. Same as things your freeze.

This should be common knowledge but isn't

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It dries out. Freezing is better.

My parents did this growing up so I never knew any other way

A microwave makes an excellent bread bin.

I leave it out until it's too stale to enjoy fresh, then freeze it & it keeps for toast basically forever

https://www.seriouseats.com/does-refrigeration-really-ruin-bread

Do you keep it in the original bag or put it in a better, zipper bag?

Anyone happy with refrigerated bread, should do what makes them happy. I will not refrigerate bread; instead I will freeze it.

The problem with temperatures above freezing is the starches that were broken down during the baking will recrystallize. This is why a well wrapped and refrigerated loaf will start to become hard.

If we are talking about the wonder bread type of sliced bread in stores, it's possible the preservatives used will slow the process down so it's not apparent when that type of bread is refrigerated.

The best way to get a long life from a loaf of bread is to buy only unsliced loaves and cut only what you need. Freezing will also extend life.

Mold and bacteria form before you see it and when you see it you're seeing the fruiting bodies so it's basically already living its life, not that all mold and bacteria are bad but you only need botulism once

I keep mine in the original bag when freezing. My wife says she can tell a difference between bread that's been frozen and bread that is fresh. I don't notice a difference.

I can make my wife believe that the milk is bad by sniffing it. I don't have to say anything.

Did this living on my own. Have a family now and the fridge is completely stuffed with so many things….

Best thing about no longer living in the outback was being able to stop freezing and refrigerating bread

For me its a worthy tradeoff. If I want moist bread I will just go buy it as needed.

I started doing this because I had a cat who loved bread. He would eat half a loaf before I caught him. The only way to keep him out of it was to store it in the fridge. The lack of mold was a bonus.

Yeah I freeze it in the original bag and keep it in the fridge in the original bag with no issues. Sometimes it gets freeze burn in the freeze but there due to me forgetting about and/or not closing it well.

Maybe, but you can eat stale bread. You can't eat moldy bread.

It is a good thing nothing ever goes moldy in the fridge.

Texture goes way off. Yea will last longer, but not good texture.

Try half a loaf on the counter, half in fridge, and taste taste day 3.

Between being single for way too long and the pandemic making it more dangerous to shop, bread ain't even the half of it. My freezer has more food in it than my fridge does. Put milk in Mason jars too. Individually wrap your Steaks when you buy a pack of more than 3 of them, and take them out as needed.

>Try half a loaf on the counter, half in fridge, and taste taste day 3.

This will show you...

Weve always (me or my family) kept our bread either in the fridge (if its going to be used withing 2-3 days) or the freezer for long time storage. Leaving it in the pantry will always get mold on it within a day or two specially if the weather is warm.

If you don't want it to go stale you should freeze it, not put it in the fridge

A lot of replies here mention how if you keep the bread sealed it does not dry out. This is true and the more optimally you seal it in the faster you freeze it the better results you get. But in practicality you will still usually find that the moisture consolidates in the form of ice on the outside or one end of the bread, leaving the rest dry. Unless it is extremely still isn't the end of the world.

I typically keep English muffins in the freezer. Before I toast them, I put them on a plate covered loosely by a slightly moistened paper towel in a microwave it for about 15 seconds. It's almost as good as new and ready to toast.

LPT: Get out as much air as possible every time you close the bag. My bread stays fresh and soft for over a month in the fridge.

Not in my fridge. Always clean spills and water immediately to prevent mold from growing.

We buy flat round asian bread ('lepeshka') and keep them in a freezer. You may take it out half an hour before dinner or microwave a minute - it's always fresh and tasty.

Refrigerating bread forms crystals which makes it hard and unpalatable

Same with freezing it

You are ignorant. This is completely false. Delete this nonsense.

Only if you put loose bread, which only psychopaths do. Everyone else keeps bread in the bag they bought it in.

For baked goods, I individually wrap, freeze, thaw, and if need be, crispen in the airfryer. That bulky machine has to earn its keep, somehow. :)

I just looked that bread up- looks tasty!! Thanks :)

There's a lot of bacteria in the air if your bread is getting moldy that quick...it should last for 7-10 days on the counter...

Depends on the bread. Mass produced bread with a bunch of preservatives will last a long time. Higher quality artisanal bread will go moldy much faster (although within a day or two seems faster than it should be), and stale even faster than that.

I understand the longevity of bread depends on how much preservatives it has, lol...my point was if ANY bread is going bad in a day...you have a LOT of bacteria in your kitchen and air...

EDIT: Place a glass of water next to your potatoes in your kitchen and one in your living room...the glass next to potatoes will grow mold while the other just evaporates...

Sorry, but proper bread does not come in bags. Unless it's a paper bag that your bakery gave you and that is no good for freezing.

Lmao don’t you think if I could afford bread from a bakery I wouldn’t need to freeze the bread I get from a grocery store in a plastic bag. I live in America where I get to choose from the bread stocked at Walmart or the bread stocked at Target. I don’t have the luxury of living a nice European country where I can pop over to the bakery for ‘proper bread.’ That would be nice though

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More properly, the starches crystallize, so the dryness can happen in a perfectly sealed bag. Although much of what passes for bread these days uses a lot of stabilizers to prevent that.