Bread Storage, Explained
The Fridge Makes Bread Stale Faster
Putting bread in the fridge feels like it should help. It does the opposite, and the reason is the same reason bread goes stale on the bench, only faster.
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The Fridge Slows Mould, Hardens the Loaf
Most people who keep bread in the fridge do it for a good reason: mould. In a warm kitchen, a loaf in a bag can grow mould within a few days, and the fridge slows that. It works. For mould.
What it quietly costs you is the loaf.
Fridge-Cold Bread Goes Hard Faster
Bread goes stale because the starch inside it slowly re-forms into crystals after baking. It is the same process on the bench as in the fridge. The difference is the speed, and fridge cold does not slow it down. It speeds it up.
Food scientists stored bread at three temperatures: room temperature (25°C), fridge temperature (4°C) and freezer temperature (−18°C). They measured how quickly the starch recrystallised in each. They reported that at 4°C the rate was the highest of the three.
At freezer temperature, new starch crystals largely stopped forming.
Aguirre, Osella, Carrara, Sánchez & Buera. "Effect of storage temperature on starch retrogradation of bread staling." Starch/Stärke, 2011.
So a loaf in the fridge, a good sourdough included, goes hard faster than the same loaf on the bench.
Of the three places people keep bread, the fridge is the one that does the most damage to it.
Why the Freezer Beats the Fridge
The freezer is different, and it genuinely works.
Slows mould, speeds up hardening
Cold enough to hold off mould. And fridge temperature is where the starch change runs fastest of the three. You trade one problem for another.
Stops new starch crystals forming
At freezer temperature, new starch crystals largely stop forming. It is the right answer for the loaf you are not going to get to this week.
Keep Bread Soft Without the Fridge
On a woven cotton bag it does the same job for a loaf. The cotton breathes; the beeswax lining slows the rate moisture leaves. The inside keeps enough moisture to stay soft, and the crust stays dry enough that it is far less likely to go leathery or grow mould.
It will not make a loaf last forever. What it does is let bread sit at room temperature (the right temperature for a loaf you are eating this week) without the sweating that brings on mould.
One honest note. It works best on a whole loaf you slice as you go. Pre-sliced bread has far more cut surface exposed, and it dries faster whatever you keep it in.
If you want to try it on your next loaf
Try it on your next loaf. If it doesn't keep your bread better than what you do now, send it back.
