A simple brown paper bag will keep bread from molding. Many bakeries sell their bread in brown paper for this very reason. This method works really well for hard-crusted, rustic breads and will keep bread fresh for up to two days. Just keep the bag tightly closed and store out of direct sunlight.
To save bread so it stays fresh longer, you can store it in plastic wrap, a reusable zip-top plastic bag, or a bread box. Avoid storing bread in damp, airy locations, which can speed up molding. If you're not going to eat the loaf in two or three days, the best option is to freeze it for later.
Bread boxes are your friends
They have small holes in them, which allow just a little air to circulate, keeping bread from molding. If you have pest concerns and prefer to keep bread in an airtight container, try tossing in a slice of bread with your loaf.
Background. In the baking industry, the most commonly used chemical preservatives to prevent mold spoilage are the following: propionates (calcium or sodium propionate), sorbates (sorbic acid and potassium sorbate), benzoates, parabens (methyl and propyl) and acetic acid (Pyler and Gorton, 2008).
Storing your loaf in a plastic bag encourages mold growth. It traps the moisture inside the bag and (among others) softens up your crust. The end result being your bread goes bad much faster.
Wrapping bread and storing it at room temperature will help it retain moisture for a few days. But what if you can't finish the whole loaf in that amount of time? Freezing is the answer. The takeaway: If you're storing bread longer than a few days, it's best to keep it in the freezer.
Although plastic bags and airtight containers may seem like a good way to keep your bread from going stale, the lack of airflow will foster an environment for mold growth, because the moisture is contained and mold loves moisture. If you want to put your bread in a container, a bread box is the way to go.
Fermented and cultured flours are 'Natural Mold inhibitors” that increases flavor, taste and more importantly create the extended shelf-life needed by the modern baker.
You should keep your bread far away from the stove, the top of the fridge, or any area that's near sources of heat. Instead, your best bet it to keep it in a dark, cool section of your kitchen counter or your pantry.
And they've become more and more popular in recent years. However, there have been many (and sometimes heated) arguments around whether linen bread bags or cotton bread bags actually work. Do bread bags actually keep your bread fresher for longer? The good news - bread bags do work!
One of the best ways to keep bread from molding is to keep it in the freezer (check out more detailed tips for freezing and defrosting). If your loaf of bread is unsliced, you'll want to slice before freezing so you can pull out individual slices when you need them instead of the entire loaf.
Don't be tempted to put bread in the fridge, however, as the staling process speeds up at low temperatures. You can blame the decline of the breadbox on the advent of preservatives in bread, and the packaging of commercial bread in plastic bags.
Whether you're baking bread from scratch or picking up a loaf from your favorite bakery, a quality bread box is an excellent way to keep your bread crust crunchy while leaving the inside soft and chewy. Alternative storing methods simply don't hold up.
For example, mold, another spoiler of bread, grows slower at refrigerator temperatures. With bread, however, refrigeration is a mixed blessing, as the starch tends to settle faster. Your bread won't get moldy, but it will be stale in about a day.
The answer is yes, breadboxes have been proven to keep bread fresh. With the help of a closed box, tasty baked goods can stay pristine well past their prime. Bread lovers can get that right-out-of-the-oven taste, even days later.
The bread will develop a stale flavor and texture. If you tightly wrap your bread in plastic and put it in the refrigerator, you can help slow the staling process. Freezing bread is an option to help prevent it from going stale and developing spoilage microbes.
One of the best ways to store bread is to keep it in a bread bin. Those with a tight seal will help to keep your loaves fresher for longer. It should be kept in a cool place, but avoid keeping it in the fridge. Bread freezes well whole or in slices.
What is the Best Way to Store Bread? The best way to store bread is at room temperature in a dark, dry, cool location such as a pantry, drawer, or bread box. We also recommend keeping our bread sealed in its original packaging, as this will help retain its moisture.
*Never keep your bread in the fridge. The starch molecules in bread recrystallize very quickly at cool temperatures, and cause the bread to stale much faster when refrigerated. *Shop-bought loaves should be kept in an air-tight plastic bag at room temperature rather than in the fridge.
Although it can be diluted with water to lower the harsh scent, vinegar works best as a mold-killer when sprayed straight from a bottle to the affected area. After spraying: Allow it for some minutes before wiping it with a disposable towel. If that doesn't work, make use of a brush to scrub the area.
Baking Soda. Used with vinegar and water or alone with water, baking soda is effective at removing mold naturally. Dissolve baking soda into water or water-and-vinegar solution, and spray onto surface. Let it sit, then scrub and wipe with a damp cloth.
Concrobium Mold Control effectively eliminates and prevents mold with no bleach, ammonia or VOCs. Concrobium works as it dries by crushing the mold spores at the source, leaving behind an invisible antimicrobial barrier to prevent future mold growth.
Experts say that the best method is to store fresh-baked bread in something breathable—a paper sack, a ceramic bread box, or cotton or linen bags—so that the crust remains hard and the inside soft.
Because although this may sound silly in a world in which sealing everything in plastic seems like the be all to end all, the plastic actually doesn't preserve the bread at all. In fact, it ruins it. Bread sealed up in plastic stales more quickly. You read that right: it stales more quickly.
Because paper lets air into the bag, keeping the bread dry and the crust crisp and delicious. If you store bread in a plastic bag, the moisture from the bread gets trapped in the bag making the crust soft. Storing in plastic will keep the bread fresh longer, but you'll lose the crust.