Far too many instances, bread goes stale - or, worse, moldy - before you can eat it. And to escape that, I always consider storing it in the freezer, but I have always had debates with people over the “right” way to store bread.
I have always been told that storing bread in the fridge is wrong, and not only bread, but we have also debated whether or not eggs, bananas and tomato sauce belong in the fridge, and below we will do it again, and find answers.
According to wikiHow, when it comes to storing bread, the refrigerator is your worst enemy, and that bread goes stale faster in the refrigerator than it does at room temperature.
The site reports that the best way to keep bread at its best is to keep it at room temperature for a day or two, then wrap it up and freeze it for longer-term storage, and when you thaw it and heat it, it will taste freshly baked again.
Below are tips on how to store bread the right way, according to wikiHow.
Your refrigerator keeps food fresh longer, but sometimes that is not the case. Picture: Supplied
Wrap bread in plastic or aluminum foil
These types of wrappings will trap in the bread's natural moisture to keep it from drying out and getting hard. If your bread came in a paper wrapping, toss it out and wrap it in plastic or aluminum for storage.
Keep bread at room temperature for no more than two days
Room temperature should be around 20ºC. Keep it away from direct sunlight in a cool and dry place, such as in your pantry or a bread box.
Freeze extra bread
If you have more bread than you can consume before it goes stale within a few days, the best way to store it is by freezing. Freezing bread drops the temperature enough to stop the starch in the bread from recrystallizing and getting stale.
Don't put bread in the refrigerator
Scientific studies have shown that this draws out the moisture and the bread becomes stale three times faster than it would at room temperature. This happens from a process known as "retrogradation", which simply means that the starch molecules crystallize and the bread gets tough.