The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

how long does thawed bread last?

Janna3921's picture
Janna3921

how long does thawed bread last?

It's been a little while since I have posted but have popped in to do a search for some help.  Great search engine and the info that is here !

The problem is that I can't seem to find any information of how long a thawed baked bread will last.  I took a loaf of sandwich bread I had baked a while back that came out beautiful.  Didn't have a camera so couldn't take a picture and post it, but it looks nice and the smaller loaf we ate and it tasted good (at least to us it did).  Lots of good info of what to do to thaw it, to get it fresh tasting and more, but none on how long it will stay fresh.  One day, two days or more?

I froze the larger loaf and I want to see how frozen bread tastes, but I know we won't be able to eat it all.  Wondering, how long will it last once it has thawed out.  It has been wrapped twice in plastic wrap, then placed inside a bread bag.  Been in the freezer for about a month.  Have it on the counter out of the bag but still wrapped in the plastic wrap. 

Made another batch of Casatiello bread and froze them unbaked, taking one of them with me when we go to visit our daughter for her Italian husband.  Been busy doing some baking, having fun.  

Thanks for any help you can give me.  

pmccool's picture
pmccool

assuming that it was put into the freezer as soon as it had cooled from the oven.  The time spent in the freezer puts everything on hold, including the growth of molds.  Room temperature and humidity tend to be stronger predictors of how long bread will last before spoiling. 

Paul

Bread rat.'s picture
Bread rat.

If your worried about not being able to eat the entire loaf then try this. Wile the loaf is still frozen cut it in half. Use an electric knife if needed. Then rewrap one half and put it back in the freeze. Cut threw the wrappings to keep from exposing the half you intend on keeping. Or cut it in half before you freeze it. However I'm not certain on how this will effect the cut side. Possibly dry it out. 

I freeze bread all the time. Expect there to be some changes in the frozen bread. The crust will be stiffer. I've also seen that thawed bread has a bit more moisture inside. As far as how long it will last. From my own experience. I eat through a loaf in five days. So I can only honestly say five days out of the freezer. 

I think there are as many different ways to wrap and freeze bread as there are people doing it. I've seen one video where bread was wrapped in paper. Like you I heavily wrap in plastic wrap. Then I use foil to hold the plastic in place around the loaf.  I can write on the foil. Even save the foil for the next batch. 

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

For years, I’ve sliced the entire bread before freezing and put it in a 2 1/2 gallon zip lock. Normally it is gone in a couple of weeks. Remove what you want to eat and microwave frozen for 20 - 30 seconds.  It’s great!

To me, it tastes so good this way that I have no problems freezing it today knowing that I’m going to eat it tomorrow. It’s as good as fresh IMO. The ability to freeze bread is a great blessing for us.

Dan

Janna3921's picture
Janna3921

Thanks everyone.  I froze it after it had  cooled from baking.  I had meant to take a picture as it looked so nice, a nice size loaf, just like you see in pictures.  I left it wrapped in just one of the plastic wraps and let it thaw out.  I preheated the oven at 350 and put a foil pan with water in the oven.  After 20 minutes I took the plastic off, wrapped it in foil leaving a small opening at the top.  Turned it down to 235 and after eight minutes took it out, it was barely warm so put it back in and started dinner; four minutes later I turned it off and let it sit in the oven while I finished reheating leftovers.  Took it out just before we ate and took the foil off.  Later, not thinking, after it had cooled I cut it in half and it smelled delicious.  Cut one half and hubby took it over to our neighbor, his wife died and he is alone so we send him half of what I bake (if it tastes good, :)  )  Said his wife used to bake bread all the time and when she became ill had to stop.  Was happy to have some fresh homemade bread.  

I'm going to do as suggested and after bread is out of the oven and cooled will cut it in half and send half over to him, slice the rest and freeze it.   Now, I just have to find a decent bread slicer, just broke up the one I paid almost $30  and isn't worth two dollars.   

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

I use a food slicer and it does a great job, especially when slicing thin. But a serrated knife also does a decent job.

The only problem with slicing and freezing is separating the slices when you want to use them. Sometimes it takes bread knife to separate them. I have frozen separated loose slices on a pan and then bagged after. That works good for me.

If memory serves me well, I think bread will stale much more quickly if you thaw the whole loaf and don’t eat it right away. If others can confirm or disagree with that, please reply. I’d like to know your experience with this.

Dan

tgrayson's picture
tgrayson

I also slice and freeze, but I wrap the slices individually before putting them in a bag. I've found them good for a couple of months, at least, this way.

Bread rat.'s picture
Bread rat.

As far as a bread knife goes i use a serrated knife. Someone had given us one of those sets of black handled knives you get at Walmarts. I've had this same knife for a good 22 years now. It's as cheap as you can get. But it's great for bread. 

aroma's picture
aroma

...fresh or frozen :-)