There is nothing worse than looking forward to a piece of fresh bread with butter and a favourite spread, only to find that the bread is no longer fresh and tastes nasty, perhaps even mouldy.

Unfortunately, bread has a very short shelf life and will if not stored well, go stale very quickly. It is not unusual for a live-in carer to find that two- or three-day old bread has started to grow mould because of where it is stored.

Home made bread will go stale faster than store bought bread because there are no preservatives in it, although both types of bread will stay fresh for longer if they are kept correctly.

Where not to keep bread

For bread to stay fresh and mould free it must not be kept in damp, airy locations as both places can speed up the mould process.

Mould thrives in warm, airy places so if you want your bread to stay fresh avoid these places. The top of the fridge is one of the worst places to place bread because of the warmth from the fridge.

Storing fresh bread

The main question to ask is how quickly the bread will be eaten. If you and your client eat one slice every other day, then the bread will be beyond its best rapidly and you should store it a different way.

Divide the loaf

Decide how many slices you and your client will eat in two days and divide the bread up into parcels of that amount.

Leave your two day supply out

Use a bread box or airtight container to store one portion in. Make sure that it is completely cold before doing so.

Prepare the remaining bread

Wrap in plastic wrap in portions that you and your client will eat easily. Don’t be tempted to keep out more than three days as you will find it going stale.

Freeze

Once you have wrapped in cling film place in a zip lock plastic bag and pop in the freezer.

Defrost

Once you are ready for another portion, simply remove from the freezer and defrost. You can defrost slices at a time or several, but less is always better than more with bread.

Final thoughts

Fresh bread is great and not hard to achieve with a little bit of planning. Never let bread go stale before freezing it as it will defrost and still be stale.

It does not take long to defrost a few slices. You can leave it at room temperature or reheat gently in the microwave for fresh and delicious bread every day.

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