If You Freeze Sliced Bread, No Need to Defrost — You Can Put a Frozen Slice in Your Toaster No Problem
A freshly-baked slice of bread, slathered with butter, is one of life’s most delicious pleasures. But there’s a catch — that loaf of artisan sourdough you couldn’t resist at the bakery will only last for one, maybe two days at room temp before it turns into a giant crouton. Freezing bread is the best way to keep it fresh, and we believe that no carb should be left behind to stale on the countertop. So we’re sharing how to freeze bread in order to preserve it’s perfect quality for months. Yes, we’ll toast to that.
What's the best way to freeze bread?
Not up for tackling an entire boule in two days? Neither are we. Freezing sliced bread doesn’t ruin it. It’s actually the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen’s favorite way to make bread last longer and ensure we always have delicious, butter-ready pieces of toast on hand.
Step 1: Slice the bread
If you baked a fresh loaf (#goals) or you bought something still-hot from the bakery, make sure it’s cooled completely before cutting it. Once cool, slice some of the bread thinly for closed sandwiches, thicker for open-faced toasts. Portion out pieces of coffee cake and banana bread before freezing to enjoy whenever the craving strikes. Separate bread rolls and split bagels and English muffins before freezing.
Step 2: Seal it tightly
Wrap slices, muffins, and bagels in plastic wrap and then in a resealable bag, making sure to squeeze out as much air as possible without crushing the bread before freezing. Top tip: write the type of bread and the date on the bag so you don’t actually grab a multigrain when you were craving sourdough.
Step 3: Freeze and don’t forget
You can freeze your favorite store-bought bread or homemade loaf for up to 8 months, but we recommend toasting it up within the first month or two for better results.
Step 4: Time for toast
Here’s the best part: you don’t have to thaw frozen bread. When you’re ready for your morning toast (or midnight snack), simply unwrap the frozen slice and pop it in the toaster or under the broiler.
What about freezing a whole loaf?
You can stash a whole loaf in the freezer, double-wrapped in plastic wrap or resealable plastic bags (which you can reuse!). After reheating, be sure to use it up within one sitting (great for big families, carb loaders, dinner parties, or house guests) or else it will go rock-solid stale. If you wrap it in tin foil, then plastic wrap before freezing, you can just unwrap the plastic and pop the bread in foil into the oven when it’s ready to reheat.
To reheat a whole loaf, wrap it in foil and place it in a 400°F oven for 15–20 minutes, then remove the foil and return the loaf to the oven for a few minutes to restore that perfectly crisp crust. You’ll slice into warm, can’t-believe-it’s-not-fresh bread. Now, all you need is butter.
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