March 16, 2021 - 3:42pm
Freezing bread
As I slice a recent loaf, I am pondering freezer organization for bread. My frozen bread stash is somewhat haphazard at the moment, and I don't want to lose any to freezer burn down the road, just because I didn't know it was in there. ?
I'm curious what others on TFL do... How do you freeze your bread? I seem to remember reading (somewhere) some like to slice, freeze the slices separately, then organize the frozen slices into a stack. The next part is where I need help. Do you prefer to keep them in a ziploc? Wrapped in plastic wrap? In some sort of container? A mix of these? Do you like to mark what the bread is (semolina vs whole wheat vs...)?
Any input is appreciated!!
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We store all the bread I bake in the freezer. I slice it, bag it in plastic bread bags that I buy from NYBakers.com, closed with twist-ties we save from the produce we bring home from the grocery store, and freeze. We take 1, 2, ... however many slices are needed out as needed. If we remember to do it in advance it just thaws on the counter till we use it. If not it gets microwaved on a defrost cycle till it starts to thaw. Freezer burn is an issue with our freezer in the long term, but bread never seems to stay in long enough to suffer the burn. What does suffer is crust quality.
The only way I know of to get a good quality crust on a frozen loaf is to freeze it whole, thaw overnight in the refrigerator without unwrapping, then unwrap and put it into a preheated 350F-ish oven for about 10 minutes to crisp up the crust. This method works quite well. I've read here on TFL that one "should" double-wrap loaves prior to freezing, but I've never left a loaf in the freezer long enough to think that was necessary. I don't bake again till all the frozen bread is gone, or nearly so, and we eat bread pretty constantly, so it only spends a relatively short time frozen in our house.
Best of Luck
OldWoodenSpoon
Thanks for this. I'll have to look into bags like that.
I experimented with freezing a couple of mini loaves (5.75 in x 3.25 in). We thawed one, then heated it in the air fryer for a few minutes to freshen the crust. That worked well, so I now keep a couple of those on hand.
Thanks!
I hate slicing bread. its up there with grating cheese and peeling potatos. sometimes i'll cut a loaf into thirds and wrap each third in plastic wrap then put them all in a zip loc. then freeze it. i take out a piece when i need it. then defrost til soft enough to slice it up. i do that when i'm in a hurry or too lazy to slice it all up. the drawback to that is, it's harder to slice a short piece of bread . if i do slice up the whole loaf i wrap about 4 slices together (enough for 2 sandwiches) then put the whole loaf in a zip loc. then freeze it. i also try to slice my bagels before freezing them. I wash those heavy plastic food packaging zip bags and use them to freeze bread that's been wrapped up in plastic wrap. I think the thickness of the plastic helps to keep it better. the drawback to that is, you think you've got frozen strawberries but it's actually bread in there. a sticky label can help with that.
Thanks for that idea, I hadn't thought about freezing it a quarter loaf at a time. I may try that for some, but also freeze slices for the convenience factor of grabbing 1-2 slices at a time.
I keep them in the freezer in a ZipLok bag. It doesn’t last longer than a few weeks, so I can’t speak for extended storage.
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/62257/tip-frozen-bread-individual-slices
Ahhhh, that's where I read it. Thank you, Dan!!
There are only two of us at home these days so my usual bake is two loaves. One is sliced for immediate consumption. The second is wrapped in Saran and then put inside a polyethylene bread bag that I get from King Arthur. I get as much air out as possible and then use either a clip or twist tie to seal the bag. The longest I've kept a loaf this way is maybe three weeks. There is no freezer burn and upon thawing it's just fine.
I bake,cool,slice and freeze a loaf. I remove from the freezer as needed and it only takes a few minutes to thaw individual slices. I'm speaking of sandwich loaves so a crisp crust is not something I worry about. If I have a French loaf, I might re-crisp it in a 350 oven for a few minutes but then that loaf should be eaten that day as I find it really dries out FAST after that.
If I made WW and froze it and want another type (white or rye), I will make and freeze those also.
I also like to make sandwich thins- kind of like a cros between a pita and a flat roll. Same dough,flattened about 1/2" thick, raised and baked. Cut in half when cooled (like a thin hamburger bun) and freeze. It is about equivalent to a single slice of bread-so...fewer calories and 2 crusts-which is my favorite part!
Bags-there are brand name plastic bags that come with twist ties that my loaves fit into nicely. Nothing fancy. My bread gets eaten fast enough that freezer burn is not an issue. I bake when I need more.
Freezing bread is my standard procedure.
1kg loaf, cut in quarters. Put three quarters in two or three freezer gallon ziplock bags, and freeze them. Put one quarter in a gallon ziplock bag, and slice a piece as needed. One quarter of a 1kg loaf lasts about 2-3 days for me. Pull frozen quarter loaves from the freezer as needed. This is my 10-14 day routine.
Frozen bread keeps well. Do not slice before freezing. Consume the bread relatively quickly. Do not build up a "stash" or cache. Rotate it frequently.