Bread is a hot commodity that is eaten almost in every country on the face of the earth. Even if you make bread that has leftovers, you can very easily store that bread and eat it at some other time.
However, many people freeze their bread to keep them fresh for some time. So the question arises, how long does it last in the freezer?
The answer to this question may surprise you, and you may regret throwing out some good bread that could have been preserved in the past. But enough beating around the bush, let us get right into this topic.
How Long Does Bread Last In The Freezer?
Now you may be someone who has baked some bread or bought it from the store, wondering how long it lasts in the freezer. Well, here is the answer you are looking for.
Bread lasting in the freezer depends on the bread type and how you have procured it. Well, if you first talk about bread bought from the store, you can safely assume that it can stay fresh for at least six to eight months.
This is because store-bought bread has added preservatives, making them safe for consumption even if they have been stored for a long time.
Similarly, if you have made bread at home, you can safely say it will last for about two to three months if put in a freezer. This is because homemade bread does not have the preservatives that are store-bought bread’s staple.
Finally, the type of bread is also an important consideration to be kept in mind. For example, you cannot freeze something like a French Baguette, which will fall apart if you subject it to a freezer and is only good if eaten immediately.
How To Thaw And Reheat Bread?
If you have bread with you that has been frozen, there is no need to thaw it. If you were someone like me, you would automatically apply some peanut butter and jelly to it and consume it while it is still frozen. However, not everyone is like me, so I have a simple solution for them.
All you need to do is chuck the frozen bread into the toaster and move the dial up slightly so that it can be toasted to your liking. Once the operation is finished, you should have a fresh slice of toasted bread in your hands.
What Type Of Bread Can Be Frozen?
The Sky is the limit when it comes to freezing the types of bread. You can freeze almost every type of bread there is under the sun except for only one exception.
And that exception is the French Baguette, a bread meant to be eaten in a day or two. If you do freeze it, it will go rancid in no time. So eat it while you can, and do not commit it to a freezer.
What Is The Best Way To Store Frozen Bread?
Now that you are bent on freezing your bread, here is the best way how to accomplish it. First things first, once you have made your bread and it is hot, let it cool down on the counter for a while. I would suggest letting it cool for three to four hours.
Once you are done with cooling the bread, make slices of the bread. This will help when you are craving a sandwich and your knife is not sharp enough to slice frozen bread. So, slice it while you can.
After slicing the bread into small pieces, the next stage would be to wrap it inside a plastic bag and make sure that it is airtight. Once it has been wrapped, chuck it into a freezer and consume it over a period of at least two months.
Can Bread Still Go Mouldy In The Freezer?
Freezing bread does not mean that it will last forever. Therefore you should hope that bread, even frozen, may need to be discarded if it grows some mold.
So yes, bread can go moldy in the freezer. This may happen because there may have been mold spores that were there before you put your bread inside the freezer. Or there may be some problems with your freezer which encouraged mold formation in your bread.
Can I Eat 2-year-old Frozen Bread?
I do not know how people are left with bread that has been frozen for two years; however, there is a demand for this answer, so I am going to be telling you whether it’s safe to eat two-year-old bread.
As you may have guessed from my somewhat sarcastic tone, two-year-old bread, frozen or otherwise, is extremely unsafe to eat.
You may not die from it, at least I hope so, but your stomach is going to have a field day digesting the plethora of bacteria cultures growing on that two-year-old bread. Under any circumstance, do not eat frozen bread that has passed the six months mark.
How Do You Know If Frozen Bread Is Off?
Even though you know by now that freezing bread will make it last for a good number of months, this does not mean that you will be able to keep it forever.
Even when the bread is frozen, bacteria cultures may still grow on it; therefore, you should check it before consuming it. Some telltale signs will signal you that there is something off about the bread.
First and foremost, you should smell the bread and see if the bread smells like something other than what the bread is supposed to smell like; if yes, then discard the bread.
Next up is that there might be something off about the texture of the bread. Try touching the bread and see if it has gone soft or is a bit slimy.
Furthermore, the curst or the bread’s crumbs might also show signs of discoloration which signal that the bread has lost its capability to be eaten.
Finally, you can check for mold on the bread, which may be greenish-whitish in color. If you see mold on the bread, discard it immediately; otherwise, you might risk your health.
Final Verdict:
Well, that is everything that you need to know about how long bread lasts in the freezer. To summarise, you can keep bread in the freezer for four to six months.
In this period, if you want to reheat it and eat it, you can do so easily by chucking a slice into a toaster and heating it.
