How to Store Sourdough Bread
You’ve taken a fresh loaf of sourdough bread home from the bakery. Or maybe you baked your own with a Golden Forrest Sourdough Starter. Now, how do you best store it to keep it tasty and fresh? Make your loaf last longer with these tips!
Storing Sourdough
Sourdough loaves are freshest in the first 24 hours, but they contain natural acid that keeps them edible and tasty for 4-5 days when kept at room temperature. A sliced loaf will dry out a little faster than a whole loaf. To refresh the loaf, you can spritz it with water and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes.
We do not recommend storing loaves in the refrigerator, as the cold environment is too harsh for fresh baked sourdough and will cause your bread to get stale and hard much faster.
Days 1-2
We send our sourdough loaves home in a paper bag. This is the best way to store the loaf if it hasn’t been sliced yet because it allows air to circulate and prevents the loaf from drying out too fast. Once you have sliced it, leave the loaf cut-side down and uncovered on a wooden breadboard or inside the brown bag to protect the interior of the loaf from drying out.
Days 3-5
Usually by day three, sourdough bread crust will become hard and difficult to cut. Storing inside of a plastic ziploc bag or breadbox is best at this point. Naturally, moisture will get trapped in the bag and soften the crust. A quick toast will crisp the bread up again!
You could also use a natural beeswax cloth wrap. They help prevent the bread from drying out, and because they are naturally porous less moisture is trapped than with the plastic bag, so the crust retains a crisper texture.
After 5 days we recommend freezing the remaining sourdough.
Freezing Sourdough
You can easily freeze sourdough bread for 3-6 months. We recommend freezing the loaf after it has been sliced. When you are ready to enjoy, remove slices from the freezer and put into the toaster! You can also freeze the loaf whole. If you use this method, remove the loaf from the freezer and allow it to defrost at room temperature. Then spritz with water mist and bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes or 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
Stale Sourdough
Don’t through away your stale sourdough! Slightly stale sourdough bread still makes excellent toast, or it can be made into french toast, croutons, breadcrumbs, and so much more!