Fridge or not? What’s the best way to store bread?

What’s the best way to store bread? Beeswax wraps, plastic bags, fridge – I’ve tried everything except a bread bin.
Nancy, by email
“When bread is baked, what happens is that all the starch in the flour expands and takes in all the water,” says Sophia Handschuh, co-founder of Sourdough Sophia in London. That’s why the crumb turns all soft and fluffy. “When you pull the bread out of the oven, as soon as it touches any surface it will start to dry up, which is why bread goes stale; the starch doesn’t like being kept in the air.”

To combat this, Handschuh stores her loaf at room temperature in a greaseproof paper bag (ie, the one you bring it home in): “That’s probably the best way – no plastic. And, yes, you can use beeswax wrap, but that’s expensive and you shouldn’t have to go and buy some just for storing bread.”

A paper bag is also Rachel Morgan’s preference: “I’d avoid a bread bin, though,” says the co-founder of Twelve Triangles in Edinburgh. “That can trap moisture, so the bread gets a bit sweaty, which softens the crust and encourages mould.”

As for the fridge, that’s a hard no, says Florin Grama of Tarn Bakery in north London: “It’s the worst thing you can do,” he says. “Your bread will go stale in about a day.” (As Harold McGee discovered in an experiment for his masterwork On Food & Cooking, “bread stored in the refrigerator at 46F/7C staled as much in one day as bread held at 86F/30C did in six days”.)

Reheating is your gateway to regaining freshness: “Warming bread enables the water to evaporate and for the starch to reactivate,” Handschuh says. So, if your bread is a couple of days’ old, “stick it in the oven for five to 10 minutes, and it should stay fresh for a day or two longer”.

If you’re not planning to eat that loaf within a few days of buying it, meanwhile, freezing is by far the best option, Grama says – especially if you’re planning to toast it anyway. “Slice it, so you can later take out only what you need, then wrap tightly, freeze and toast from frozen.” Alternatively, freeze the loaf whole and intact, Handschuh says: “Let that defrost, then stick it in the oven at a low temperature [about 160C] to warm through.”

If your bread’s almost on the turn, however, Handschuh recommends tearing it into pieces, and tossing it with “loads” of olive oil, flaky sea salt, a bit of garlic and fresh thyme. “Whack that in the oven for 10-20 minutes, until browned, and you’ll have a batch of chunky croutons for salads.”

Equally worthy of consideration are sourdough crisps, especially as we head into soup season, Handschuh adds: “Slice the bread really thinly, drizzle with olive oil and pop in the oven to dry out completely.” Morgan, meanwhile, keeps a bag of stale ends knocking about to turn into breadcrumbs, which will improve all manner of meals: fried in olive oil and used to top pasta; to coat chicken breasts for schnitzels; or to mix into fritters, meatballs and cakes. Alternatively, says Grama, simply refresh an old loaf with a sprinkle of water, then slice it and stuff with “loads of herby, garlic butter, maybe some cheese, too – that will give more life to your bread”. And probably to Nancy, too.