By doing this, your bread remains crisp and with a soft crumb.
Bread is part of French heritage. Everyone has their favorite bakery or bread, more or less cooked but always crispy and with a soft crumb if possible. However, with rising prices and the need to combat food waste, storing bread has become a major challenge in many homes. One of the solutions is obviously to freeze it. Be careful, this harmless gesture is not that trivial, and requires some precautions in order to keep the bread fresh and tasty but also without risk to health. You can keep it for up to 6 months. The tips below can also be useful for keeping your bread fresh for longer, but they are particularly suitable if you freeze your bread.
First tip: make sure to wrap your bread. If you have the habit of cutting your baguette in half and putting it like that in your freezer, this is a mistake that can have consequences for your health. Bacteria present in your freezer, for example on its walls, could settle on your bread and make you sick.
The solution is simple. After cutting your bread, slip it into a freezer bag, an airtight box or wrap it in cling film. When you close the package, be sure to expel as much air as possible. Respecting this step has two other advantages. This will prevent your bread from soaking up all the bad odors present in your appliance and therefore having a bad taste, but it will also prevent it from drying out.
To keep your bread soft for up to 6 months in the freezer, it is also important to put it in when it is still fresh, but not too cold either. If you just bought it and it’s still warm, wait until it cools down before freezing it. As for the freezer temperature, make sure it is set at a minimum temperature of -18°C. Finally, there is one important rule to follow: never refreeze bread that has already been thawed. It costs nothing to remember!
Do you now want to defrost your bread or keep your bread fresh for longer? Three solutions exist: in the open air, in the oven or in the toaster. The ideal is to take it out the evening before, or an hour before eating it, wrap it in a cloth and let it defrost at room temperature. If you forget to take it out, simply defrost it in the oven for 5 minutes at 200 degrees or in the toaster.