To keep it fresh for as many days as possible, we recommend storing it at room temperature in a paper or cloth bag.
Avoid storing it in plastic bags because then the bread cannot breathe and becomes rubbery.
Only when you’re going to freeze it should you store it in a plastic bag, making sure to remove all the air. It’s best to freeze the whole loaf or half a loaf, as it dries out less, but it’s much more convenient to freeze it in slices ready for toasting.
To defrost the bread, take it out of the bag and let it rest at room temperature on a wire rack.
Tips for Slicing Your Bread
It’s important to use a sharp serrated knife.
In the photo below, I’m showing you two types.
- The knife on the right is a standard one; it’s not hard to find a good one at a kitchen supply store.
- The one on the left is specifically designed for slicing bread.
I like it because it allows you to get straighter slices without much effort.
I’ll be selling them at Ramona Obrador in the future, but in the meantime, you can buy one on Amazon by searching “sourdough knife.”
Hold your bread firmly on a cutting board and slice it into slices of your preferred thickness.
To help your knife glide more easily, you can brush it with a little olive oil.
How to Store Your Bread at Room Temperature?
This is the most traditional method for preserving a loaf of sourdough bread.
At room temperature, it’s best to:
- Store it whole in a cloth bag.
- Slice it as needed.
Sourdough bread should keep well this way for about three days.
This method will better preserve the bread’s moisture and the crispness of its crust.
As you slice it, you’ll notice that the exposed crumb begins to dry out, but when you cut a new slice, you’ll see that it retains all its moisture inside.
How to Store Your Bread in the Refrigerator?
This method of preserving bread is usually a bit controversial because it can dry out and lose a lot of moisture in the refrigerator.
However, I want to explain it to you because I find it very practical.
In the refrigerator, I like to store the slices in an airtight container like the one in the photo.
It’s very convenient to have the slices ready to use in the fridge.
Even if they dry out a little, just put them in the oven for a couple of minutes or toast them in a pan with olive oil or butter to revive them and make them delicious again.
Your bread can last about a week in the refrigerator.
Another option is, when your bread arrives, to freeze half and keep the other half in the refrigerator, thus preventing it from drying out before it is all consumed.
How to Freeze Your Bread?
Freezing your bread is a great option, firstly because it can last up to 6 months frozen, and secondly because you can take out the slices you need each day, so it lasts longer and is better preserved.
The best thing to do is to store bread, whether whole or sliced, in a ziploc bag.
To Defrost a Whole Loaf of Bread
- Take it out and leave it at room temperature for a few hours.
- To restore its crisp crust, bake it for a couple of minutes at 200ºC (390ºF).
To Heat the Slices
You can heat the slices in the oven or toaster when you eat them.
You can also put the frozen slices directly in the toaster.