Can bread be frozen? (Joe?)

chowhound

New member
Joe, you have told me that you can freeze crusty bread. Do you, or can you, slice the bread before freezing? (I thought in Mama's thread folks were telling her not to freeze the bread for that reception). Anyway, a month ago I sliced up a loaf of Italian bread, put it in a plastic bag still loaf shaped, and froze it. A week later I went to get a couple slices out and it was all freezer burned. Is there a technique to freezing bread? Can only certain breads be frozen? Or, should it be left whole?
 

sattie

Resident Rocker Lady
I would like to see Joe's response on this as well. But one idea that I had but have not tried yet is to freeze the bread first, then vacuum seal it using my FoodSaver. I wonder if that would work?

I have had the same problem CH... I freeze it and then like in a week or two, it smells and is freezer burnt.
 

lilylove

Active member
I know I freeze store bought sliced bread... and it's never as good or as fresh tasting or smelling as when I first buy it...

in fact it's YUCKY! So yep, I'm waiting on Joe for an answer too.
 

High Cheese

Saucier
I freeze baguettes all the time. I wrap them in press and seal. When I need some bread I just take it out, cut into slices (still frozen) and place on a sheet pan under a low broiler for a couple minutes. Taste and texture is fine. It's actually easier to slice it with a chefs knife rather than a serrated blade.
 

chowhound

New member
So maybe you need the crust for protection, Jeeks?
I know when I discussed this with Joe a while back, it was because I have a hard time going through a loaf of crusty bread before it gets stale. He said to freeze it, so in that case the crust would no longer encapsulate the whole loaf.
Encapsulate.... is that a baking term? (lol)
 

PanchoHambre

New member
I have successfully frozen Italian bread... wrapped in ceran wrap and bagged .. and rolls just in zip loc... I wont say it is perfect but it works ok and if it was good bread is still better than crappy bread

I do find that it comes better if defrosted in a warm oven or toasted a bit rather than just allowed to defrost at room temp.

Sometimes it works other times I have gotten freezer burn and soggyness
 

JoeV

Dough Boy
Site Supporter
Ok, bread fans. I freeze bread all the time, and there are only a couple of rules:

1. Any bread or rolls must be cooled to room temperature before bagging. This takes from 2-3 hours. If you bag before this, you will trap moisture in the bags, and end up with frost inside the bread bag. Some of you may have had that happen to you, so now you know why.

2. I use plastic bread bags from my local restaurant supply, extract as much air as possible from the bag, and tie tightly with twist ties. I never reuse a bag, as they might have a hole in them.

3. I both freeze whole loaves as well as sliced loaves. Slicing makes it easy to remove just what I need for a sandwich or a meal, then I retie the bag and back into the freezer.

4. White bread, sandwich rolls and Italian bread slices are removed frozen, and nuked for about 20 seconds on a small plate. The bread is fresh smelling and the taste is fine.

5. No-knead bread (NYT Bread) is removed from the freezer and allowed to thaw on the counter all day. We hack off pieces and make toast from it, and I don't even fool around with re-crisping the whole loaf. The texture of the crust is chewy, and it's just fine for my undiscriminating palette. If you want crispy crust, give it 10 minutes at 350 F and it will crisp up nicely. Be sure to preheat the oven, or the results will no be what you want. A baking stone also helps, but is not necessary.

Hope this helps.

Be back later. Have to go do a quick plumbing job in teh neighborhood.
 
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chowhound

New member
Maybe I need to pick up some of those bags, or maybe the bag my Italian bread came in and I used to freeze it in had a hole in it. Thanks. I'll give it another try.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Just throw another idea in the mix for Joe...I wonder if it might be better to par-bake the bread just until it has risen but has not browned, freeze it and then thaw and finish baking.
 

PieSusan

Tortes Are Us
Super Site Supporter
I have never had success with freezing bread, myself. I notice a difference. However, I have a brand new freezer and perhaps I will give it another go. Usually, I think baked goods taste best when made. Freezing alters the structure and so, I tend to only freeze desserts that are meant to be frozen.

I think that I would rather freeze the bread dough than the bread.
 

High Cheese

Saucier
So maybe you need the crust for protection, Jeeks?
I know when I discussed this with Joe a while back, it was because I have a hard time going through a loaf of crusty bread before it gets stale. He said to freeze it, so in that case the crust would no longer encapsulate the whole loaf.
Encapsulate.... is that a baking term? (lol)

I buy baguettes, french bread, from my local supermarket all the time. It comes from some other company but tastes awesome. Since the loaf is so huge, we just cut off what we need then cut the remainder in half, wrap with press n' seal and freeze. Never soggy or anything. We leave the loaf mainly in tact (no pre sclicing)
 

JoeV

Dough Boy
Site Supporter
I buy baguettes, french bread, from my local supermarket all the time. It comes from some other company but tastes awesome. Since the loaf is so huge, we just cut off what we need then cut the remainder in half, wrap with press n' seal and freeze. Never soggy or anything. We leave the loaf mainly in tact (no pre sclicing)
Often, baguettes, French, Italian and other artisan breads are on display in the stores, and bagged when the customer purchases them. This allows the bread to release any excess moisture from baking thru the crust, and for the crust to dry and seal the loaf. The longer a loaf of bread is out, the more it will lose its freshness and its taste will deteriorate.

Mama, I have not tried par baking of bread and then freezing. I have read that bread dough can be punched down, rolled into a tight ball, wrapped and immediately frozen. I have not tried this myself, but I believe that's what they do for the frozen bread dough you buy in the supermarket.

Nothing can take the place of baking and eating bread within 24 hours. Enriched breads with oil, butter, milk, eggs, etc will last longer, as they have a natural preservative in them. My Italian bread has EVOO in it, and will stay fresh for 3-4 days in a bag on the counter. Artisan breads with nothing more than flour, water, salt and yeast have the shortest shelf life, and are intended to be eaten within 24 hours. After that they are pretty much gone.
 

Miniman

Mini man - maxi food
Gold Site Supporter
I freeze bread all the time and have never had an issue. This is both the bread I make & stor bought bread. We have been known to raid the stores just before closing and buy out the bread that has been reduced to silly prices as it is that days baking. This all goes into the freezer.
 

buckytom

Grill Master
we also freeze bread often. the three of us are bread fanatics, so we buy more than is humanly necessary.

joe's nailed it. make sure it's cooled, then wrap in plastic. sometimes dw just uses aluminum foil.

of course, unsliced bread fares better. and aluminum foil will allow it to get freezer burned easier, but it's better than just chucking a perfectly good loaf.
 

UnConundrum

New member
Gold Site Supporter
One caution on freezing in the "store" bread bags is that some of them have air vents cut into them to keep the crust crisp. Freezing in those bags is not recommended.
 

Miniman

Mini man - maxi food
Gold Site Supporter
I freeze bread without bags with little effect. I do find that bread needs to come out of the bag for defrosting or you can get soggy bits
 
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