To store bakery bread, match the method to the crust. Keep crusty bread like a baguette or a rustic loaf at room temperature in a paper or breathable cloth bag, cut side down, and eat it within a day or two. Keep soft bread like a sandwich loaf or brioche in a closed plastic bag at room temperature for two to four days, and rolls or burger buns for a day or two. Never put bakery bread in the refrigerator, and freeze whatever you will not finish in time.
We are a French bakery, and bread that goes stale on the counter is the question we hear most. Below: why bakery bread ages faster than packaged bread, how long each kind really keeps, how to store a baguette, a sandwich loaf, brioche and croissants, which bag or box to use for which bread, and the way bakers keep bread fresh for weeks.
Why does bakery bread go stale so fast?
Three different things happen to bread after it leaves the oven, and each one calls for a different fix.
- Staling. The starch in the crumb slowly firms up again as it cools and ages. The bread feels dry and tough even when it still holds moisture. Staling runs fastest at fridge temperature and almost stops in the freezer. Heat reverses much of it, which is why a few minutes in a hot oven revives a day-old loaf.
- Drying. Moisture moves out of the crumb, through the crust and into the air. A thin baguette, with a lot of crust and little crumb, dries out first.
- Mold. Warm, damp, sealed bread is where mold grows. That is the price of plastic: it stops drying but traps humidity.
Packaged supermarket sandwich bread is often made with mold inhibitors and softeners so it can sit on a shelf for days. Bread from a bakery usually is not, so it tastes better on the first day and needs more care on the third. The good news: the right storage buys you most of that time back.
How long does bakery bread last?
The usual guidance at room temperature, stored the right way for each type, looks like this. Warm, humid kitchens shorten these times; a cool, dry kitchen stretches them.
| Bakery bread | Best stored in | At its best | After that |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baguette | Paper or cloth bag, cut end covered | The day it is baked | Day 2: refresh in the oven, or slice for toasts |
| Crusty loaf (sourdough, rustic, ciabatta) | Cut side down on a board, or a breathable bag | 2 to 3 days | Toast, croutons, bread pudding |
| Soft sandwich loaf | Closed plastic bag | 3 to 4 days | Toast, French toast, grilled cheese |
| Brioche, challah and other rich breads | Closed plastic bag | 2 to 3 days | French toast, bread pudding |
| Rolls and burger buns | Closed plastic bag | 1 to 2 days | Split and toast in a pan |
| Croissants and pastries | Paper bag the first day, then an airtight container | The day they are baked | Day 2: a few minutes in the oven |
Bread with butter, eggs or milk in the dough keeps its softness longer than a lean bread of flour, water, yeast and salt, because the fat slows staling. That is why a baguette has the shortest life on this list and a brioche loaf one of the longest.
How to store a baguette
A baguette is the hardest bakery bread to keep, and the one worth eating the same day. If you buy one in the morning, these habits keep it at its best until dinner:
- Keep it in its paper bag or wrap it in a clean cloth. Paper lets the crust breathe, so it stays crisp.
- Cut from one end only, and fold the bag over the cut end, or stand the open end against a board. The crumb is what dries; the crust protects the rest.
- Keep it away from heat: not on top of the fridge, not next to the stove or a sunny window.
To keep a baguette overnight, slide it, still in its paper bag, into a loosely closed plastic bag, or into a bread box. The crust will soften a little, and a few minutes in a hot oven the next day brings it back; how to reheat a baguette so it crackles again is a subject of its own. If you know you will not finish it by the next day, freeze the second half the first evening, while it is still fresh.
That is also why the baguettes we sell are not fully baked. Our Parisian Half Baguette is par-baked, frozen and shipped frozen from the Fresh Baguette kitchen in Germantown, Maryland. It waits in your freezer, and you finish it straight from frozen, directly on the middle rack of a 450°F oven for 6 to 10 minutes, then let it rest 5 to 10 minutes. The baguette you eat always came out of the oven minutes ago.
How to store a soft bakery loaf, brioche and buns
Soft breads are the opposite of a baguette. Their thin, tender crust has nothing to lose, and what you want to protect is the moist crumb. Here plastic wins. A day-old baguette can still crackle: bring a baguette back in the oven.
- Let it cool completely before you close the bag. Steam trapped around warm bread turns to condensation, and condensation is how mold gets a head start.
- Close it in a plastic bag, pressing out most of the air, and keep it at room temperature, cut end at the back of the bag.
- Take out only what you need, and close the bag again right away.
- Watch the humidity. In a very warm, humid kitchen, check a sealed loaf every day and freeze it early rather than late.
For sandwich bread, there is a simpler way: keep it frozen and toast it by the slice. Our Sandwich White is an organic, Pullman-style loaf that comes sliced and frozen; the slices go into the toaster straight from the freezer for 1.5 to 2 minutes, and the rest of the loaf stays frozen. Our Artisanal Burger Buns, made with butter and eggs, work the same way: sliced in half and toasted in a pan with a little butter until golden and heated through. You will find both in our sandwich breads.
How to store croissants and pastries
A croissant is at its best within hours of baking, when the outside shatters into flakes and the inside is soft and buttery. Laminated dough does not keep the way bread does, so plan to eat croissants the day you buy them. Croissants from yesterday? Warming them through takes a few minutes.
- Same day: leave them in the bakery's paper bag or box, at room temperature. Plastic softens the flaky layers within hours.
- Overnight: move them to an airtight container or a closed bag. They will soften, but they keep their butter and flavor, and a short time in a hot oven makes them crisp again. Reheating a croissant without drying it out is a subject of its own.
- Never in the fridge: cold firms the butter and stales the dough, and they come out heavy.
- Longer than a day: freeze them the first day, well wrapped.
Our Butter Croissants skip the problem altogether. They are shipped frozen, and you bake only the ones you want: preheat the oven to 425°F, set them frozen on a baking sheet on the middle rack, bake 5 to 7 minutes, and let them cool at least 5 minutes before serving. Our chocolate, almond and Nutella croissants bake the same way.
Butter Croissant, pack of 3
Shipped frozen, baked only when you want them: 425°F on a baking sheet for 5 to 7 minutes, then at least 5 minutes of rest. One of the 4 to 12 packs in your box (boxes from $89).
See the croissantsPaper, plastic, cloth or a bread box: which is best?
No single container is best for every bread. The right one depends on the crust you want to keep.
| Storage | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Paper bag | Lets the crust breathe; the bread dries within a day | A baguette or croissants you eat the same day |
| Plastic bag | Holds moisture in; softens the crust; can trap condensation | Sandwich loaves, brioche, rolls and buns |
| Beeswax-coated cloth bag | A tight but breathable seal; reusable | Crusty loaves and baguettes over a day or two |
| Plain cloth or a clean tea towel | Keeps the crust crisp; the crumb dries a little sooner | Crusty bread you will finish within two days |
| Bread box | Holds a little humidity without sealing it in; keeps out light | Most breads, in their own bag; do not overfill it |
For crusty bakery bread, a breathable bag is the best middle ground. Our Reusable Beeswax Bread Bag measures 12x16 inches: linen cotton with a beeswax coating, closed by rolling the top down and clipping it, for a tight seal that still breathes. Put bread in only once it has cooled, because the coating must stay away from heat, and wash the bag by hand in cold water with a mild soap. Sourdough has its own day-by-day routine, which we cover separately.
Reusable Beeswax Bread Bag
Linen cotton coated in beeswax, 12x16 inches, with a roll-and-clip top for a tight but breathable seal. Keeps a crusty loaf crisp on the counter. Add it to your box.
See the bread bagShould you refrigerate bakery bread?
No. Cold is what makes bread stale fastest: at refrigerator temperature the starch in the crumb sets far more quickly than on the counter, so a baguette or a sandwich loaf that spent the night in the fridge tastes older than one left out, even if it is still moist. The only bakery breads that belong in the fridge are the ones with a perishable filling or topping, like a sandwich already made with meat, cheese or mayonnaise, or a pastry filled with cream. For plain bread, choose the counter for the next couple of days and the freezer for anything longer. For anything you will not finish this week, here is how to freeze bread the right way.
When should you freeze bakery bread instead?
As soon as you know you will not finish it in time. Bread freezes in the state you put it in, so a loaf frozen on the day you buy it comes out tasting like that day, while a loaf frozen on day four comes out tasting like day four. If a whole baguette or a big loaf is more than you will eat in two days, slice or halve it, wrap it tightly in a freezer bag and freeze it that first evening. How to freeze bread properly, and for how long, is a subject of its own.
The easiest way to keep bakery bread fresh: bake it later
Every method above slows down a bread that started to age the moment it came out of the oven. A par-baked bread sidesteps the problem: it leaves the bakery oven before it is finished, goes into the freezer, and gets its final minutes of baking in your kitchen, on the day you eat it.
Our breads and pastries are made that way: par-baked and frozen at their peak of freshness, then finished in your own oven with no thawing, as how it works explains. Until you bake them, the only storage they need is your freezer: according to our FAQ, our sealed packaging keeps everything bakery-fresh for up to 6 months. Once a bread is baked, the rules on this page apply again: eat it fresh, store what is left by its type, and freeze the rest early.
Each bread bakes its own way, so always follow the instructions of the one in your hands. Our organic sourdough loaves and ciabatta, in our sourdough and artisan bread collection, bake at 430°F directly on the rack for 16 to 23 minutes and need at least 20 minutes of rest before slicing, while the half baguettes need a hotter, shorter bake: 450°F for 6 to 10 minutes.
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Questions about storing bakery bread
How do you store bakery bread overnight?
Keep a crusty loaf or baguette at room temperature in its paper bag slipped inside a loosely closed plastic bag, or in a bread box, cut side covered. Keep soft bread in a closed plastic bag. In the morning, give crusty bread a few minutes in a hot oven.
How do you keep bakery bread fresh for a week?
At room temperature, most bakery bread will not stay at its best for a week. Eat what you can in the first two or three days, then slice the rest and freeze it while it is still fresh; frozen slices toast straight from the freezer.
Can I put bakery bread in a Ziploc bag?
Yes, for soft bread such as a sandwich loaf, brioche or buns, it is the best choice. For crusty bread, a zip-top bag keeps the crumb soft but softens the crust within a day; leave it slightly open in a humid kitchen, and never close it around warm bread.
Why do bakeries put bread in paper bags?
Paper lets steam escape from bread that may still be warm and keeps the crust crisp on the way home. It is made for the first few hours, not for storage: after a day in paper, bread dries out.
How do you use a bread box?
Put cooled bread in, either as it is or in its paper bag, and keep the box away from the stove and the sun. Do not overfill it: the more bread inside, the more humid it gets. Wipe out crumbs regularly, and never put in bread that shows any mold.