How to Store your Sourdough Bread

How to Keep Your Sourdough Fresh for Longer!

So, you’ve got your delicious sourdough loaf from us – awesome! Now, you want to keep it fresh, right? Here’s how we do it, from cooling down to long-term storage in the freezer.

Finish It Within 48 Hours (Ideally!)

Honestly, your sourdough tastes best if you finish it within 48 hours of getting it. But if you can’t, no worries, we’ve got you covered with these tips.

Don’t Slice It Too Soon!

When you get a fresh, warm loaf, it’s tempting to cut into it right away. But hold on! Cutting hot bread makes the inside gooey and sticky. Let your loaf cool down completely – it needs to set properly. Once it’s cool, then it’s slicing time.

Store It Cut-Side Down

Once your loaf is cool and ready, we usually cut it straight down the middle, making two halves. Then, when you take slices from the middle, turn the halves so the cut side faces your cutting board. This way, the thick crust acts like a natural cover, keeping the inside from drying out too much. Think of the crust as its own little bag! We can usually keep our bread like this for a day or two on the cutting board (especially since it’s quite dry here in Lahore). After that, we move it to a breadbox.

Use a Breadbox

This is super simple: just keep your cooled bread, whether it’s cut or whole, in a breadbox. It does a great job of maintaining freshness.

Try Reusable Wraps or Towels

Another good option is using a reusable wrap, like a bread-sized Bee’s Wrap. These work really well to keep the loaf soft but not soggy. Just wrap your bread tightly. You can also use a plain paper bag or a kitchen towel – these are good for stopping it from getting too dry.

Big No-No: Don’t Put it in the Fridge!

Listen carefully, this is important: never put your bread in the refrigerator! It might seem like a good idea to keep food fresh, but for bread, the fridge actually makes it go stale much faster than if you leave it at room temperature. Trust us on this one!

The Best Way for Long Storage: Freeze It!

If you want to keep your sourdough fresh for a long time, the freezer is your best friend. Freezing basically stops the bread from going stale. You can freeze the whole loaf, or what we prefer, slice it completely first.

Freezing Slices (Our Top Tip!)

Freezing individual slices is brilliant because you get the best of both worlds: you have ready-to-use slices that you can pop out whenever you want, and they stay fresh for ages in the freezer (we’ve kept ours for a month or so, but they could probably last longer!). When you reheat a frozen slice in the toaster, it comes out tasting just like it was freshly baked and perfectly toasted. It’s seriously amazing!

Here’s how to do it:

Once your loaf is completely cool, slice it all the way through.
Stack the slices in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. For best results, place one layer from side to side, then turn the next layer 90 degrees and place it on top (this helps prevent them from sticking together too much).
Press out as much air as you can from the bag.
Pop the bag in the freezer until the slices are fully frozen.
Whenever you want a slice, just take one or two out and reheat them in your toaster.
You can reuse the plastic freezer bag many times!

Enjoy your fresh-tasting sourdough whenever you like!