Best method for freezing bread?

To me, nothing beats the smell and the taste of fresh bread. Sometimes, however, I find that I have to freeze bread so it doesn't spoil; this might be rolls, or loaves either sliced or not. I know that frozen bread can't hold a candle to fresh but I'd love to know the absolute best method to freeze bread. Nothing I've done seems to work very well and bread often seems to go from the freezer to the trash can. Any tried and true methods to freeze bread out there?

Any tried and true methods to freeze bread out there?

I've found it depends on what kind of bread you're freezing. I'm a bread baker and most of what I bake is of the crusty, starter-based, French/Italian style but occasionally I also bake what you might call "sandwich bread". In my experience, breads of the crusty variety actually freeze extremely well with very little in the way of preparation. Whole loaves or even loaves cut into chunks (after cooling to room temperature) simply go into zip lock bags with most of the air squeezed out. So long as storage time isn't more than a couple of months, quality of the defrosted loaf is comparable to fresh. Defrosting is best accomplished at room temperature in the still-closed bag for a few hours; opening the bag results in condensation on the loaf and a layer of mush where the crust used to be. If planning fails and defrosting needs to be fast, that's best done by removing from the bag and warming in a low-ish oven.

Softer breads along the lines of a sandwich bread or soft rolls, on the other hand, can still successfully be frozen but suffer unless wrapped extremely well. In that case, I double wrap with plastic and foil and then, for good measure, into a zip lock. This method works well with whole loaves because the regular shape means you can pretty much exclude air with the wrapping. Rolls are more challenging because double wrapping isn't very practical. Then I'd try individually wrapping in plastic, into a zip lock, and don't plan on keeping frozen for long. Defrosting rules are the same: opening the bag when the loaf is still cold means condensation and a soggy mess.

I hope that helps. I have no scientific basis for any of this, only my personal experience.

We were fortunate to be able to pick up a box of 1000 "bread bags" from a kitchen supplier in Maine a decade or so ago. Then are fairly thin but fit most loves snuggly, and with them the loaves do just fine in the freezer.

Like Carl, we also freeze our bread (short term) in plastic bread bags. We buy them from King Arthur Flour...not sure that brand is any better than others, but they work for us and I believe they come in a pack of 100 or so.
Redwinger

FWIW A recommendation from an artisan bakery (they make fabulous proper sourdough) is to place the bread in a paper bag before sealing it in plastic. This prevents sweating when defrosting making the bread soggy apparently.

Thanks, everyone, for your advice. I especially like the double wrapping and trying to get as much air out as possible.

[Jenise]

Great tip, Barb. And re the bread bags, didn't know they existed! I don't freeze bread myself, but might if I thought the outcome "comparable", as 'Winger put it.