Bread Care

Keeping Your Bread Fresh
All House of Bread products are made without artificial preservatives. Follow these simple steps to keep your bread fresh and tasty.

• If unsliced, store bread at room temperature for the freshest, best-tasting product.

• What you can expect: Our bread should keep for a week at room temperature.

• The best place to store bread is in a dark, dry place such as a breadbox or cupboard. Clay breadboxes are particularly good. A good alternative is a closed paper bag or sealed plastic bag.

• Bread that will not be consumed within a week should be stored in the freezer. Avoid the refrigerator – refrigeration may retard the molding process, but it increases the staling process – freezing retards both.

• If you see any mold on a loaf of bread, throw the whole loaf away – don’t try to cut around the mold.

Refreshing Bread

• For soft-crust breads, wrap the loaf in foil and bake in a preheated oven for 8 – 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

• For artisan breads, sprinkle or mist slightly with water and place in a preheated oven for 6 – 8 minutes at 400 degrees.

• Toasting is another ideal way to refresh the flavor of both soft crust and artisan breads.

Freezing Bread

• Wrap room-temperature bread in aluminum foil and place in a freezer-safe plastic bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Bread packaged in this manner can be successfully frozen for 2 months without sacrificing flavor or texture.

• If you know upon purchase that the bread will be frozen, ask for an extra bag at time of purchase and double bag for freezing.

• Thaw in the unopened plastic bag at room temperature.

• Follow our instructions for refreshing bread if needed.

Slicing Tips

• Use a high-quality, serrated bread knife and a steady grip.

• With gentle, constant pressure “saw” back and forth on the loaf, creating smooth, even slices.

• Do not attempt to slice frozen bread, it is easy to cut yourself if the knife slips. Instead, wait for the loaf to thaw before slicing.

= New Window