Sourdough’s natural fermentation process helps it to last longer than most standard sandwich breads, no preservatives required. However, this same lack of additives means proper storage matters more than most store-bought bread.
Store it incorrectly and you’ll end up with either a rock-hard crust or a gross, soggy interior within a day. Here’s how to properly store sourdough, whether it’s already half-eaten on your counter or it’s fresh from the bakery.
How to Store Fresh Sourdough Bread
For the first 24 hours after bread baking or purchase, sourdough is best left in the bag that you purchased it in or out on a cutting board. This lets the loaf breathe, which keeps the crust from softening.
After the First Day
After 24 hours, the loaf needs a bit more protection to prevent it from drying out and turning tough. Paper bags are more environmentally friendly, but they let the bread dry out relatively quickly. Plastic bags keep the bread soft, but they can also generate enough moisture that the bread becomes too soft.
A reusable beeswax-lined bread bag is a good compromise if you want to reduce plastic use without sacrificing much moisture retention. Whichever option you choose, avoid storing your bread in the fridge. Cold temperatures trigger a reaction with the starch that makes the bread go stale faster, so a loaf left out at room temperature will generally outlast one in the fridge.
How to Store Homemade Sourdough Bread
The same general rules apply to homemade sourdough bread, with one important extra step: make sure you let the bread cool on a wire rack before wrapping or storing it in any way. Wrapping a warm loaf of bread traps the steam inside, which leads to a soggy crust and can quickly cause mold to form. The cooling process typically takes a couple hours for most loaves.
Once the bread has had time to cool, store it the same way as a bakery loaf. One option particularly useful for homemade sourdough is a bread box. Yes, the very item your grandmother used to talk about!
Bread boxes offer enough airflow to keep the crust from turning rubbery, but enough enclosed humidity (from the bread itself) to keep it from drying out too quickly. Wooden bread boxes tend to regulate this balance a bit better than metal ones.
How Long It Lasts
Stored correctly, homemade sourdough will last for two to three days, after which the quality will start to noticeably decline.
How to Store Sourdough Bread Once Cut
A cut loaf dries out considerably faster than a whole one, since the exposed interior doesn’t have any crust to protect it. One easy way to prevent this is to place the loaf cut-side down on a cutting board or flat plate after slicing off a piece with your kitchen knife. Placed cut-side down against a flat surface, the bread will lose less moisture and stay fresh for 2 to 3 days.
If you’ve sliced into the middle of a loaf rather than from one end, you can press the two cut halves back together like a sandwich before lightly wrapping it for storage. This protects both cut surfaces at once. You can also drape a clean kitchen towel over the top to allow a decent amount of air in without sacrificing any of the bread’s natural moisture.
How to Freeze Sourdough Bread
Freezing is the best option any time you know you won’t finish a loaf within a few days. It does a genuinely good job of preserving both the texture and flavor.
For a whole loaf, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then a layer of foil, and place it in a freezer bag or airtight container for a bit of extra protection against freezer burn.
For slices, separate individual pieces with squares of parchment paper before bagging them together. Either way, make sure to press out as much air as possible before storing.
Frozen sourdough can retain its quality for two to three months. To thaw a whole loaf, leave it at room temperature for a few hours or overnight in the fridge. Individual frozen slices can go straight into the toaster. They might come out a little crunchy, but the flavor should be pretty close to how it was when it went into the freezer.
How to Refresh Stale Sourdough Bread
If a loaf has started to go stale, whether it sat out too long or just came out of the freezer, a quick trip through the oven can get a little bit of its original texture back. Preheat your oven to 350°F, lightly dampen the crust with a few sprinkles of water, and warm the loaf for 5 to 10 minutes on the middle rack.
The added moisture combines with the heat to re-crisp the crust and soften the interior, reducing some of the staleness. It’s not quite the same as a bread fresh from the oven, but it’s a good way to make sure day-old or stale sourdough doesn’t go to waste.