How To Store Sourdough Bread
Wondering how to store homemade sourdough bread so it lasts longer? I’ll share my best, actionable tips on improve the shelf life of your beloved bread!
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If you’re anything like me, you take a lot of pride in your sourdough boules, batards, and bread machine sourdough bread.
You’ve got fermenty babies in all of your fridges, and you’ve learned how to freeze your starter and dehydrate sourdough starter so that in case of a catastrophic event you’ll be able to revive your starter.
You spend hours stretching and folding, letting it rise, bulk fermenting, and baking it to perfection. You try new things, you try the same old thing, but you always make sure that the end result is a delicious, fluffy sourdough loaf.
So how do you make sure your hard work lasts? By storing your sourdough bread properly, of course!
This how to store sourdough bread guide is dedicated to pride.
Expert Tips
- Sourdough bread is made without preservatives, which means that it won’t last as long as store-bought bread, but that isn’t a problem, the good bacteria present in the dough does help improve the lifespan and we just need to make sure we store it properly!
- Whenever possible, store your bread at room temperature, avoid any place too hot or too cold. The kitchen counter is the perfect temp and easy to reach for snack purposes!
- Try to bake only as many loaves as you can eat within 2-3 days because sourdough is by far the best within 12 hours of baking. After that, it slowwwwly degrades. By baking smaller fresh loaves more often you can ensure that you’ve got the freshest flavor and texture in each slice.
- This one is tough, but wait until your loaf is fully cooled – like 2-3 hours post-baking, before slicing it. If the loaf is sliced while still warm, the crumb you worked so hard for has the tendency to get sticky and gummy, and it won’t improve while in storage.
- Higher hydration sourdough tends to have a thinner crust and will usually store longer than lower-hydration sourdough bread with a thicker crust.
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Storing Sourdough Bread
Days 1 + 2:
Whole Loaf:
Wrap your cooled sourdough loaf in a thin tea towel, store it in a paper bag, linen bread bag, or tucked into a bread box. These storage options allow the bread to breathe while also retaining some moisture which will keep it from getting too crusty.
Cut:
Slice only what you need from the loaf and leave the remainder of the loaf whole. Store your the partial sourdough loaf cut side down on a cutting board. This sounds so weird, but it really is the best way to store a partial loaf. The contact with the cutting board helps to keep the crumb/inside of the loaf moist and good to eat while the keeping the crust crisp and irresistible.
You can leave a loaf like this for up to 24 hours, after that you’ll want to look for alternatives.
As an added bonus, leaving a loaf of sourdough cut side down on a cutting board means you likely left your knife out too, so it’s super easy to sneak in and slice off a little piece of delicious whenever you walk by!
Days 3 + 4:
Whole Loaf:
Wrap your sourdough tightly in plastic wrap, tin foil, or even a beeswax wrap and store it at room temperature. This is NOT an airtight wrap, and that’s the point, it still allows your loaf to breathe, but it also traps in some humidity to help keep the loaf soft.
My preference here is the beeswax wrap, as it breathes better than plastic wrap and keeps in more moisture than a linen bag.
Sliced Loaf:
If you’ve pre-sliced your sourdough, it’s easiest to store it in a plastic bag. Although the bag will cause the crust to soften, it will keep individual slices from drying out.
Days 5 +:
After day four, your sourdough is still technically edible, but it’s not going to be as good as it was in its prime. It might be time to turn this loaf into sourdough french toast or sourdough croutons!
Stale sourdough bread also makes incredible seasoned bread crumbs.
If you see any mold or signs of spoilage the entire loaf should be tossed.
Storing Sourdough In Plastic Bags
I am not a huge fan of storing crusty, artisan sourdough loaves in plastic bags because they trap all the humidity inside and make the crust soggy/chewy/not great.
This can be avoided somewhat by placing a piece of paper towel inside of the bag or wrapping the loaf in a kitchen towel before placing it into the bag without sealing or closing the bag.
Either way, the results are less than perfect, so I recommend skipping the plastic bag completely, unless, you’re wrapping buns, sweet bread (like sourdough babka), or sandwich-style sourdough bread. These types of bread do not have a crispy crust, and their soft crust is less likely to be degraded by storing in a plastic bag.
Storing Sourdough In The Fridge
Don’t.
Seriously. Don’t do this!
It sounds like it would work great but baked bread should never be stored in the fridge because the cool but not freezing temperatures cause the starch molecules in the bread to recrystallize much quicker than at room temperature, leading to rapid staling of your boule.
One option, if you’re set on using the fridge, is to proof your sourdough in the fridge and only bake the loaves as needed for optimal freshness. I have had luck proofing sourdough in the fridge for up to 3 days with my sourdough starter!
Must Make Sourdough Recipes
Storing Sourdough in the Freezer
The BEST option for storing sourdough long term is in the freezer. Hands down. It’s easy to do, too!
For best results, use a loaf that has been baked within the last 24 hours, and try to avoid cutting or slicing the sourdough until just before freezing. I also prefer to freeze my loaves whole or in halves. I find they thaw much better that way.
I know that earlier I said plastic bag bad, now I’m saying plastic bag good. Plastic bags are perfectly fine used in the freezer to reduce freezer burn, but that is the only time I recommend using them to store sourdough.
Freezing a Whole Loaf:
To freeze sourdough bread, let the loaf cool completely to room temperature. Then, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, place it in a freezer bag or plastic bread bag, seal it, and pop it in the freezer. Your sourdough will stay fresh for 1-2 months. When you're ready to enjoy it, simply remove it from the freezer, unwrap it, and let it thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours before slicing and savoring!
Freezing Slices:
For easy, grab-and-go portions, slice the cooled loaf and lay the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. This way, you can pull out just what you need. Toast or let thaw at room temperature and you're good to go!
Refreshing Stored Sourdough
There is a secret window that no one talks about during sourdough storage that you can “refresh” your loaf so that it’s restored to its freshly baked glory.
Any time within the first 48 hours or after the sourdough has thawed, it can be refreshed. Here’s how to do it:
- Preheat the oven to 375f
- Spritz the entire loaf with water, don’t be too cheap but don’t be overly generous either. The loaf should be dampened but not saturated.
- Place the loaf into the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove loaf from the oven and allow to cool on a wire mesh cooling rack before slicing.
Notes From The Crave Kitchen
A little know-how goes a long way when it comes to storing sourdough. Keep it in a bread bag or wrap it in a tea towel for a couple days, then freeze it if you need to keep it longer. Skip the fridge and plastic bags, they're not doing your beautiful loaf any favours!
My preference is to store my cut loaves facedown for up to 24 hours. After that, they get wrapped in a beeswax wrap. Let me know how it goes, and please feel free to share any of your own storage tips in the comments below.
