Tips on Freezing Homemade Bread?

[eaglei]

How do you wrap your homemade bread for freezing?

 

I just pulled out a loaf that I had placed in a plastic bag - after the loaf was totally cooled - pressed out the air, sealed, and froze. There is a little moisture inside the bag. :glare:

 

Other times I have first wrapped the loaf in foil, then placed in the plastic bag. The thawed bread seems to be a tad dry. Sometimes I have first wrapped in saran wrap, then placed in the plastic bag.

 

Do you have a foolproof method for freezing homemade loaves that doesn't dry out the bread and doesn't encourage moisture?

 

THANK YOU!

[alpidarkomama]

I just use gallon ziploc bags (fits two 1.5-pound loaves). I keep recycling them, and just keep the empty bags in the freezer to refill with new bread. I also use the bigger ziplocs if I make bigger breads, or lots of muffins. Bread keeps great in those!

[KatieJ]

I wait 24 hours or at least overnight before putting my loaves into the freezer. I don't usually have a problem with freezer burn..rarely lasts that long.

:001_smile:

[eaglei]

Thank You!

 

I also have used the Ziploc brand as well as the no-name brand - still getting a bit of moisture inside . . . maybe I need to let them sit overnight . . . I'll keep *experimenting* especially since I've made four loaves of bread today and two are for freezing - for probably less than half a week! :001_smile:

[ElizabethB]

Any bread freezes better double bagged, but definitely wait before freezing.

[BeckyFL]

This last time I used the new Ziploc vacuum bags. We were really happy with the results. That might be worth a try. I'm not sure if they are reusable but we are going to try it!

[AnneJ]

I usually just stick it in a plastic bag and pop it in the freezer. I usually wait to put it in the freezer until the day after I bake it--usually because I just don't feel like bringing it downstairs to the freezer. :p For the plastic bags I usually try to use the thicker kind (I reuse the bags I sometimes get from buying an occasional loaf from Great Harvest). If I do happen to get a little moisture in the bag, I just take the loaf out of the bag and wrap it in a kitchen towel while it is thawing.

[Forget-Me-Not]

I usually wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then put it in a Seal-n-Saver bag and vacuum out as much air as I can without compressing the bread.

 

BTW--I always have better luck THAWING in the refrigerator. I've found that even if ice crystals have formed inside the packaging, if I thaw in the fridge, the bread doesn't get soggy. The moisture seems to reincorporate well. If I thaw on the counter, it will form a pool and a soggy spot on the bread. I have no information as to why this works this way--still waiting for Alton Brown to do a show on it ;)