Bread: Buy It, Store It, Keep It Fresh Without Plastic
Whoever coined the expression “the best thing since sliced bread” must have worked for the plastics industry. According to the American Scientist article “Twists, Tags, and Ties” excerpted in The Encyclopedia Britannica Online,
A machine to slice an entire loaf of bread in a single operation was invented by Otto Rohwedder, of Davenport, Iowa, who applied for a patent in 1928. Unfortunately, once a loaf is sliced, it does not remain fresh for very long, unless air is kept from it. In the 1930s, sliced loaves came wrapped in wax paper (and later cellophane) with the folded-over ends sealed with glued-on labels. This kept the bread flesh until the package was opened, but then it was not easily resealed. The polyethylene bag [developed in the mid 50’s] clearly solved that problem, because it could be closed, opened and reclosed easily with a twist tie.
Hazards of plastic bread bag closures.
What’s more, according to the same article, twist ties are often coated with PVC, one of the worst plastics.
Besides twist ties, many bread bags today are held shut by plastic bread clips, those flat little squares with a hole in the middle that I find scattered all over the ground near Lake Merritt here in Oakland. Kind-hearted people bring bread to feed the ducks and leave a trail of bread clips behind. In addition to harming wildlife, those bread clips have recently been found inside the gastrointestinal tracts of older humans! In a 2000 article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal [pdf file],
People older than 60 years of age who have either partial or full dentures seem to be particularly at risk for the accidental ingestion of these devices. If accidentally ingested, plastic bread-bag clips represent a significant health hazard. As the population ages, small-bowel perforation secondary to ingestion of such clips may occur with increasing frequency.
How people are swallowing them, I don’t know. I’m guessing maybe they are holding the clip in their mouths while taking the bread out of the bag. A less likely scenario might be somehow letting the clip fall into a sandwich and not realizing it’s there. The article doesn’t explain why people are eating bread clips, but it does go into graphic detail about the horrible things that happen in their intestines afterwards. Perhaps we are no different from hungry albatrosses.
Just say no to plastic bread bags, twist ties, and bread clips.
I realize many people now are opting to make their own bread as an alternative to store-bought bread in plastic bags. But I don’t have a bread machine. Nor do I have the will to make bread the old fashioned way, although my friend Mark does it all the time. And since Oakland has several great little bakeries selling fresh bread, why not support them? Here’s what I do:
1) Take my reusable cloth bag to the bakery and ask to have my (unsliced!) bread placed directly inside it.
2) Bring the bread home. Slice a piece and eat it. Yum!
3) Return the remaining unsliced loaf to the cloth bag and store it in an airtight tin.
My tin came from the Popcorn Factory — a gift from my dad. But any kind of tin or bread box will work, as long as the lid fits tightly enough to keep air out. Thrift stores are often the recipients of unwanted tins once the original contents have been consumed. I find that my bread will last, and stay soft, up to about two weeks in the tin. Depending on your climate, the length of time will vary. Those in more humid regions may not be able to keep it as long before it grows mold.
That’s it. For the longest time, even after beginning to remove plastic from my life, I kept one plastic grocery bag to wrap around my cloth-wrapped bread in the refrigerator. I reused that grocery bag over and over again. And I always felt there had to be another way. So I asked myself the question that I am constantly pondering: how did they do it in the old days?
Do you have other suggestions about storing bread? I’d love to hear them.
This is something I am finding really very hard. I have made some great, positive zero waste changes in my life, but bread is difficult. I have coealic disease meaning I need gluten free and live in Germany. I sometimes make my own bread, but I have not found any flour, bread, or bread mix that is plastic free. It is driving me insane. Everything comes in layers of plastic to avoid cross contamination. I am sure in other countries you would be able to find fresh gluten free bread from a lovely artisanal baker, but here is a no-go. I do not eat a lot of bread, and it is not just bread, it is cookies, cake everything and I try to rather find things that are naturally gluten free for my diet. It is part of the reason I started to adopt some more eco-friendly changes in my life in fact, I was simply so sick of all the damn plastic packaging in my food.
Any suggestions welcome!!!
I learned recently from a presentation from Vandana Shiva an environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, and author that many people who are allergic to gluten are not allergic to wheat but to wheat that has been changed by genetic modification, which is why only recently do a lot of people have gluten allergies. She said that wheat from ancient grains and non GMO seeds do not cause reactions. Unfortunately, I just learned this so I don’t know where you can buy bread made from that type of flour but I thought you might find it interesting.
Actually, I do know of an organization that grows heirloom wheat in Northern California and sells the flour through their website. The director has told me that many people with gluten sensitivities can eat bread made from this wheat. Of course, you would have to bake the bread yourself, as they only sell the flour, not bread. https://honoremill.org/
I make homemade bread to sell at a farmer’s market (in addition to our family farm’s produce, eggs, and meat). I bake it the day before, let it cool, and put it in bags to keep fresh until sold Saturday mornings. Since it’s a “soft” kind of bread, not crusty or chewy, I feel it needs to be in bags even though it is not sliced when sold. I’m looking at alternatives to plastic bags. Do you think wax paper bags or glassine bags would work to keep the bread soft overnight? I used printed label stickers on the bags and could possibly use those to seal them. (They are required to have a label at our market).
hey there, jumping in 3 years late! but i have an idea in case someone is interested… how about also selling cloth bags and also maybe tins? you could give a small discount if people bring the cloth bag back the next time. maybe the discount could be however much a plastic bag would normally cost you. just an idea 🙂
I’m going to visit a couple of nearby Panaderia’s here in my area to see if they’ll sell bread to me in my bag.
Ooops! That was very poor grammar! I meant to say, I find that my bakery rolls and bread stay fresh when I ……… . Sorry, I haven’t had my coffee yet!! LOL
I find that if I store my bakery rolls and bread stay fresher when I wrap them in paper towels. Then, I keep them in an air tight container away from any heat, or light. They stay “fresh” for at least 3 days. If some don’t “survive”, I make croutons!
I’ve occasionally stored my fresh-baked bread, after it has cooled completely, in a crockpot, a Dutch oven, a cookie jar, and a large flour canister. A vented container would seem to be necessary only if the loaf is still warm and therefore producing water vapor, which can condense on the walls of a container and make the outside of the loaf wet in places.
I make my own bread most of the time, with a recipe that produces three loaves. I store two in the freezer (cloth bags) and I store the third under a cake dome. The base broke, but the top is intact. So I simply place the loaf on a marble board and the dome on top. It stays moist but does not get moldy.
I just started the process of trying to go plastic free after switching to a plant based diet in january. But the further I get the more frustrated I am feeling. Is there really anyway to be plastic FREE? I make my bread, followed your wonderful tip to store in a bread bag. made one, and it works wonderfully. I made a beeswax impregnated cloth to replace plastic wrap. i store my refridgerator things in glass bowls with dishes as a lid. I bought a glass pitcher to replace my plastic. But now comes the hard part. I bought a glass canister yesterday for flour, oats, etc. But then I start thinking. When I buy my flour, oats, sugar etc they come in plastic coated cardboard containers or plastic bags. Sure you can go to a bulk store. But freq these are already bagged in plastic. if they arent I cant imagine they come to that store in large glass or stainless steel containers. If I switch when I get it home, it may help, but really how much? Am I really accomplishing anything after all this effort? My non dairy milk comes in cardboard, nuts in plastic,etc
The bulk store is the answer for reducing plastic waste. Yes, a lot of those products do come packaged in larger plastic bags, which is why I call it a “less plastic” strategy rather than “plastic-free.” But the thing to remember is that there is much less packaging when you purchase in bulk than when you buy individual plastic packaged. It’s hard to avoid the “behind the scenes” plastic, but we can all reduce the amount of plastic that we ourselves are in control of, and it sounds like you are doing a great job. So try not to get overwhelmed or frustrated. Just keep taking it a step at a time.
You must check out Abeego from Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island. Works like a charm!
I tried Abeego and other wax wraps and reviewed them here:/2013/12/replace-plastic-wrap-with-beeswax-cloth-wraps/
I make my own bread in six loaf batches and them freeze them (in plastic bags). Any alternative suggestions for storing them in the freezer for about 3 weeks?
Of ALL the suggestions for storing bread that one eats everyday, most of which suggest some form of plastic/synthetic, yours makes the most sense and the one I will try first, albeit in a ceramic rather than metal vessel IF I can find one the lid of which is sealed with a ring made from pure rubber tree latex – a tall order but all thanks to your idea! Thanks(:
I think in the “old days” people did not store bread, they just ate it. Second-day bread became french toast or was dipped in a soup/sauce, and third-day bread became crumbs for stuffing.
Pillow cases can be used as bread bags too 🙂 Put the bread into the pillow case and wrap a soft elastic band around it.
We don’t each enough bread for a whole loaf to last without getting stale or moldy. What I do is buy a loaf of bread from the bakery or farmers market (especially if it’s the end of the day and they’re half off!) take it home and slice it in half. Half, I put in the freezer wrapped in foil-the other half, we keep in a bag (I did re-use plastic ones, but that won’t be the case anymore!) and slice as needed. When we finish that one, I take the frozen loaf out and just let it defrost on the counter and it’s great!
well foil is not a great material either!!
I started making the Artisian Bread in 5 minutes which is good for you and frugal (44 cents a loaf) because my husband loves bread. Now I have perfected the sandwich load and I don’t see why I can’t store it in the non-stick metal Pullman pan which has a lid on it. It would be nice to not have to buy a bunch of stuff, but I do not think it is air tight.
Thanks for the article, which effectively highlights two very distinct segments of the population; those trying to eradicate plastics from their lives and those just trying not to swallow the bread clips.
Perry, you should write my posts for me. They’d be much more succinct… and funny. Thanks for the laugh today. I needed it.
Hi Beth, did I read somewhere that you’d transitioned to a bread box for some reason. Is there an update?
Do boxes keep bugs out? I fear the weevil.
Great idea! We do re-use the plastic bags we get storebought bread in. But I’ve been storing my homemade bread in plastic bags that I bought at King Arthur flour, not realizing there were alternatives. I’m going to make some cloth bread bags and see what we can scrounge up for a tin. Also appreciate the reminder to use aluminum foil to freeze loaves.
Hi,
I’m currently collecting plastic bread tags for a upcycle craft project. If you’re interested in sending them my way instead of the landfills, email me at thoeyngo@gmail.com
Thank you!
EcoMonsters
I recently bought a loaf of Fresh Baked Bread , besides the cost of it the taste is better as well . I slice pieces individually with my electric slicer into various sizes . When done I put bread back into cellophane bag then into a plastic after ridding any air after which I put it in my microwave oven for storage , thats as well is semi- air tight , It works , cost and taste is better .
You really want to prevent using breaf tie. They are made out of PVC which is not biodegradeable. Plus the price of recycling this material as gone down so much that nobody wants them anymore. We need to pressure bread companies to use other ways to close bread. See this Facebook page (mostly french) for more info. !/pages/Attaches/278592371161
Thank you, Pierre. Just added the page to Fake Plastic Fish page. Great campaign.
Wouldn’t the tins be lined with BPA also? I mean, if they’re more recent tins?
Thank you for the post, though. I was wondering how to handle this. 😀
Hi, Jenna. Actually, the tin is not lined with BPA. It’s not lined with anything. BPA is used to line cans that come into direct contact with wet food. This tin is not lined, and it’s also not rust-proof, so I have to remember to dry it out completely each time I rinse it out!
I store my bread in my tummy!
Fresh, crusty bread never lasts long enough in our house for us to need any type of storage! Yum!
Of late, I’ve been buying bread at a discount food store — Pepperidge Farms brand — which I don’t feel as bad about.
When I bake bread at home or buy an “artisan” loaf, though, we cut off a slice at a time, and then store the bread cut-side-down on a cutting board on the counter. The bread inside stays soft, and the outside stays crunchy. 🙂
This is fantastic! Thank you Beth! I’ve been thinking about tins and cloth bags, but it is so encouraging to hear that it actually WORKS! Thank you!
What a great use for the Popcorn Factory tins! Mine usually end up as wastebaskets or reused the following Christmas as gift wrapping.
Now you’ve got me wanting to bake bread.
Hi Beth! I haven’t looked at your blog in a while. It is really great and fun to read. We happen to have a really old house with big metal lined drawers that I think were intended for dry goods, so we put our bread in there and it stays pretty fresh. We buy our bread from several of the great bakeries in Berkeley and usually eat it right away, so it doesn’t have much of a chance to go stale and we try to re-use the paper bags over and over again. Just say “no” to plastic!
“The article doesn’t explain why people are eating bread clips, but it does go into graphic detail about the horrible things that happen in their intestines afterwards.”
Build a bigger audience. Include the gore!
Hey beth,
I’ve just started making my own bread myself. Over the summer holidays my Nan taught be how to make Maori Rewana bread, which is sorta like a sourdough bread. It’s really easy once you’ve got the bug going and the process right.
Coming from a humid area on the east coast of New Zealand, I usually keep it in the fridge wrapped in a tea towel or used plastic bag. This usually works all good. However, when it does start to get a bit past I find it’s still all good for toast. Microwaving on defrost also helps remoisture the bread.
SouleMama had a wonderful post last spring with these incredible bread bags that she made with her kids.
I’m not quite as classy and crafty as she is (ok, not at all), but I was inspired by her to start storing our bread in cloth bags. We use the ones from sheet sets. You know, when you buy a sheet set it comes in a little cotton bag? We store bread in them.
Her bread bags are easy to make and beautiful though, if you’re looking for a weekend project.
I have another “bread clip” danger: they break dishwashers! Really! One very expensive service call later, I’ve learned my lesson. Muslin in Tin for me!
I am so excited to read all these ideas for storing bread. I, too, live in a (mostly) hot, humid climate in Florida, and keeping bread is a nightmare. We like different kinds of bread for different reasons, and so we usually have 2 or even 3 kinds to save from mold.
I feel guilty because I store in plastics bags (and often buy it in plastic bags because that is the only way it comes in some cases. Some of you have inspired me to start backing bread again.
And the tins are a fantastic idea. I will be on the lookout for a breadbox or perhaps I can convince my husband to make us one for us.
I don’t enjoy bread enough or consider it healthful enough to buy it, but I will occasionally bake it for a treat. I keep it in a glass container or wrapped in foil, then store it in the microwave. The latter is largely to preclude feline interference, but I presume it may have some of the qualities of a bread box. I often freeze half wrapped in foil because it is a challenge to eat it all in time.
Aloha Beth! I bake my own bread and after it cools, I wrap it in a pretty cotton kitchen towel– I have towels dedicated to this use only. When I give loaves away to friends, I give it away in a towel– later the friends usually return the towel, it works out well. I live in high humidity (Hawaii) and the bread stays moist for about five days in the towel. But it’s usually all eaten by then anyway! I’d love to find an old fashioned bread box.
I have used just a cloth bag, and it’s good for a day or two (like paper). I never considered putting the cloth bag inside something else, though, that’s a great idea!
I’m with Andrea. Artisan Bread in Five MInutes has changed my bread life, too!
Have been using old reused plastic to store, but will try Beth’s popcorn tin method. I have recently purchased several of them at the local Goodwill for storage and bulk shopping, but hadn’t thought to store bread in them.
@Rob… We bought a bread box and kept forgetting that the bread was in there. When we’d clean it out to start over, our pet bird would take up residence in it and begin to nest.
Our bread now lives in the fridge to keep it lasting longer (and to keep us from forgetting it).
I thought about you and your blog today at work… having a dozen kiddies run up with their valentines in plastic bags (also had that Canvas Bag song playing all day in my head, but that’s another story).
I’m going to have to ask the local bakery about bringing my own “container” for bread. I adore their bread but other than the bird, we don’t eat bread that often so running to the bakery for bread that we would never finish didn’t make sense. I would consider switching and even sharing with the bird if I could get it at the local shop sans plastic. 🙂
Thanks Beth. I really like the way you have step by step pictures and story. You make it much easier for me take the actions and you make it doable. I very much appreciate what you are doing as I care about nature and want to do my best. I am always trying to think of ways to do things better and you help with your work.
Great idea…now I need to find a niced sized tin. If you ever want to make your own bread this is seriously the easiest and best recipe ever: https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/five-minutes-a-day-for-fresh-baked-bread-zmaz08djzgoe
Anyone can make it and if you do the large amount then you can create 8 loaves of fresh bread a week. If not it can be stored in your fridge until you use it up. It’s really the best…:)
Thanks again for the great tip!
Great post. Cool idea about the tins! Yesssss!
I have no tricks on keeping bread fresh, Let alone a tupperware (which is not something you would use) . I reuse bags over and over to keep bread fresh. And I keep my bread in a bread box. (as in is it bigger than a) I bought my bread box off of ebay, Because ie reminded me of the one that sat on my grandma’s counter for years. And like grandma I find i keep a variety of items in it! But sadly know no ways to keep bread fresh, other than the ones you already mentioned.
I have a bread drawer that is part of my cabinets. It is lined with metal but I don’t think it is air tight so I keep the bread in a —–PLASTIC BAG! I know that is terrible since I blog about getting rid of plastic. I use the same bag all the time, but I need to find a different way to keep bread in the drawer, maybe cloth that is tightly woven. We always make our own bread in a bread machine. When that breaks, I will make it by hand as I use to do 15 years ago.
How weird! I JUST wrote a post about our first attempts at making bread… without ANY mixers. And how happy I was with the process (especially since I am SO far from a baker).
I was thinking about how to preserve my bread without wrapping plastic-saran wrap around it (ick!). I have some cloth that would be perfect and now just need a tin or bread box 🙂
also- as an aside, in elementary school we had a drive to collect “un million milli” which means 1 million bread bag clips (I went to a French school). It took from grade primary until grade 6 or 8, and then they were all recycled. seriously, I have no idea who thought up the idea on how to teach children the concept of one million….. but counting all those “milli” were a pain in the butt.
at least they were recycled… :S
You never want to store bread in the fridge – either at room temperature, or in the freezer.
I have a friend who goes through very little bread. She buys a loaf, slices it up, then pops all the slices into the freezer. Whenever she wants a slice, she just thaws it out! So clever!
Thrift stores are an awesome place to buy bread machines, too. I bought mine at a thrift store for $7 and WOW have I gotten my money’s worth!
And never use pre-packaged bread machine bread mixes. Always just use flour and yeast and stuff, there are tons of bread machine recipes.
All the bread you get at the local bakeries gets wrapped in paper when you take it home. Everybody I know (including me) always stores bread in a bread box, it works best all around. So I was surprised to read in that wikipedia article that bread boxes “used” to be common. I have one made out of wood (and some plastic :-(); my mother has one made out of some kind of metal. The only household I know that has no breadbox is so big that they eat one loaf per day, thus having no need for it 🙂 Somtimes we also freeze a loaf, it keeps quite a while.
We have a tin bread box:) I do buy a lot of bread in plastic bags. But there is one local bakery that sells its bread in paper bags at the farmers’ market and in plastic bags in some of the grocery stores. I cannot local non wheat bread except in a plastic bag with a twist tie:( It is almost impossible to get my 18 year old son to eat anything that I am wiling to buy so bread and bagels in plastic bags are not going to be gone from my house anytime soon.
Great post though and I’ll have to see about storing more bread not in plastic. I do freeze a lot of the non wheat bread and I haven’t figured out a way to do that without plastic bags.
i’m like erin and keep my bread in my freezer because normally it will go stale before we can eat a whole loaf of my homemade bread. but i like this cloth idea – i might try that inside my bread box to see if it will last longer than just being in the bread box alone. thanks.
Agree with Eleanor – you can shove me around anytime, Beth. There’s a great Harvest Bread store right next to the grocery store where I stop in sometimes. This is totally do-able.
And yes, I think the “How did they do it in the old days?” is a great overall philosophy for tackling the whole plastic problem.
Oooh, I want to know what baker that is! It looks great. And I’m always on the lookout for good bread.
I make my own bread and have been storing it in plastic bags in the freezer. I recently read that the best fabric for storing bread is linen, so I plan to make some linen bread bags soon. Our problem is that we either go through bread really fast and then have no bread to eat until the next baking day, or no one feels like eating a sandwich for several days and the bread goes bad. When I keep my freezer stocked with bread, I don’t have that problem – there’s always a fresh loaf when we’re ready for it. Why can’t someone invent a freezer container for bread?
Wow! A tin…ingenious. I make my own bread (living somewhere where good, unwrapped bakery bread is rare) but store it in re-used plastic bags. I want to run home right now and try this!
If you do ever want to try baking your own bread, check out “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”. It changed my life.
Also my husband heard a report on the radio that the food packaging industry is trying to make selling unpackaged bread illegal!!
Also, to see how you’ve inspired one reader, check out my post here: http://remainsofday.blogspot.com/2010/02/getting-plastic-out-stage-one.html
Andrea, thanks for letting me know about the campaign against unpackaged bread. Do you think you’d be able to find some info on it or ask your husband where he heard it?
Well, I admit to not baking as much bread as I used to with things getting busier here. (We don’t have any bakeries like you do close by.) However, I do find the time to bake dog treats, corn bread and the occasional batch of breakfast cookies or muffins. When I do, I have airtight tins as well. Although, in Florida I have to make smaller batches and consume them quickly due to mold. I tried putting the tins in the fridge, but then moisture condensed and I got rusting and soggy bread in the tin. It does work, though. You just can’t do large batches and expect them to last. I’m going to try homemade crackers next.
Ok, that was the shove I needed (Beth, you are so good at that!).
I am all for buying fresh baked bread, supporting local bakeries, eating healthier. However I am extremely anti wheat for my own personal consumption – not by choice, I’d love to eat the stuff, my tummy says otherwise.
That puts a huge limit on what I can manage to buy and where. There is one bakery that I’ve heard of in the tri-state area that sells fresh wheat-free bread at 50% more than the standard cost of wheat-free, which is a LOT. My attempts at creating wheat-free bread from not-so-plastic-free scratch have resulted in unappetizing results and more plastic waste than store-bought frozen loves.
But this was the shove I needed. I can make sandwiches out of pancakes, and wheat-free, plastic-free, cheap pancake mix is doable, store-bought or scratch ingredients. I guess I’ll just get better at making crepes. Because otherwise I WILL be that person who swallows a bread tie accidentally, I just know it. I don’t know how, but it’ll happen, and it won’t be pretty.
Thank you for the nudge!
I am going to keep a bread tin in mind when I shop from now on. I have a fabric bread bag but its lined in , you guessed it, plastic. Blah!
Do you remember bread crispers? My mom had one. It kept all bread products including cereal nice and crisp. You can store your bread in it if you don’t mind it being crisp.. I saw one on the web here. https://www.fantes.com/brisker-elite-electric-crisper. It is aluminum and electric but supposedly consumes very little electricity.
I actually keep my bread machine bread in a plastic zip lock bag and reuse it over and over again.