Can you freeze bread?

Bread goes stale through starch retrogradation, where the gelatinised starch recrystallises and pushes water out. That process runs fastest just above freezing, which is why a fridge stales bread faster than a counter. Below −18 °C it effectively stops, so frozen bread stays close to the state it went in. Slicing before freezing means you can take out what you need and toast it straight from frozen, which reverses retrogradation on the way through.

How to do it properly

1. Slice the loaf before freezing
2. Double-bag or wrap tightly to keep the crust from drying out
3. Toast slices from frozen, adding a minute to the usual setting
4. For a whole loaf, thaw wrapped at room temperature, then refresh at 180 °C for 10 minutes

What goes wrong

• Poorly wrapped bread picks up freezer burn and tastes of the freezer
• Crusty loaves lose their crust crispness unless refreshed in the oven

Other "can you freeze" questions

• Can you freeze cheese? It depends — Yes, and it stays safe indefinitely — but hard cheese comes out crumbly and soft cheese comes out wet.
• Can you freeze milk? Yes — Yes — leave headspace for expansion and shake it hard after thawing.
• Can you freeze eggs? It depends — Not in the shell. Beat them first, or freeze whites on their own.
• Can you freeze bananas? Yes — Yes — peel and slice them first, because the peel turns black and welds itself on.
• Can you freeze cooked rice? Yes — Yes, and freezing quickly is the safest way to keep leftover rice.
• Can you freeze raw chicken twice? It depends — Only if it thawed in the fridge and never got above 4 °C (40 °F).
• Can you freeze breast milk? Yes — Yes — freeze it flat in bags, and use within six months for best quality.
• Can you freeze avocado? It depends — Yes, but only as a purée — frozen slices go grey and watery.
• Can you freeze soup? It depends — Yes for most soups; cream, milk and potato-based ones separate or go grainy.
• Can you freeze butter? Yes — Yes — butter freezes better than almost anything else in the fridge.
• Can you freeze cooked pasta? Yes — Yes — undercook it slightly and toss it in oil first, or it thaws into a solid block.
• Can you freeze mashed potatoes? Yes — Yes — mash with plenty of butter or cream, which protects the texture through freezing.