The short answer
Keep it in a bread bin or a paper bag at room temperature, never in the fridge. The fridge is the fastest way to stale bread there is.
- Room temperature, in something breathable. A bread bin or a paper bag lets moisture escape slowly, which is what you want.
- A sealed plastic bag keeps it soft but goes mouldy quickly, because the moisture stays in.
- The freezer is the real answer for anything you will not eat within two days. Slice it first and take out what you need.
- Toasting revives it, because the heat temporarily reverses some of the staling.
What will ruin it
Never keep bread in the fridge. Staling is not drying out, it is starch recrystallising, and that happens fastest at fridge temperature. Bread goes stale several times faster in a fridge than on the counter.
Why it works
Starch molecules that were disordered by baking gradually return to an ordered crystal structure, and that process peaks just above freezing. It is why frozen bread stays fresh and refrigerated bread does not.
Tipking is general household information, not professional advice. Test anything on a hidden patch first. Full disclaimer.
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