We often think we’re doing the right thing by slipping the day’s baguette into a pretty fabric bag placed on the work surface. Yet when temperatures rise or the bread needs to last more than a day, many end up with dry crumb and a crust that has lost its charm. This gesture, automatic in many households, is today debated among bakery professionals.
At the heart of this reassessment, one name keeps coming up: José Roldán, crowned World’s Best Baker 2025 by the International Union of Bakers and Pastry Chefs (UIBC). This Spanish master advocates a very simple method to keep bread fresh for several weeks without losing the softness of the crumb or the crust’s crunch. His answer isn’t found in cloth or paper bags, but in another habit to adopt.
Why the cloth bag doesn’t keep bread fresh for long
Fabric and paper bags let air circulate around the bread. This aeration preserves a crust that is quite dry, pleasant to the touch and to tasting. When it’s hot or when the baguette remains on the counter for several days, that same air also carries away part of the moisture trapped in the crumb, which hardens much faster than expected.
Experts remind that fresh bread naturally loses water after baking, up to 1 to 2% of its weight, which explains why it dries out over the hours. Placed in a container that allows air to pass, this phenomenon accelerates further. The cloth bag stays suitable for consumption within the day, provided you keep the bread in a cool, dry place, but it quickly shows its limits as soon as you aim for several days of shelf life.
José Roldán’s method to keep bread fresh for several weeks
Facing this, José Roldán defends a solution deemed more reliable: bread freezing. For him, the mistake is letting the baguette go stale on the work surface before wrapping it. He recommends cutting the bread into slices on the day of purchase, while it is still very fresh, then immediately placing these portions in the freezer. When properly applied, this strategy keeps bread pleasant for several weeks, according to Trendencias.
This approach changes daily life: you only take out the necessary amount, never wasting an opened loaf. To achieve truly satisfying results over several weeks, bakers suggest a few simple practices.
- freeze the bread while it is still fresh;
- slice it into individual portions rather than as a whole loaf;
- slide the slices into a hermetically sealed freezer bag, pushing out as much air as possible;
- label the bag to track storage duration.
Reheating frozen bread and using a plastic bag as a backup
Freezing alone is not enough: at mealtime, the key is reheating. Experts explain that a few minutes in the oven, toaster, or air fryer are enough to restore a soft crumb and a crust close to that of a fresh loaf. The same devices easily fix a loaf that has become soft after a spell in a plastic bag.
The plastic bag also serves as a stopgap solution when you don’t want to freeze. It retains more moisture than cloth or paper, which limits the crumb from drying out during hot periods, even if the crust loses some of its crunch. By combining this type of protection for short-term storage with a quick warming in the oven, everyone can tailor bread storage to their life pace and the current temperatures.
