How to Store Sourdough Bread So It Actually Stays Good

You spent two days on this loaf. Then you put it in a plastic bag on the counter and by Wednesday the crust is leather and the middle is stale.

Storing bread is a trade-off between two things going wrong in opposite directions: the crust going soft, and the crumb going dry. No method wins both. Here's how to pick which one you'd rather lose.

The first 24 hours: do almost nothing

A fresh loaf with an intact crust doesn't need storing at all. The crust is the packaging. Leave it cut-side down on a wooden board or the counter and it'll be excellent the next morning.

Cut-side down matters more than anything else you can do on day one. It seals the exposed crumb against the board, so moisture stays in and the crust stays crisp everywhere else. A cutting board doubles as the storage.

What you should not do on day one: a plastic bag. Within a few hours the moisture leaving the crumb condenses on the inside of the crust and softens it permanently. You cannot get a crisp crust back once it's gone soft twice.

Days two to four: pick your compromise

Linen or a cotton tea towel

Wrap it loosely. The cloth slows moisture loss but still breathes, so the crust stays reasonably crisp. This is the classic method and the best all-rounder for a loaf you'll finish within three days.

A bread box

Holds a middling humidity — crust softens a bit, crumb stays fresher longer. Better than cloth from day three onwards.

Paper bag

Keeps the crust crisp, lets the crumb dry fastest. Good for one day, poor for three.

Plastic bag

The one thing plastic does well: it keeps the crumb soft for days. It also destroys the crust completely. If you're making sandwiches rather than eating slices with butter, that's a reasonable trade — just make it deliberately.

Never the fridge

This is the one hard rule. Refrigerator temperature is the fastest possible zone for starch retrogradation — the process that makes bread stale. Bread goes stale several times faster at 4°C than at room temperature.

It feels like it should help. It does the opposite. The only exception is if your kitchen is genuinely hot and humid enough that mould is the bigger risk, in which case freeze instead.

Freezing: the actual answer for most households

If you bake one large loaf and two people eat it over five days, freezing half on day one is better than any counter method. Frozen bread stops ageing entirely.

Slice first. This is the whole trick. A frozen whole loaf has to be thawed entirely; frozen slices come out one at a time and go straight into the toaster from frozen, no thawing.

Wrap tightly — a freezer bag with the air pressed out, or the loaf wrapped in cling film then a bag. Freezer burn is just dehydration, and air is what causes it. Good for about three months.

To bring a whole frozen loaf back: thaw at room temperature in its wrapping, then put it in a 180°C oven for ten minutes. The crust re-crisps and it's close to fresh. There's more detail in our guide to freezing sourdough.

Reviving a loaf that's gone hard

Stale isn't dry — it's starch recrystallising, and heat reverses it. Run the crust briefly under the tap, shake off the excess, and bake at 190°C for 8–12 minutes. It comes out remarkably good, and stays good for a few hours before going stale again faster than before. Do it just before eating.

How long should it last?

A properly fermented sourdough keeps noticeably better than commercial bread — the acidity slows mould. Expect three to five days on the counter in good condition, longer than a yeasted loaf would manage.

If yours is going hard by day two, the loaf may be underfermented or the crust may have been broken early. Our guide to dense sourdough covers the fermentation side.

Carrying it somewhere

If you give bread away — and most bakers end up doing this weekly — a cloth-wrapped loaf in a canvas tote arrives in far better condition than one in a plastic bag, which will have sweated by the time you get there.

Questions we get asked

Should sourdough be stored in the fridge?

No. Fridge temperature is the fastest zone for staling — bread goes stale several times quicker there than on the counter. Freeze it instead if you need to keep it beyond a few days.

What's the best way to store a cut loaf?

Cut side flat down on a wooden board for the first day or two, then loosely wrapped in a linen or cotton cloth. Plastic only if you want a soft crumb and don't mind losing the crust.

How long does sourdough last?

Three to five days at room temperature, better than commercial bread because the acidity slows mould. Sliced and frozen, about three months.

Can you refresh stale bread?

Yes — wet the crust under the tap and bake at 190°C for 8–12 minutes. It's genuinely close to fresh, but only for a few hours, so do it right before eating.