How To Freeze And Thaw Bread
As essential as bread is to your pantry, it is unfortunately not one of those groceries with a surprisingly long shelf life. There is one workaround to that, however — freezing it. Here are some hacks for freezing and defrosting different types of bread for your consumption.
It should be noted that, when planning dinner using the ingredients in your freezer, food can keep indefinitely when frozen at zero degrees Fahrenheit or colder. However, for best results in terms of flavor, freezer life varies from food to food.
Sliced bread
When freezing sliced bread, you should first wrap it tightly in plastic wrap before sealing it in a zip-lock bag and placing it in the freezer, where it's good for three to six months before it loses flavor.
While you could leave the bread out to thaw at room temperature, this could possibly cause it to become stale. A better method would be to microwave the slices uncovered on a plate at high power for 15 to 25 seconds.
Unsliced bread
If you've bought an entire unsliced loaf, or baked it yourself, wrap it in foil then seal it in a zip-lock bag.
To thaw, you can place the frozen loaf in a 450-degree oven while still wrapped in the foil. Leave the loaf in there for 10 to 15 minutes before removing it, taking off the foil and placing it back in the oven for another minute or two to get that nice, crisp crust.
Hamburger buns
In order to properly freeze hamburger buns, make sure to wrap each bun individually in either foil or plastic wrap before placing it in a larger freezer bag. You should then wrap the entire freezer bag tightly in some foil before freezing.
Hamburger buns are best used within three months of freezing. To defrost the buns, pull the bag out of the freezer and leave it on the counter at room temperature. A single bun may need 15 to 20 minutes to defrost, while you might have to wait up to an hour before pulling a full bag of buns out of their packaging. Once they've thawed, go ahead and use them for tasty burger recipes.
Hot dog buns
Hot dog buns are best used within three months of freezing. In order to preserve them, they should also be wrapped individually in foil before being stored in a larger bag, from which you should remove as much air as you can before sealing. If you have an unopened bag of hot dog buns, it can go straight in the freezer. It's recommended that you use them within a month, although their flavor is still good for up to three months.
To thaw, remove the hot dogs and allow them to sit individually at room temperature in the foil for 15 to 20 minutes.