Success Freezing Homemade Bread?

[torie224]

Hi all,

Here's the problem I've run into: I've made my own gluten-free bread/ buns etc. Fresh out of the oven, my husband says they taste great. If I put the leftovers in the fridge, they get hard within a day. I've tried leaving them on the counter in plastic wrap and a plastic bag, but the bread gets moldy after a few days. Has anyone had any success with freezing bread? I hate wasting the food and my husband doesn't particularly care for any of the gluten-free breads out on the market.

[jerseyangel]

Hi all,

Here's the problem I've run into: I've made my own gluten-free bread/ buns etc. Fresh out of the oven, my husband says they taste great. If I put the leftovers in the fridge, they get hard within a day. I've tried leaving them on the counter in plastic wrap and a plastic bag, but the bread gets moldy after a few days. Has anyone had any success with freezing bread? I hate wasting the food and my husband doesn't particularly care for any of the gluten-free breads out on the market.

Hi and welcome!

You really need to freeze most gluten-free breads, as you are discovering . I slice and freeze right after the bread cools off from baking.

[missy'smom]

Yes, make sure the bread is completely cooled to room temp before slicing. I will often let it cool down, wrap and slice it the very next day. Then, place sheets of parchment paper between individual(for toast) or between two slices(for sandwiches)so that I don't have problems with them sticking together. I freeze in gallon ziplock baggies, double bagged. Most gluten-free breads benefit from toasting or warming up very slightly in the microwave.

[ciavyn]

Yes, make sure the bread is completely cooled to room temp before slicing. I will often let it cool down, wrap and slice it the very next day. Then, place sheets of parchment paper between individual(for toast) or between two slices(for sandwiches)so that I don't have problems with them sticking together. I freeze in gallon ziplock baggies, double bagged. Most gluten-free breads benefit from toasting or warming up very slightly in the microwave.

I second this suggestion! I slice mine, eat the desired amount, then wrap each individual piece in foil, drop in a freezer bag and freeze. That way I can pull out one piece at a time to enjoy. I do the same with gluten free dessert breads and brownies, too.

[Juliebove]

The only kind I've had success with are muffins. I make the zucchini bread recipe from this site, leaving out the nuts and eggs and subbing in some ground flax meal. I do them as muffins because that just seems to work out better for me. If I do a loaf, there is no way we can eat it all before it goes bad, and it seems to be easier to freeze the muffins. I pack them in sandwich bags, then put them in a larger Zippered plastic bag and freeze.

[luvs2eat]

I use Pamela's bread mix. I make it in a loaf or into rolls or even into bagels. They freeze beautifully. I slice the bread loaf into slices and freeze two slices in zip lock bags. The rolls and bagels I put into a big zip lock and then I can take them out individually.

I also made the gluten free Artisan loaf and that froze beautifully too.

[newgfcali]

One additional thing to try when you put individual slices in ziplocks...

Take a straw and stick it in the bag on one side. Then zip up the bag as far as the straw. Suck all of the air out of the bag (mmmmmmm... tastes like bread), then quickly withdraw the straw and zip it up the rest of the way.

It's the same concept as those vacuum bag thingies, but you can't use those on bread. The vacuum is so strong it crushes all of the air out of the bread itself. I know. I've tried it.

[freeatlast]

I freeze pieces of cake and cupcakes made with sorghum/buckwheat flours in individual sandwich bags (Walmart brand). They actually taste BETTER after they're frozen. Good luck to you freezing yours

[Takala]

I bake quick breads with almond meal, amaranth, sorghum, and sometimes millet flour. I use olive oil generously, and no dairy, just water for the liquid, plus eggs and the other ingredients, baking soda and cider vinegar for the leavening, and they seem to keep a long time in the refrigerator for me. I do them in a small 8" cast iron skillet started on the stove and finished under the broiler, then cut them into quarters to make triangles, and store on a plate wrapped in plastic wrap or a heavy zip baggy when cooled. I've not had them go moldy even up to a week. A split triangle makes a small sandwich.

When I've taken the same recipe and done it as a small loaf pan, it also doesn't mold when refrigerated, but it dries out a bit and is better for toast after the first 2 days.

I'm not sure what's going on here, but it's interesting. Apparently almond and amaranth and vinegar and honey are less likely to spoil than rice and sugar concoctions.

I've been playing with the bun in a cup, single serving microwave gluten-free bread recipe a lot, and that is really dry unless you add oil to it, then it's moist with the above gluten-free flours, as long as I add both extra flours and extra water to make it a little bigger, and use the soda and vinegar leavening. The first time I stuck to the original recipe and ended up with a bitter tasting hockey puck. I was appalled, then experimented. The bun in the cup, once baked, does seem to dry out in the refrigerator faster, once cooled and stored in plastic wrap. I haven't tried storing one in the fridge for several days to see what it does, being smaller, it tends to get eaten quickly.

[Ginsou]

I bake quick breads with almond meal, amaranth, sorghum, and sometimes millet flour. I use olive oil generously, and no dairy, just water for the liquid, plus eggs and the other ingredients, baking soda and cider vinegar for the leavening, and they seem to keep a long time in the refrigerator for me. I do them in a small 8" cast iron skillet started on the stove and finished under the broiler, then cut them into quarters to make triangles, and store on a plate wrapped in plastic wrap or a heavy zip baggy when cooled. I've not had them go moldy even up to a week. A split triangle makes a small sandwich.

When I've taken the same recipe and done it as a small loaf pan, it also doesn't mold when refrigerated, but it dries out a bit and is better for toast after the first 2 days.

I'm not sure what's going on here, but it's interesting. Apparently almond and amaranth and vinegar and honey are less likely to spoil than rice and sugar concoctions.

I've been playing with the bun in a cup, single serving microwave gluten-free bread recipe a lot, and that is really dry unless you add oil to it, then it's moist with the above gluten-free flours, as long as I add both extra flours and extra water to make it a little bigger, and use the soda and vinegar leavening. The first time I stuck to the original recipe and ended up with a bitter tasting hockey puck. I was appalled, then experimented. The bun in the cup, once baked, does seem to dry out in the refrigerator faster, once cooled and stored in plastic wrap. I haven't tried storing one in the fridge for several days to see what it does, being smaller, it tends to get eaten quickly.

I also freeze bread slices after the loaf has cooled. I put a piece of parchment paper between every 2 slices, then put them in a lock n lock container.

Simply take out the number of slices you need, and return the rest to the freezer.