Freshly baked bread is one of the best things on earth, don’t you think? There’s something about holding a warm loaf in your hands and smelling the aroma that makes everything right. But that’s a rare case.
We usually eat store bought bread and not the fresh ne out from the oven.
But, how the stores keep the bread fresh for long? Do they freeze bread?
Let’s find out!
Do Grocery Stores Freeze Bread?
Yes, most of the grocery stores freeze their bread products or store them in a cool environment.
The bread is stored in a specific set temperature designed to keep the bread fresh. The average freezing temperature for bread is -20 degrees Celsius.
The bread from these stores is as fresh as the bread you would bake at home. In fact the freezing of bread is a common practice since it helps to preserve the bread for a longer duration and that is why grocery stores choose this option as it’s more convenient for them to store this way.
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1. To Preserve For Long
You might be surprised to learn that most grocery stores freeze the bread they sell in order to preserve it longer. In fact, 90% of loaves of bread sold in supermarkets are frozen at some point before they reach the end consumer.
In order to understand why grocery stores freeze their bread, you have to know a little about how bread goes stale. Bread has two enemies when it comes to going stale: water and air. When water is present in the slices, the starch molecules start to break down which causes them to taste stale and become hard or rubbery over time. Air causes similar effect as well as staling the bread much quickly.
Depending on the storage method, the ingredients used, and the type of bread, the length of time that bread can be stored at room temperature can vary, but it generally falls within the range of 3 to 7 days.[1]
2. To Preserve The Taste
Grocery stores freeze bread to preserve its freshness. When you visit the bakery section at your local grocery store, you will notice that the shelf life of the bread is quite long.
This is because bread is frozen right after it comes out of the oven. The bagels are too placed in sealed bags or wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and dried freeze and then stacked up on shelves until they are sold.
This way, they remain fresh for a longer period of time than if they were just sitting there in plain view at room temperature.
3. Avoiding Bacterial Over Growth
Most of the breads get frozen prior to sale in grocery stores. This is because freezing bread stops the growth of mold and yeast that can occur when bread is left for too long on store shelves.
Freezing your bread before it hits the shelves protects you from eating moldy or stale loaves. It also ensures that there are no excess bacteria growing in your loaf when you buy it. So next time you’re shopping, know that if you see anything other than “fresh” stamped across the packaging, then it’s been frozen before getting to your table!
