Can I Put Sliced Bread in a Bread Box?

One food that remains an all-time favorite in households is bread! Ever since man found a way to make this delicious scrumptious piece of heaven, it has become a staple food that never goes out of season.

But, do you know what is better than the discovery of bread? The invention of sliced bread!

Pre-sliced bread was introduced into the world by Otto Frederick Rohwedder in 1928, and it became an instant success. And with the creation of bread came the invention of bread storage equipment, the bread box.

Now, this wonderful bread-storing equipment turned out to be more than its name implied. The bread box can be used to store a variety of baked goods from whole-grain loaves of bread to buns, dry cookies, and many more.

Sliced Bread in a Bread Box? Do they go along?

As the love and popularity of sliced bread grew, people began to look for ways to keep their go-to food fresh for as long as they could. Coming up with different ways and methods in answer to the question of sliced bread freshness preservation.

And so, we have decided to give answers to this question. After extensive research, we arrived at two answers; one good and one not so-good.

The first answer is “No, you cannot put sliced bread in a bread box, and here is the reason why:

The bread box was created to keep bread fresh by maintaining the humidity and airflow in the enclosed region of the box. In areas with high humidity, the bread, if exposed to open air will absorb more moisture making it more susceptible to growing mold and softening that warm hard crust we all love.

In unsliced bread, the area of bread exposed is smaller. When placed in a bread box, you’ll notice that the cut exposed part hardens a little. But, when you slice a piece, you’ll observe that the inside is still moist and soft.

This is what happens to sliced bread inside a bread box. Since we have more exposed cut areas, we have more bread surfaces exposed to air.

So, the bread slices begin to harden on the cut sides which are almost all of the bread. This makes using a bread box as a freshness preservation method for sliced bread a bad choice.

The second answer is “Yes, you can use a bread box to store sliced bread on one condition.”

If you do not mind having your bread squished together, then storing it in a bread box might work for you. You will have to compress the bread slices together to eliminate the spaces between each slice and form a pseudo whole unsliced loaf.

This will minimize the cuts exposed and help retain moisture and the soft chewy insides.

Picking a Bread Box for Your Sliced Bread

If you have decided to store your sliced bread in a bread box, then the next step is finding the right bread box for you. Picking a bread box can become confusing if you do not know what to look out for.

From the material used in manufacturing the bread box to its size to its construction style, it is a lot of things to easily get confused over. But, do not worry, we will highlight major points and ways to help you make the right bread box pick for your kitchen.

1. When choosing a material, it is advisable you go with the wooden box if you want something traditional, but keep in mind that you will have to keep it in a place out of the reach of water to avoid the wood from getting wet and being more susceptible to mold.

If you’re going for a more modern look, you can go for the ceramic, stainless steel, or plastic box. If you have a large family with kids, you may want to drop the ceramic box option as it can easily be broken, and go for a more sturdy material.

2. Go for a big size if you always bake bread. The bread box needs to still have space for air circulation even after your baked goods have been placed in it. Go for a box two sizes bigger than your usual bread loaves size.

3. Pick out a construction style that suits your taste. There are so many bread boxes you can get for your homemade bread.

Alternative Ways to Store Your Sliced Bread

If you have decided that storing your sliced bread in a bread box is not a good option, then there are some alternative ways you can preserve your bread’s freshness. We have listed below a few of them:

  • Leave your bread in the plastic nylon it came with or if it is homemade, wrap with plastic wrap or foil. This method preserves the bread, but it also traps a little moisture.
  • Freeze your bread. Do not refrigerate but freeze your bread. This turns the moisture present in the bread into ice and effectively preserves your sliced bread till you are ready to eat it. Freezing your bread can make it last for weeks. All you need to do is microwave it or thaw it in the oven.
  • Avoid placing your bread on appliances in the kitchen. The heat generated from them can and will make your bread spoil faster.

Final Words

Having looked at all this information on sliced bread, the best type of bread box for your sliced bread, and other related information, storing sliced bread in a bread box may be a little bit more problematic than storing whole unsliced bread.

But, if you are up for it, then go ahead and unleash your sliced bread preserving bread box powers.

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