Can You Freeze Sourdough Bread? [Tested & Detailed Guide]

Sourdough Bread is created via the process of dough fermentation.

It does so by using ingredients such as yeast and lactobacilli.

Here, lactobacilli release lactic acid, which is responsible for causing the sour taste and also enhances its keeping qualities.

The Sourdough bread was first made when bakers were trying their best in replicating the recipes of French Bread.

They were failing to create this French bread because it kept giving off a sour taste.

A specific type of yeast that thrived under San Francisco’s climate was responsible for the taste.

It was a blessing in disguise because that’s how they invented this amazing signature food.

Many people believe that this bread cannot be made anywhere else.

The name of this specific yeast garners inspiration from the city itself “Lactobacillus Sanfranciscensis.

Can you freeze sourdough bread? Yes, you most certainly can.

It is a smart idea to freeze this bread because you will get to enjoy it later.

If you have baked or bought a lot of this bread, then storing them inside the freezer will be convenient.

Does Freezing Affect Sourdough Bread?

No, freezing your sourdough bread will not cause its taste and quality to degrade at all.

Freezing temperatures don’t seem to kill the lactic acid or yeast in your sourdough bread.

Many bacteria and yeasts tend to form spores that are dormant and inactive during distress, making them incompatible with life whenever they are dried and frozen.

These spores tend to be resistant towards physical extremities such as drying and freezing.

And when the conditions become correct, and they start to rehydrate, the spores start developing into reproductive and active living forms.

Your sourdough bread will only start to lose its taste and freshness when kept outside.

It will become dry and stale due to its exposure to room temperature.

So, we highly advise you to store it inside the freezer.

The freezing temperature will help preserve your sourdough bread without losing its tangy touch.

How To Freeze Sourdough Bread?

If you are planning to freeze your baked sourdough bread for some days or weeks, then you can easily put it inside a Ziploc bag that’s freezer-safe.

But you need to remove as much air as possible to prevent spoiling it.

Once you decide to put it inside the freezer, ensure that you choose a spot where it won’t get crushed.

And if you are planning to freeze it for a long time, then you need to consider additional steps that will help in better protecting your bread’s quality.

You can follow these key pointers:

• You need to ensure that the bread is fully cooled to room temperature.
• Proceed in wrapping the whole bread by using plastic wrap.
• Now you need to make a 2nd protection layer by using aluminium foil to wrap it. You need to ensure that every single opening is closed all the way through.
• You can even put the plastic and foil-wrapped bread in a big Ziploc bag that is completely freezer-safe. Proceed to tightly seal it.
• Don’t forget to label the bag with the freezing date. It will help you keep track of how long it has been inside the freezer.

The technique that we mentioned above will work perfectly for a whole loaf of bread.

It will even work for bread, which has been cut.

However, for sliced pieces of sourdough bread, you need to take a different route.

Freezing separate pieces or sizes of bread is quite convenient.

When you wish to make a sandwich, it will save you the trouble of having to thaw an entire bread.

You can follow these steps:

• First, you need to slice your sourdough bread into multiple pieces.
• Proceed in placing 1-2 slices of your sourdough bread into Ziploc bags of sandwich sizes. Ensure that you are tightly sealing them.
• Ensure that they are sized conveniently to avoid spaces or gaps for trapping air.

A sandwich bag isn’t always freezer-safe.

So, once you separately contain them, you can put all the small sandwich bags in a large freezer bag to get extra protection.

Here’s another method for you:

• Proceed in spreading them on a baking sheet. Here, you need to cover your baking sheet first with a single layer of parchment paper.
• If there is more than a single layer, then you need to start covering the bottom layer using plastic wrap. Proceed in adding another layer right on top.
• Allow the separate pieces of bread to freeze all the way through. It shouldn’t take more than an hour.
• Once they are separately frozen, proceed in putting all of them inside a large Ziploc bag that is freezer-safe. In this way, they won’t stick together.
• Now you can put them inside the freezer.

Sourdough bread will last over 6 months inside your freezer.

But if you take care of it properly, then you can even prolong the duration.

But just like any other frozen food, we would always advise you to eat it at the earliest.

How To Thaw Frozen Sourdough Bread?

You can try any of these three methods:

1 – Using Your Oven.

• First, you need to start unwrapping and removing the plastic wrap.
• Now you can proceed to place it inside your oven at a low temperature.
• The temperature should be exactly at 200⁰F.
• Heat it for over 30 minutes. But the size of your sourdough bread will also determine the heating time.
• Take it out and allow it to cool on your kitchen counter.

2 – Using Your Fridge.

• Transfer it from the freezer to your fridge.
• Ensure that your bread is properly wrapped and also sealed. It will help in preventing moisture from getting inside your bread during condensation.
• Once it thaws out, proceed to unwrap and eat it.

3 – Using Your Toaster or Pan.

This method only applies to the sliced sourdough bread:

• Take them out of the freezer and transfer them to your toaster or pan.
• Start heating them at a low temperature.
• Allow them to cool for a few minutes and eat them.

Caution.

• Avoid using high temperatures on your oven, toaster, or pan while defrosting them.
• When you take out your sourdough bread and put back the remaining ones inside the freezer, remember to get all the air out.

Conclusion

Sourdough Bread is quite delicious and also easy to make.

It also has a ton of antioxidants such as peptides, which decreases the risk of developing cancer, rheumatoid arthritis etc.

The human body also finds it easy to digest this bread compared to the other ones.

Apart from the tangy flavour, the bread also possesses a chewy and crispy texture, making it ideal for pairing with just about any dish out there.

The process of making this bread is lengthy, but the taste is divine.

You can start baking them yourself and freezing them for future use.

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