Why Store-Bought Bread Stays Fresher Longer Than Your Homemade Loaf

Home baking bread can be incredibly satisfying and produce results often tastier than store-bought products when you know the mistakes to avoid when baking bread. Nothing beats a super crispy, chewy sourdough, even though making a sourdough starter takes some time, and you have to enjoy the finished product in a few days or it will get moldy or hard as a rock. Baking quick breads at home is much easier, but they're even more prone to mold. There's a reason store-bought bread stays fresh longer than your homemade bread.

It's all about the preservatives and additives used in mass-produced breads: humectants, emulsifiers, hydrocolloids, enzymes, and mold inhibitors, some natural and some chemically produced. Preservatives like calcium propionate, potassium sorbate, and sodium benzoate work as antimicrobials. Sugar, honey, and glycerin are humectants that reduce bread's humidity so that bacteria, molds, and yeasts are less likely to grow. Emulsifiers, like mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, lecithins, and sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate, help oil and water mix for stronger dough and bread that stays soft longer. Hydrocolloids increase water absorption, holding in moisture to keep bread soft and chewy. And enzymes help yeast eat sugars, so that bread can rise more thoroughly. With all these additions, it's no surprise your homemade bread stales faster. Luckily, there are ways to help it stay fresh longer.

Whether store-bought bread or homemade, the easiest way to keep your loaf fresh longer is all about the storage. You should store your bread in a cool, dry, dark place. A bread box works great because it contains less oxygen and fewer microorganisms than the bread would come in contact with on the counter. Plus, your bread is less likely to encounter spills or cross-contamination from other foods. It may seem counterintuitive, but even with store-bought bread, keeping it in the refrigerator is not recommended because it's much more likely to go stale faster. Homemade bread shouldn't be kept in plastic because it will trap moisture and make it more likely to mold — a paper bag or simply uncovered in a bread box works great.

When baking bread at home, there are a few additives you can use to extend its shelf life. Certain ingredients you may already have, like vinegar,  can fight off mold and bacteria. Honey can, too, while also keeping your bread softer. For an even longer shelf life on homemade bread, dough conditioners like the Scratch Premium Dough Conditioner can be found in specialty shops or on Amazon and contain proprietary mixtures with enzymes, emulsifiers, and the like to add many more days of freshness. For a simple, powerful additive, encapsulated potassium sorbate will keep mold at bay for an impressive amount of time and doesn't require any recipe change. But if your homemade bread still ends up getting a little too hard, don't sweat it: There are a number of clever ways to use stale bread, from bread pudding to croutons.