Freezing Bread

When you find (or bake) the right sandwich bread, keep it on hand in the freezer. When properly frozen and thawed, bread stays fresh-tasting and appealing. Here’s how:

* Slice the (completely cooled) loaf before freezing so that you can remove slices as you need them.

* Place the bread, unwrapped, on a baking sheet. Freezing the bread before wrapping it eliminates the formation of ice crystals on the bread.

* Once the bread is frozen solid, place it in a plastic food bag, squeeze out all the air and twist the top of the bag into a tight coil. Fold the coiled part over itself and secure with a twist tie. Repeat the bagging a second time. This airtight double-bagging eliminates off-odors. Bread can be frozen as long as 3 months.

* Thaw bread in plastic bag (or wrapped in plastic).