Bread keeps for about Not recommended in the fridge, and 3 months in the freezer. The table below splits those times by opened and unopened โ and a date still in range never overrides what your nose tells you.
Refrigerating bread makes it stale faster, not slower โ fridge temperature is where starch retrogradation runs quickest. If you cannot finish it in two days, freeze it in slices from the start and toast them straight from frozen; the result is close to fresh.
Storage times
| Unopened | Opened | |
|---|---|---|
| Room temperature | 3-5 days | 2-3 days |
| Fridge | Not recommended | Not recommended |
| Freezer | 3 months | 1-2 months |
Throw it out if you see this
- Any spot of mould
- A stale, alcoholic smell
- A damp, sticky surface
Storage tips
- Choose room temperature or the freezer, never the fridge
- Freeze slice by slice so you can take out one at a time
- Mould on bread means the whole loaf goes, not just that slice
Sell-by and use-by are not the same date
A sell-by date tells the shop how long it may display the product; a use-by date tells you how long it stays safe to eat. They are not interchangeable, and a use-by date is usually later than the sell-by date printed on the same product.
Every printed date assumes the package is unopened and stored at the labelled temperature. Once opened, follow the "opened" column below instead of the printed date โ and if the smell, colour or texture is off, throw it out regardless of what the date says.