Serving and Slicing Tips for Your Sourdough Bread

Got an unsliced loaf of sourdough bread and wondering how to keep it fresh and tasty? We’ve got you covered with some fun and practical storage and serving tips. Keeping your bread unsliced is a smart move, but how do you prevent it from going stale? Sourdough bread is famous for its long shelf life, thanks to its natural leavens and friendly bacteria that fend off mould and dryness. But even sourdough can eventually go stale. Here are some tips to ensure you get the most out of your loaf and enjoy every last bite!

Bread Care

Before diving into bread care tips, let’s outline the average shelf life for our different types of bread:

• Unsliced (kept in original packaging or a linen loaf bag): 5-7 days
• Sliced (kept in original packaging): 3-5 days
• Once defrosted: 2-3 days

Storage Tips

1. Keep Your Loaf in a Linen Bag: Store your loaf in a linen bag and place it in a bread bin. Linen bags help maintain the right level of moisture, preventing your bread from drying out too quickly.
2. Freeze your bread: We are big advocates of freezing your bread to maintain its freshness. If you don’t plan on eating the whole loaf in one go, cut it in half. Put one half in the linen bag, and the other in the freezer. Plus, freezing can also have health benefits.

Note: If you freeze your bread, we recommend defrosting it for an hour before toasting. Alternatively, you can toast it directly from frozen using the defrost function on your toaster.

Serving Tips

1. Day 1: Freshening Up Your Loaf:
   • Preheat your oven to 220°C.
   • Place your loaf in the oven for 6-7 minutes, depending on how dark the bread is when it arrives. This will crisp up the crust, soften the crumb, and give you that just-baked freshness. It’s also a great way to impress your guests.
2. Day 3 or 4: Refreshing Your Bread:
   • Place your whole or cut loaf under running water until it is completely covered.
   • Place it in a preheated oven at 220°C for 9 minutes. This technique helps revive the loaf, restoring its crust and softening the interior.

Cutting Tips

1. Slicing a Steaming Crusty Loaf:
   • When you heat sourdough bread, the crust hardens, and the crumb softens, making it challenging to slice.
   • Use a sharp serrated bread knife to slice it while it’s still warm. A serrated knife is essential to cut through the crust without crushing the bread.
2. Avoid Crushing Your Bread:
   • No matter how sharp your bread knife is, you may still find yourself pressing too hard and crushing the bread while trying to cut through that crust.
   • My top tip? Turn the loaf upside down instead of flat (like in the photo below). Slicing the bread in this position can help you avoid crushing your beautiful bread, preserving its structure and texture. If you are having trouble visualising what I mean, check out my bread care video on Instagram.

Recipes for stale bread

If your bread is over a week old and the tips above don’t work, fear not. We have some recipes designed specifically for stale bread. For example, why not embrace your Italian side with a Tuscan bread soup or a Panzanella salad? If you’ve got more of a sweet tooth, our toffee apple bread and butter pudding might just hit the spot. Discover all our recipes on our blog.

By following these tips, your sourdough bread will remain fresh, delicious, and easy to serve. Enjoy every slice!