A real sourdough loaf has no preservatives — just flour, water, salt, and time. Here's how we tell customers to keep ours tasting like it just came out of the oven.

The short answer

Cut-side down on a wood board for the first 2–3 days. Freeze anything you won't eat by day three. Never refrigerate — the fridge stales bread faster than the counter.

Days 1–3: countertop

A fresh sourdough loaf is happiest at room temperature with the cut face pressed against a clean wood cutting board. The board seals the crumb, and the exposed crust keeps its crackle. Skip plastic bags for the first day — they trap steam and soften the crust you paid for.

On day two, move the loaf into a paper bag or a linen bread bag. Both breathe enough to keep the crust from going leathery while slowing the crumb from drying out.

Day 3 and beyond: freeze it

Sourdough freezes beautifully. Slice the whole loaf first, wrap it tightly in plastic, then seal it in a freezer bag with the air pushed out. Frozen slices keep for about a month with no loss of flavor.

To thaw, pull out only what you need and toast straight from frozen — no defrosting required. For a whole loaf, wrap in foil and warm in a 350°F oven for 15–20 minutes.

Reviving a day-old loaf

If the crust has gone soft, run the whole loaf under the tap for a second — yes, water — then bake at 400°F for 8–10 minutes. The crust crackles back and the crumb steams itself tender. It's the same trick every bakery uses.

Why not the fridge?

Refrigerator temperatures (around 40°F) are the sweet spot for starch retrogradation — the process that makes bread stale. A loaf on the counter at 70°F stales roughly six times slower than the same loaf in the fridge. Freezer temperatures halt it entirely. Counter or freezer, never in between.

Bagels store the same way

Our bagels follow the same rules: eat within two days, or slice and freeze. Toast frozen bagels straight from the freezer for the best texture — the outside crisps while the inside stays chewy.

A note on real sourdough

Naturally leavened sourdough — the kind we bake — actually keeps longer than commercial yeast bread. The acids produced during a long, slow ferment slow mold growth and give the loaf a naturally longer shelf life. That's why a proper loaf can sit on your counter for three days and still make excellent toast on day four.

How to Store Sourdough Bread