Smart Pantry · Guides
How long does bread last?
Best before dates, mould, the fridge and the freezer: a plain UK guide to keeping bread and binning less of it.
The short answer
Past its best before date? Check it. If there's no mould, you can eat it. It may just be a bit dry.
Any mould? Throw it away. Don't cut the mould off.
Want it to last? Keep it out of the fridge, and freeze what you won't eat in the next few days.
Can you eat bread after the best before date?
Usually, yes. Bread carries a best before date, not a use-by date, so the date is about quality rather than safety. After it, the bread may be drier or less soft, but it isn't unsafe just because the date has passed.
Use your eyes and nose: look all over the loaf, including the crust and between the slices, for mould, and check it smells normal. If it's just stale, it's perfect for toast, breadcrumbs, croutons or bread pudding.
What about mouldy bread?
Throw it away. The Food Standards Agency's advice is that food with mould shouldn't be eaten. Cutting off the mouldy patch, even with a lot of the bread around it, can't guarantee that every unseen toxin has gone. This matters most for children, pregnant people, people over 65 and anyone with a weakened immune system.
The good news is that mould is the easiest thing to prevent: freeze the bread before it gets there.
Should bread go in the fridge?
No. It sounds like it should help, but bread goes stale faster in the fridge. Keep it in a cool, dry place instead: a bread bin or a cupboard is ideal. The only time the fridge makes sense is in extremely hot weather.
How to freeze bread
The freezer is the best way to stop bread going to waste, and it doesn't mean eating it defrosted and soggy.
- Freeze it early. The sooner after buying, the fresher it stays. Don't wait until it's nearly at its date.
- Tap the loaf first. Before freezing a sliced loaf, tap it on a flat surface so the slices separate. Then you can take out one or two at a time.
- Toast from frozen. Slices go straight in the toaster, no defrosting needed.
- Make sandwiches with frozen bread. They'll defrost by lunchtime and keep the filling cool on the way.
- Eat it within three months of freezing for the best taste.
Why so much bread gets binned
A loaf is often more than one household gets through before it goes mouldy, and it's easy to forget the end of a loaf or the second pack of rolls. A simple habit fixes most of it: as soon as you get the shopping home, put half the loaf in the freezer.
Smart Pantry reminds you before it's too late
Snap your supermarket receipt and your bread goes in with its date, along with the rest of the shop. Your kitchen is sorted by what needs eating first, and one reminder at 8am tells you when something is close, while there's still time to freeze it.
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More guides: Is tinned food OK after the date? · Is milk OK after the date? · Can you eat brown bananas? · How long do potatoes last? · Best before vs use-by · Eggs after the best before date · How long does cooked rice last?
Sources: Food Standards Agency, Best before and use-by dates and Home food fact checker; WRAP, Label better, less waste: bread and bakery. If you're unsure whether food is safe, don't eat it.