How to Freeze Bread and Other Baked Goods

With many stocking their freezers right now, I thought I’d share how I freeze bread and other baked goods.

It’s always best to freeze bread and other baked goods as soon as possible to lock in the freshness. So as soon as you unpack your groceries and wash your hands, get to work prepping what you just bought for the freezer. Waiting a day or two to put things in the freezer will diminish the freshness after thawing.

How to Freeze Bread

You can freeze bread a few different ways:

1. wrap the bread in plastic wrap

2. tightly cover the bread with foil

3. place the bread in a freezer bag

4. store the bread in the original packaging

If I don’t intend on freezing my sliced bread longer than a couple weeks, I keep it in the bag it comes in. I do this mostly because I’m trying to cut down on the amount of freezer bags I buy and use. Yes, I can reuse the plastic bags over and over again, but I find keeping the loaf of bread in the original bag works fine for me.

If your bread isn’t sliced, I suggest slicing it before putting it into the freezer. That way when you’d like to have some bread, you can grab the number of slices you need, keeping the rest of the loaf in the freezer.

To thaw the bread, place the number of individual slices you’d like in the fridge overnight. If you’d like to consume the bread immediately, pop it into the toaster. I do this all the time with cinnamon raisin bread for Owen.

Bread will keep in the freezer for 2-3 months.

Freezing Donuts

Let’s talk about the most important thing you can freeze– donuts. It’s best to freeze them as soon as possible to lock in the freshness. To freeze the donuts, simply put them in a freezer bag and put them in the freezer. You can individually wrap them in plastic wrap or foil before placing them in a bag, but I’m trying to cut down on my use of plastic wrap and foil. To thaw the donuts, grab however many you’d like out of the bag and place them in an airtight container and put them in the fridge to defrost for a few hours. I suggest putting them in the fridge overnight so they’re thawed by morning. You can use a microwave to defrost them if you’re in a hurry, but be careful not to put them in too long or they’ll dry out.

If you want to eat your donuts in the next 7 days or so, you can keep them in the fridge. But keep in mind they may dry out some.

Donuts will keep in the freezer for 2-3 months.

Note: I’ve only frozen cake/old fashioned donuts, so I can’t speak to yeast donuts.

Cookies

I freeze cookies the same way I freeze donuts. Put the cookies into freezer bags as soon as possible. If you’re wanting to freeze freshly baked cookies, like my chocolate chip cookies, wait until they’ve cooled completely before placing them in the freezer. Defrost the cookies the same way you’d defrost the donut– in the fridge for a few hours or use a microwave. If you like your cookies warm, I suggest the microwave. Start with 10 seconds and add time as needed. The time will depend on the size of the cookie.

Cookies will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

How to Freeze English Muffins

I freeze English muffins the same way I freeze bread, by keeping them in the original packaging. If you need to store them longer, I suggest putting the English muffins into a freezer bag. To thaw, place the English muffins in the fridge overnight or use the microwave. I’ve used both methods and both produce good results.

English muffins with keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Muffins

I freeze muffins the same way I freeze donuts and cookies, by placing them in a freezer bag. To thaw, place the number of muffins you’d like in the fridge overnight. You can also use the microwave. But like with donuts, don’t overdo it or they’ll dry out.

Muffins can keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Write the Date

Before putting the bread and other baked goods into the freezer, I suggest writing the date on the bag. Yeah, most have expiration dates, but most of the time they’re hard to see. Knowing the date you froze the item will show you what needs to be consumed first.