Paul Hollywood warns of common bread mistake Brits make

Are you tired of buying a tasty sandwich or toast online only to find out that your bread has gone stale?

Well, it could also be the way you store it, says professional baker Paul Hollywood.

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The Great British Bake Off judges recently revealed the common mistake millions of Britons make that causes fresh bread to spoil three times faster.

Foodie Paul (58) tells TikTok that he is constantly asked questions about the best way to store bread. He always gives the same answer.

“If you keep bread in the refrigerator, it goes stale three times faster because you take all the moisture out of the bread,” he says.

This happens through a process called retrogradation, where the starch molecules crystallize at lower temperatures.

So, if you prefer not to keep your bread in the fridge, where is the best place to store it?

“Honestly,” Paul said, “I just put it in a brown bag and leave it to one side.”

But this advice was not well received by other foodies on the social media app.

Many people disagreed with Paul and felt that it was best to keep bread in the refrigerator, especially during the hot summer months.

Someone commented on the clip, which has now been viewed more than 1.4 million times: “I don’t believe it. I’ve kept bread in the fridge for a week past its expiration date and it was still fine.”

Others believed that the freezer was the best place for bread.

“I always put it in the freezer and let it thaw when I need it. It makes the gluten easier to digest and it tastes like fresh-baked bread,” one person wrote.

Another agreed: “I keep it in the freezer and it keeps for a long time, just in a sealed plastic bag.

“Freezing is the best way to store bread. I’ve been doing it for 50 years and always have all kinds of bread in the freezer,” said someone else.

Sophie Trueman, a food waste expert at Too Good To Go, proposed a slightly different idea for extending the shelf life of bread.

To talk with Express.co.ukShe advised storing bread in a cloth bag to keep it fresh longer.

“Remember that if the bread is fresh, you should not store it in an airtight bag as it will not be able to breathe.

“You need to let it breathe so that it is preserved optimally. Keeping it in a bread basket or a cloth bag, as mentioned, so that it cools down at room temperature is always the best option.”

The professional agreed that the refrigerator is not a good place for bread, just like Paul.