10 Easy Pieces: Bread Bags

Like everyone else in 2020, I adopted a sourdough starter and learned how to to bake boules. It was fun and my family enjoyed my experiments, but after a few weeks of having fragrant, fresh bread anytime we wanted, the novelty wore off and we were often left with too much of a good thing. Stale bread became my nemesis, and I found myself stuffing down slices three meals a day just to avoid it. That’s when I decided to stop my sourdough adventures.

In hindsight, having a proper way to store the loaves would have helped. Experts say that the best method is to store fresh-baked bread in something breathable—a paper sack, a ceramic bread box, or cotton or linen bags—so that the crust remains hard and the inside soft. Of those options, I like fabric bags the best: they’re affordable and reusable, and gifting a home-made boule inside a pretty bread bag makes for a perfect housewarming or hostess gift.

Below, 10 favorite fabric bread bags. (Tip: If you one day decide you’re just fine with store-bought bread, you can always repurpose the bags and use them to take home bulk dry goods from the store.)

made of heavy cotton and measuring 35 x 35 cm., the cotton bread bag from toast 9
Above: Made of heavy cotton and measuring 35 x 35 cm., the Cotton Bread Bag from Toast has a stitched-on tie for easy wrapping; $30.

like its bedding, rough linen&#8\2\17;s orkney linen bread bag is made loca 10
Above: Like its bedding, Rough Linen’s Orkney Linen Bread Bag is made local from heavy, high-quality linen. The bag comes in a slew of colors and in two sizes: one for boules, another for baguettes. Each is $22.
similar to toast&#8\2\17;s bread bag, dans le sac&#8\2\17;s cotton canv 11
Above: Similar to Toast’s bread bag, Dans le Sac’s Cotton Canvas Bread Bag is $22 at Helen Milan. (For more on Dans le Sac, see Kitchen Storage: Simple Cotton Bread and Dry Good Bags from Quebec.)

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