23 Jan 2025
Bread is a universal staple, yet its perishability often leads to food waste and lost profits, both at home and on grocery shelves. In fact, it accounts for a significant portion of daily food wastage in grocery stores.
For bakeries and manufacturers, extending bread’s shelf life isn’t just a business need, it’s an investment into sustainability and customers’ convenience.
Find out practical ways you can adapt.
Why does extending shelf-life matter?
According to industry reports, one-third of all food is discarded globally, and bread accounts for a significant portion of this waste. For grocery stores alone, reducing bread wastage by as little as 15 loaves per day could save over 5,000 loaves annually per store. That’s certainly a compelling reason for bakers and food producers to take a double look at new shelf-life solutions.
Beyond sustainability, extending shelf life ensures consistent product quality, enhances profitability, and satisfies customers’ preference for fresh, longer-lasting products.
Understanding bread’s shelf-life
The shelf life of bread varies by type and storage method:
- Commercial breads typically last 2-4 days at room temperature or up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
- Gluten-free breads, with their higher moisture content, often require freezing for preservation.
- Dense breads like sourdough and rye naturally last longer due to their acidity and antimicrobial properties.
Why does bread spoil?
Bread undergoes natural processes like staling and microbial spoilage, which affect its freshness. Staling occurs as the starch molecules recrystallize, causing bread to lose its softness. On the other hand, microbial spoilage (the growth of molds and bacteria) shortens its usability.
To combat these issues, bakers can leverage a combination of traditional techniques and innovative solutions. Here’s a few to trial.
Proven techniques to extend shelf life of baked goods
Choose innovative packaging solutions
Proper packaging is crucial for maintaining freshness and preventing microbial growth. Here’s a look at some of the most recent packaging innovations you need to know about.
- Antimicrobial active packaging
Handary’s Antipack uses nisin-coated films to preserve bread, while SoFresh utilizes ethyl pyruvate sprays to combat spoilage. - Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP)
This involves replacing oxygen with inert gases like nitrogen to slow down microbial growth. - Edible packaging
Packaging made from milk proteins like casein and seaweed can extend freshness by blocking oxygen and moisture, and is an eco-friendly alternative.
These solutions not only extend shelf life but also align with consumers’ increasing demand for sustainable packaging options.
Incorporate enzymes and natural preservatives
Natural preservatives, like lactic acid bacteria or vinegar-based additives, can help extend the shelf life of bread without compromising its clean-label appeal. Products like Molderator, a natural fermented flour solution from Puratos, can be added directly to bread recipes (dose at 2% on flour weight on top of your recipe) and ensure freshness up to six days.
Additionally, acidification (adding a small percentage of vinegar to dough) creates an inhospitable environment for mold, further prolonging freshness. Opt for vinegars with a subtle flavor, like some apple vinegars.
Enzymes like amylases delay staling by keeping starch in a gel-like state, preserving softness and freshness. Combining enzymes with natural acidifiers, such as sourdough starters or vinegar, can also enhance bread’s longevity.
Puratos’s Soft’r improvers offer advanced enzyme and emulsifier technologies to maintain crumb texture and mouthfeel, ensuring your bread stays soft throughout its shelf life. On top of that, it helps reduce costs. Meanwhile, Intens Freshness is a modular ingredient in powder form that optimizes the freshness of bakery products for a longer time. It can be used in all type of bakery products with a shelf life up to two weeks.
These methods are increasingly important to consumers who prefer clean-label ingredients they can recognize and trust.
Apply strict hygiene practices
Contamination from bacteria or mold can occur during the cooling, slicing, or packaging stages, dramatically reducing freshness. To prevent this, bakeries should ensure all equipment and workspaces are regularly cleaned, and workers should minimize handling of baked goods by using sanitized gloves and tools.
Tips for different types of bread
Sourdough and rye
The natural acidity in sourdough and the dense structure of rye bread make them ideal choices for waste-conscious bakers. Both are naturally resistant to spoilage, offering longer shelf lives and appealing to health-focused consumers.
Frozen bread
For manufacturers, freezing bread can preserve its freshness for up to six months. Consider incorporating Puratos’s Kimo Improvers, which are specifically designed to optimize the quality of unfermented frozen bread, ensuring consistency during proofing and baking.
Ready to innovate?
Whether you’re an artisan bakery or a large-scale manufacturer, Puratos is here to support your journey toward crafting longer-lasting bread.
Contact your local Puratos representative to explore how we can support you, your profits, and your commitment to sustainability.
REFERENCES
- Puratos: Improve the Quality and Extend the Shelf Life of Packed Goods
- Puratos: Kimo Improvers: Extend Freezer Shelf Life for Unfermented Frozen Bread Processes
- Rademaker: Long Shelf Life Production
- Baking & Snack: Longer Shelf Life Through Ingredient Innovation
- Packaging World: Active Packaging Innovations Help Minimize Food Waste
- MasterClass: How Long Does Bread Last?
- Food Republic: Why Store-Bought Bread Lasts Longer
- USDA: How Long Can I Store Bread?
- Link Retail: Even One Store Can Save More Than 5,000 Bread Yearly
