Bread

Nobody wants to run out of bread, but most of us end up buying more than we use, and throw away on average a third of every loaf we buy. More than half of us believe that bread is stale three or four days after we buy it, but it can last longer than we might expect.

Your bread is freshest up to and including the best before date but should be safe to eat after this date. The last few slices, even if they’re starting to stale, are perfect for toast.

There are a few easy things we can do to get more from our bread.

• Storing bread in a bread bin and re-sealing the pack will keep it at its freshest. A popular myth is to keep it in the fridge, but believe it or not, this means it will actually go stale six times faster than in your breadbin/cupboard.
• Only a third of us regularly freeze bread, but those that do say they waste less. Did you know you can toast bread, bagels, crumpets and pitta breads straight from the freezer, or even make sandwiches from frozen bread that will defrost by lunchtime?
• A bread & butter pudding is a traditional way of using up leftover or slightly stale bread. Check out our recipe, donated by Hovis.
  
• Bakers are doing their bit as well, introducing a wider range of loaf sizes to suit all1, simplifying labels to make it easier to see how to store your bread, and when to eat it by, and changing packaging to make it easier to reseal.