The science behind the staling of bread is really interesting to study. You need to choose the right ingredients, don't over-bake the bread, and to choose the correct type of wrapping to help keep breads "fresh" longer than 2-3 days. Moisture changes in the loaf after it cools, and that contributes to staling through evaporation and moisture redistribution. If you leave your loaves unwrapped, you will quickly see a 10% weight loss, but usually less than 1% in tightly-wrapped bread. So how quickly you package your loaves after they are cool, and what you package them in can affect it's "freshness". Choose a close wrap - such as plastic wrap or a tight-fitting plastic bag, rather than a loose-fitting plastic bag. If you reuse plastic bags for your bread storage, make sure they are sprayed with a bleach/water solution (1-quart water and 1 t. bleach) to kill any mold spores on the bag surface. Adding coconut oil to your bread will also aid in preventing mold longer than using vegetable oil or butter, as well as using honey and agave nectar instead of sugar. When bread is wrapped loosely in a plastic bag, the moisture from the crumb of the bread quickly migrates through the crust and then into the air in the bag. Even more so if the bread has one end sliced, or if you slice the entire loaf. I only slice bread as needed so it stays fresh longer. The moisture level in the crust increases from about 12 to 28% when stored in a loose-fitting plastic bag, such as a zip-lock bag which is much larger than the loaf of bread. The worst place to store bread is in the refrigerator. In one scientific experiment I have in my files on the subject, refrigerated bread staled as much in one day as bread held at 86°F did in six. Because of the ingredients I use, methods of making and proper storage of the bread, the 100% whole wheat bread recipe I make will stay fresh enough for a peanut butter sandwich after 7 days. We typically use one 1-pound loaf of bread a week. Those ingredients that aid in preventing staling and mold are agave nectar (or honey), coconut oil, and a mixture of chia seeds and water. Chia seeds hold moisture in the crumb of the bread. I also use an overnight sponge method to make the bread, make sure the dough is well-hydrated, use a long, cool, slow rise, and make sure I don't over-bake the bread. If you choose to make lean breads, they begin to stale within 2 hours of baking, which is why fat-free loaves like Italian or French breads stale so quickly. Fats slow staling by improving the loaf volume. -Sweeteners slow staling directly by retaining moisture. The better choices for sweeteners are honey and agave nectar, especially if you are going to freeze the bread. -Use emulsifiers, such as egg yolks or lecithin. Choose breads that are good keepers to begin with. -panettone -breads made with starters (acidic doughs) -breads prepared with cold slow rises -breads that include moist cooked grains (wheat, rice, etc.) or fruit (such as raisins or currants). -breads containing dairy products, potato, potato starch, mashed potato or other mashed cooked vegetable, potato water, eggs, oatmeal (dry or cooked), etc. -well-hydrated (moist) doughs - Slack doughs, along with optimum proofing and oven temperatures, maximize absorption and reduce staling. It's better to err on the side of a wet dough. If your dough is dry and you over-bake the loaf, this contributes to breads quickly drying out and going stale. Bake most panned loaves of bread to an internal temperature between 195-205°F. The higher the temperature, the dryer the loaf will be. Some of the more interesting aspects of staling breads... -Unwrapped bread looses moisture and flavor faster, but retains crumb texture. If you use a loaf of bread quickly, just up-end the cut side on a cutting board and cover the loaf with a cotton towel. This method is often used by people because they like the improved crumb texture from using this method. -Wrapped bread stays softer (especially if you wrap the bread while it's still slightly warm) and tastes better (especially when wrapped after the loaf is completely cool), but the crust softens faster. -The crumb firms fastest at low temperatures between 20-50°F, which are refrigerator temperatures. -High storage temperatures (above 95°F) affect color and flavor. -Optimum storage temperature for bread is 70-95°F. -Freezing at 0° to -20°F has the effect of about one day's storage time, but cold storage effectively stops all other aspects of staling IF the bread is tightly wrapped in one or two layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of foil. Tight wrapping is necessary to keep the moisture in the crumb from migrating through the crust, creating ice crystals which are found when bread is stored in a loose-fitting bag in the freezer. -You can re-gelatinize the starches in stale bread by spritzing a slice with a fine mist spritzer (often used for plants) mist the slice with water. Warm the slice/s in a toaster for a moment or two. You can only use this method once. If you want to re-gelatinize a whole loaf, or a portion of an unsliced loaf, wrap it in foil and bake it for 10-20 minutes at 300-350°F. But you will need to use it quickly. -Grainlady

Reading about bread boxes reminds me of this story. Years ago, I drove to Florida with my sister and her boys, who were almost 5 and 7. We decided to teach them the game 20 questions to help pass the time. My first question was "is it bigger than a bread box?" They didn't know what a bread box was so we changed it to "is it bigger than a loaf of bread?" Kids being creatures of habit, they insisted we start each round of questions with that one. The next day the almost 5 yo asked if we could play 8 guesses again. He was so cute and funny. Still is at 26 yo.

Thanks for the info grainlady! It took me far too long to figure out why my banana nut bread always had tasty crust out of the oven but soft bleh crust the next day. I finally just stopped wrapping it and it kept the crust! Now I know the science behind it. :) As to the original question, bread is kept out on the counter or in my bread box. NEVER in the fridge! I will store extra loaves in the freezer and put them on the counter to thaw when I need them.

Thanks for all the answers, folks: I'm glad to hear from other bakers! Of all the breads I hear about here, plllog's are the ones that speak to me most. But, although, if I really set about it with determination and a decent financial investment, I might be able to get the tools and supplies necessary to make bread as I see described here, I'm not willing to do that. I live in the country in Italy, and 98% of my groceries come from our small local supermarket. There is no Costco. No Whole Foods. I have no store that offers rye flour, grain berries, molasses, bran, wheat germ, reasonably priced oatmeal, or a host of other ingredients for baking standard in the U.S. I don't like to drive, I don't like to run around, I'm reluctant to add to our terrible air pollution, and gas costs about $7 a gallon. Add to this the absolutely horrible dis-service offered by our post office-affiliated package delivery company, which, after my last traumatic experience, caused me to swear that I would never again order by mail anything that would have to be delivered through them (there are other couriers, if one has a choice). So I work with what I have. This suits me, from a philosophical and practical standpoint, and while it's likely possible to make better bread, mine makes me happy. I've gotten used to the fresh yeast, which is reliable, and I have a fair variety of recipes I've worked out. The last one was potato and buckwheat (I was able to find buckwheat flour again, thank goodness!) and it turned out really tasty. That one was majority whole grain, simply because I had run out of white, and that improved it. Plllog's comments make me think, again, about how much I could learn about bread baking. The "soaker" is new to me. Who knows, this may stimulate me to some modest experimentation. Like Annie, if I want substantial nourishing bread, I have to make it myself. The Italian bread is good with a bowl of beans and broth but it just doesn't work as standalone food. Add to this that Italians don't really eat breakfast, so there's not much of an offering of sturdy food for the start of the day. I think my tolerance of grain-based foods has diminished as I've grown older, and it may be that baking with a sponge, and adding a variety of ingredients improves the digestibility of my breads. My diet is relatively low in cereals--I eat them regularly, but in much smaller amounts than when I was younger--and I mostly eat bread as the centerpiece of breakfast. It powers me up! in the most satisfactory way. Today is the potato and buckwheat bread--we're on our last loaf; I'll have to make more. There's a non-sweet almond bread in the freezer, made with milk, olive oil, and lots of almonds. If it gets cold enough I might even want to try a sweet bread. I made one last year with raisins, fennel, and orange juice and peel that I remember as being good. The basic dough of that one was similar to that of the almond bread, made with milk and oil. The loaves made with fats don't need butter. All my breads are part whole-grain, usually one third, though I may try upping that in some cases.