Bread is getting so expensive. Generic bread is now over $1 a loaf. And name brand bread… it’s closer to $2 or higher! I was surprised to find out that our local Dollar Tree sells bread that is about to expire. I found loaves of my favorite bread, Nature’s Own, for $1 a loaf! It was about 2 days from it’s expiration date, but we go through a loaf quickly.
You can also find close to expiring bread at bread outlet stores. Be sure to check your area to see if you have one.
Plus bread freezes great! I know freezing bread sounds kind of gross to some people. I know it did to me! I have a phobia about wet bread. It is one of the grossest things in the world to me. But I froze my first loaf of bread in the summer of 2009 and it didn’t get wet or soggy at all. So if you have the freezer space, stock up!
You can read more about freezing bread here.
Susan says
We freeze bread. I’m always amazed at people who don’t (and then complain that they don’t have any money). We can’t eat a loaf fast enough for it still to be “soft and fresh,” so, unless it’s homemade bread, it usually comes from the freezer. We have a bread outlet (wonder/hostess I think) nearby and we buy in BULK when we go. But, for now, we can’t really do a big run, because with the meat and frozen veg deals lately, there is no room in either freezer.
Stephanie says
Awesome! I was just wondering about this!! It will be worth it to save a little!
Thanks!
Laura says
Wow this is awesome. I didn’t know u could freeze bread.
Joyce@Joyful Creations at Home says
We are a family divided when it comes to freezing bread. Hubby says he can tell the difference….I can not. So, we go back and forth with what we freeze and what we don’t. We have a bread outlet store, but the best savings is the Kroger markdowns!
Myeshia U. says
We love freezing bread. I purchased five loaves of bread from Kroger when they had whitewheat on sale for 99 cent and it froze really well. I wish that I would have purchased 10 loaves.
Jennifer says
Love this! I do this with tons of items… $.99 hot dogs, packages of shredded and sliced cheese, even my own homemade bread! Love the deep freeze…keeps things for a long time!
Chasity says
Such a great tip!!! I do this great for breadctumbs or crutons
dina says
Soggy bread grosses me out too, but I’ve been freezing bread for a few years now and have never had it come out even remotely damp. When I pull it out of the freezer I just put it on my counter. Also, I’ve had “fresh” bread from the grocery go bad quicker than what I get from the outlet.
We have a Wonder outlet and I get the Smart Wheat variety for .89¢ a loaf. They often have snack cakes for $1 or $2 a box… the ones that are $4+ in the store. I put those in the freezer as well. I’ve never been a big fan of Twinkies, but one straight out of the freezer is really good!
Jessica says
The other thing I do is make my husband breakfast sandwiches….He loves to stop at Tim Hortons and it would cost us a fortune. I watch for sales and buy…..english muffins, american cheese and candian bacon or bacon or sausage….at our Hannford supermarket you can buy frozen egg patties (9 in a bag for about $2, shaped perfectly)
I toast the english muffins, put the frozen egg, a piece of cheese and whatever meet and put it in a ziploc in the freezer. He grabs one on his way out the door and when he gets to work he microwaves it…….
I make up 30 or so at a time and they always cost much less than $1/sandwich.
Of course it depends on what sales I have hit.
Jessica says
I ALWAYS stock up on bread and freeze it. When the fiber one goes on sale at Shaws, I use my coupons and buy about 8 loaves at a time. I also love to bake bread and it freezes fine…….
I recently saw on extreme couponing that someone freezes milk…..I think it was soy milk or something but I never thought of that…..has anyone else tried it?
April S says
Also bread seems to keep forever in the fridge. After it thaws (or even just fresh) I keep it in the fridge and it will last for 2 weeks easily!
Tanya says
I’e grown up all my life with bread freezing parents :) Whenever the really nice breads like the arnolds sunflowerflax bread etc went on BIG sale for $1.00 a loaf we would buy as much as possible and freeze it. I’ve never noticed a difference between bread and previously frozen bread. tastes fine to me and never soggy. It’s a great way to take advantage of a great deal on bread.
Andrea says
I found Nature’s Owl about a month ago at Dollar Tree and was so excited! I have no idea if it comes in on a certain day or not so I’m going to ask next time I’m there. I’ve been freezing bread for YEARS and it’s never even remotely soggy. In fact, I was reading something from one of the very expensive brands that you would find at Whole Foods, and they said they sent their bread out frozen. If you haven’t tried it, throw a piece in a ziplock and try it.
My daughter likes pancakes for breakfast but I don’t like making them every single morning, nor do I want to spend the money on buying them pre-frozen. What I do is make up a huge batch one morning, separate the pancakes with wax paper, put them all in a ziplock and freeze them. Each morning I just pull a couple out, pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds(ish) for each side and voila! Pancakes every morning!
Bonita says
I freeze my bread and i noticed that as long as I thaw it in the refrigerator then it’s fine, not soggy and it certainly doesn’t taste any different! I have tried thawing it out on the counter, but that’s the only time I’ve noticed that the bread seemed a little damp.
Jane Rushing says
I have been freezing bread for over 30 years w/o a problem! I freeze almost everything! Chips are one of my secrets. I stock up on them when they are on sale and put them in the freezer. You can even eat them frozen! I freeze all baked goods, pastas, chips/snack foods, flour, cookie/muffin/cake mixes, cookie dough, chocolate/chocolate chips and butter/margarine. It keeps the foods fresh and the bugs at bay.
joyce says
i got tired of paying over a dollar for hamburger buns, so now we just toat bread and us it, works perfect and keeps the cost down and helps use it faster as well, its a win win.
RK says
I used to worry about soggy bread, but my husband convinced me to try freezing, and it works just fine. We have a toaster with a defrost setting, and we take the slices straight from the freezer to the toaster for sandwiches. They don’t seem to hold their toastiness as long, but other than that, they don’t seem any different from unfrozen bread.
For those with a phobia … think about this … have you ever had a frozen pizza? What about Frozen garlic bread?
We used to have a Bimbo bakery outlet very close by, but just when I started getting into using it, they suddenly closed up shop. :-/ Now I just wait for a good sale and stock up.
Alyssa L. says
My husband and I freeze bread all the time and never notice the difference when it thaws. Also, did you know that you can make PB&J sandwiches ahead of time and freeze them? The trick is to just put a thin layer of peanut butter on both sides and the jelly in the middle — the fat in the peanut butter keeps the jelly from getting the bread soggy. Then, we just put the sandwiches in individual bags, grab one in the morning, and by lunchtime it is thawed and tastes like it was just made. :)
Alyssa L. says
Correction: We put the sandwiches in individual bags, freeze ’em, and then grab one in the morning on our way out the door. I will often make enough sandwiches for 2 weeks while watching a show. Saves so much time!
Michelle says
That is such a great idea. I’m going to have to do this!
Tara Kate says
I freeze all sorts of breads/pastries/muffins. I have never had a problem I just had some corn tortillas that we used for our dinner that I put in the freezer a few months ago.
Anna D. says
ok. I’m trying this. Has anyone tried making those Smuckers crustables and freezing them? I might try that and see if my daughter likes it.
alh1203 says
love getting name brand bread at dollar tree!!!
mandy says
FINALLY someone else with the same wet bread phobia that I have! I am not afraid of many things, but a wet slice of bread laying all limp and soggy in the sink literally makes me queezy. =)
Amy says
I never knew that people DIDN’T freeze bread! My parents always did it, so I thought it was normal! I have never noticed the difference between fresh bread and bread that’s been frozen. I have at least 4 loaves in my freezer right now bought at low prices. I use it for everything. Heck, I even have shredded cheese in my freezer!
Christina says
I know right! I have just about everything you can imagine in my freezer too. I actually think the bread tastes BETTER after it has been frozen for some reason :)
Miranda says
Here in Alaska most of the bread that comes up here is frozen. It’s usually pretty fresh. Although I have found some brands to be less moist then others. Orowheat bread comes double wrapped in plastic and stays fresh the longest its $5 a loaf. Often it is on sale for $2.50. And I find that it freezes better because their is less air close to the bread. I don’t personally care for refrozen bread when I do freeze bread that I purchase I think it works best for toast or french toast. Definitely not for sandwiches.
Jenn says
I am very turned off by frozen bread too! But if you have a Wegman’s nearby, they sell their own brand of homestyle bread 2/$1!! And the bread is just like any other italian style like d’italiano or maier’s.
Christina says
We freeze bread all the time and you can’t tell that it’s been frozen. When we make hamburgers, we always have leftover buns so we just freeze them and they’re there for next time! Same with all other breads we like to have around but don’t use often enough to keep around because they’d go bad otherwise. Our regular sandwich bread is the only stuff we keep out of the freezer.
Susan V says
We have been freezing bread for a couple of years. I like to stock up when it’s a good deal.
Colette W. says
I’m so glad someone else is suggesting this. My hubby laughs at me because I freeze almost everything including bread! He even jokes that someday I’ll probably end up freezing him to make him live longer :) LOL.
Kristin says
That was so funny about freezing your hubby!!!
Michellyn says
We freeze bread all the time & can’t tell the difference at all…it’s not soggy or wet. I buy bread at Sam’s club–bigger loafs for about the same price at the store…The Orowheat is sealed in plastic inside the bag & then double bag it. I have broken the loaf into 2 and frozen it too. A friend makes sandwiches for her kids lunches and freezes them…I am going to try this next school year. I buy tortillas at Sam’s Club too & freeze them. Again, I double bag it & we can’t tell a difference with the flour ones. The corn ones freeze, but are more dry…I only use these for making enchiladas.
Betty says
Wow, I’ve got to keep this in mind! Unfortunately, I tend to throw out bread that we couldn’t finish.
Shawna says
I freeze my bread all the time. When I am ready to use it, I pull it out and let it thaw in the fridge for at least a day. Then when thawed, I take out of the fridge and put it on the counter and use it. It tastes just as fresh as buying in the store. I do have to say that I’ve noticed that name brand bread does seem to taste much better than store brand when freezing.
Shannon says
Have you ever tried freezing th tortias or pitas? If so do they freeze well?
Becky says
I freeze all kinds of bread products..tortillas, buns, pitas. If you defrost them in the refrigerator they are less susceptible to the wet-bread syndrome.
Missy says
we love the pepperidge farms cinnamon swirl bread to make french toast – so when it goes on sale and/or I have a great coupon (and I got a few great ones from writing them) I stock up and freeze it – I just sit it in the fridge the night before and the next morning we have yummy french toast!
Karen says
Our dollar tree gets bread delivered every week on a certain day. I was very surprised they had bread and it usually flies off the shelf very quickly. One time it seemed like everyone who was buying bread from the dollar tree didn’t know they had bread and even people were asking where we were getting the bread from.
I freeze bread all the time. I usually use the frozen bread for french toast and for toasting in the freezer. By the way when I make french toast with frozen bread I don’t defrost it, I just take the loaf out of the freezer and open and then dip the bread in the egg mixture. It comes out just fine.
Cristy says
I”m skeptical!
Kelly says
I love doing that! We have a bread outlet in our area that sells bread within a week or a couple days from expiring that’s cheap. It’s better bread too since most are HFCF free. They even have a loyalty program for ever $10 you get a free loaf of bread. We always walk out of there with so much bread it’s insane! Although with the amount of Sara Lee bread we had to buy for TS3 lunch boxes we don’t need to shop for bread for a while lol.
Sandra says
My husband hates frozen bread. Knows if it has been frozen, so any ideas of how to make it taste fresh? Our store puts the white wheat on BOGO sale at least once a month and it’s $3 a loaf. He hates when I get 2 loafs, but won’t allow me to freeze it.
Any ideas?
Any good bread pudding recipes, I need to make some because the second loaf expires on the 24th and we are only half way done with the first one.
Thanks!
amy says
i do this once a month i drive to the bread outlet buy all my bread bagels english muffins tortias and pitas ect. a loaf of 100% whole wheat is $1 vs the grocery store where the same loaf is 3.99!!! i used to spend 31.92 now i spend $8 and that was just bread!
Heather Miller says
I have never tried this before, but since there is a discount Flower’s Bakery close to our house I might give it a try!!
Angie R. says
I just froze my first bread, I will have to see how the results are!
Jean H says
I have been doing this for years and no one can taste or feel the difference
Robin says
I freeze bread all the time, and noone knows the difference.
Sunshine says
I have been freezing bread for the last 2 years. As a family of 5 we run through it quickly so I run to the discount bakery about every 3 weeks and stock up cheap on their bread my favorite is the breakfast breads. You can’t tell they have been frozen and it cuts my shopping and traveling time down too.
Katie says
We do this because there is a Hostess factory store near my house.
marie says
Our CVS and Walgreen;s puts their Sarah Lee about to expire bread and buns at 99 cents…with our big family we rarely get to the freezer but if I do I just pull the bread out of the freezer at night, put it in the fridge and make french toast the next day…I agree…I am a bit sqeamish about eating plain bread out of the freezer…the only time I have frozen milk I put it in one cup containers and use for baking…I know, I’m a wimp…
Kathie M says
My DH doens’t like frozen bread unless I plan on using it for french toast, stuffing or something like that. I may try it agian without him knowing it and see if I can get away with it.
Crystal E says
I place a paper towel folded in half on the top and bottom of my loaf while it is thawing out and that seems to absorb and water drops that may get on the bread…it thaws as if you just bought it from the store!
[email protected] says
Can you freeze bread that is the day of expiry? or is that bad? just curious if anyone could answer that it would be great thanks!
[email protected] says
Also, it was in the fridge before hand.
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
Yes, you could freeze it that day. :)