The status of bread as a global staple cannot be overstated. It is the most widely consumed food in the world and is also one of the oldest foods known to humankind.
Because bread is so popular worldwide, there are different variations of it. Almost every culture has its own kind of bread with different ingredients and methods of preparation.
You have rye bread originating from Israel, baguette and brioche bread from France, ciabatta and focaccia from Italy, pita bread from the middle east, and pumpernickel from Germany. The great thing is that almost all kinds of bread can be made into crisp, brown toast.
Freezing bread is probably the most popular way of preserving it. However, only reason you preserve food is so that you can eat it at a later date. Without being able to recover frozen food, it’s only a waste of food and electric power.
So, can you toast frozen bread? Yes, you can definitely toast frozen bread. For the best results, toast frozen bread for an additional 2 minutes on top of your desired toasting setting. In fact, there is more than one way of toasting frozen bread. You could choose to toast bread directly when it is frozen, or you could first defrost the bread prior to using the toaster.
How Do You Defrost Bread Before Toasting?
There are two ways of defrosting bread before toasting it. The first is simply removing the frozen bread from the freezer and then letting it thaw on its own at room temperature. The second requires using a microwave.
The first approach can, sometimes, cause the bread to go stale faster due to a process known as retrogradation. Defrosting bread at room temperature can take up to four hours but the end result is not often fresh, which is how most people like to enjoy it.
The other method, which is the better method, involves taking out the frozen bread, placing them in slices on an uncovered plate, and putting it microwave to heat them on high power for about 10-20 seconds.
Should you decide to toast the bread directly, you should expect to wait for about two or three extra minutes than the standard time for making toast. You should keep in mind that the thickness of the bread slices is a major determinant of the duration spent making toast from frozen bread.
If you are worried about using a toaster for your frozen bread, well, it’s very safe. Frozen bread directly doesn’t harm your toaster. These days, in line with the rising awareness about frozen bread, toasters are made to have unique functions that handle making toast from frozen bread.
How Long Does Frozen Bread Last?
Freezing bread helps to increase the shelflife of bread by preventing the starch in bread from losing moisture going back into a crystalline state. It may sound a bit confusing but bread, being a carbohydrate food contains significant amounts of starch.
During the process of making bread, the starch absorbs water and develops and irregular, flexible shape. However, from the moment the bread leaves the oven,the bread begins to lose moisture and crystalizes.
Freezing bread can stop the process of crystallization for up to six months, in some cases even a year. Yes, frozen bread can last up to a year in some cases.
You should also keep in mind that freezing is not the same thing as refrigerating. Refrigerating bread actually leads to faster staling. This is because low temperatures that do not freeze the starch in bread accelerate its crystallization.
To keep bread fresh for a long time, make sure to freeze it when it’s at its freshest. You should also make sure to seal every loaf in a separate, airtight bag to prevent moisture loss during freezing.
Can You Toast Frozen Bread Without a Toaster?
If you feel unsure about using your toaster for frozen bread, there are alternatives to creating toast from frozen bread. And yes, there are at least three ways of toasting bread without using the toasting machine.
First, to create nice toast in as little time as possible, set your oven to ‘broil’ and place your bread on a baking tray at the top oven, closest to the broiler. You should be sure to keep your eyes on the bread, though, as it browns fast. Two minutes on both sides should get your toast ready.
However, if you have a little more time to spare, you might want to use the slow toasting method. This involves setting the oven to about 350°F and placing it on the oven’s mid rack. This process takes about ten minutes.
You can also make use of a frying pan – preferably a bottom-coated one placed on a stove set on medium-high heat. The bread could either be dipped in olive oil or a little quantity of butter.
While there are other creative alternatives, the options above are the major alternatives to making toast without a toaster.
Final Thoughts
Dealing with frozen bread is not complicated. Whether you want to toast it or eat as is after thawing, the steps to follow are really easy. That said, here are a couple of thoughts you should remember from this article:
- Yes, frozen bread can be made into toast once it if brought out of the freezer.
- Bread can last anywhere between 6 months to a year when frozen.
- There are two ways to defrost bread, albeit with differing results. The first is simply by letting it defrost on your kitchen counter while the second requires heating it up in an oven.
- Letting bread defrost on your kitchen counter is likely to produce less than acceptable results as the bread will quickly go stale.
- The best way to defrost bread is using the microwave. The bread typically comes out fluffy and fresh.
- Toast bread can also be made without a toaster. You can achieve the same high quality toast with an oven or a frying pan.