How to Reheat Sourdough Bread

The best way to reheat sourdough bread to keep it tasting fresh. From warming your loaf in the oven to how to freeze it properly, discover how to reheat sourdough bread today.

Sourdough bread is one of the best staple foods you can store in your freezer for months. Now, if you’re wondering how to reheat sourdough bread in a way that it won’t turn out dense and hard, we’ll tell you.

One of the best ways of reheating sourdough bread is by covering it with foil and reheating it in an oven for 10-15 minutes. Apart from this, you can easily heat the sourdough bread by loading it into the toaster or heating it on a stove.

In this article, we’ll guide you on the proper ways of storing and reheating the sourdough bread. Here, you’ll know which method will give you a fluffy sourdough bread and not a hard one, so stick around!

How to Store Sourdough Bread

Having sourdough bread is such a convenience. You can bake or buy some, then store them in your freezer for as long as three months. With the right storing and reheating methods, they can still taste as fresh as when they’re first baked.

If you’ve homebaked the sourdough, however, the first thing you need to do is to let it cool completely before freezing it. After that, there are two things you can do to store your sourdough bread:

Pre-slice the Sourdough

In storing the sourdough, you can choose to slice it into portions. This is a good option since you won’t have to wait for hours to defrost it.

The next thing you want to do is to insert non-stick papers in between the slices to prevent them from sticking together.

Then, place the slices in a ziplock freezer bag. Sealing the bread in an airtight container will help in trapping moisture and keeping the bread soft.

One thing you should also do is label your sourdough. This way, you’ll know how long it has been in your freezer.

Freeze the Whole Sourdough

Another method of storing the sourdough breed is sealing it whole. You can insert it in a ziplock plastic or wrap it with aluminum foil.

When you wrap your sourdough, make sure it’s tight and looks like a second skin. Then, you can place it in another plastic bag, and squeeze it out until there’s no air left. Doing so will help retain the natural humidity of the bread and protect it from potential freezer burn.

Just like in the first method, don’t forget to label the wrapped sourdough before storing it in the freezer. Freezing the sourdough bread is the best way to keep it fresh. The low temperatures will slow down the staling process.

How to Reheat Sourdough Bread in the Oven

There are different methods to reheat sourdough bread, but you should know the best. This will ensure that you’ll get fluffy and soft-textured bread, and not a hard and crumbly one. That being said, the best way to reheat sourdough bread is by placing it in the oven for 15 minutes.

You can also heat it on a toast or stove, but don’t heat it in a microwave. According to the Daily Meal, doing so will just ruin your bread. It may appear hot and soft at first, but after a few minutes, it’ll turn stale, dense, and hard.

1. Let Your Sourdough Bread Thaw: Letting the bread thaw before heating is important, as it’ll ensure that all parts will heat evenly. One common mistake beginners do is slide it directly into the oven. This only causes the crust to get cooked, while the inside remains cold. In thawing the sourdough, you can leave it for 3-5 hours at room temperature. Check back later to see if the middle of the sourdough bread is no longer frozen.
2. Preheat the Oven: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) to get the ideal temperature for reheating loaves of bread. Don’t go higher than what’s recommended as it can burn the crust sooner before the bread gets warmed.
3. Spritz Some Water on Your Sourdough Breed: While preheating the oven, you can sprinkle or brush a little water on the surface of the bread so it won’t get too dry. This isn’t necessary, but it can create steam that’ll help in forming a crisp crust on the bread.
4. Wrap the Bread in Aluminum Foil: Wrapping the bread in aluminum foil will help in the even distribution of heat inside the bread. Heating the bread unwrapped will only result in the crust getting overcooked and hard.
5. Bake for 10 to 15 Minutes: Now, it’s time to slide your sourdough into the oven. Bake it for 10-15 minutes until you see it gets crackly.
6. Remove the Sourdough From Oven and Serve Hot: You’ll enjoy the soft texture of sourdough best when it’s hot. Enjoy!

Toaster Method

If you’ve sliced your sourdough before keeping it in the freezer, the best way to heat it is to toast it. You can choose to let the sliced sourdough bread defrost for 15 minutes or you can toast it straight away.

Now, if you’ve frozen the bread whole, that won’t be a problem. You can slice the sourdough and load it in a toaster.

If you think that the slices are too dry, you may sprinkle drops of water over the slices. Then, begin preheating the toaster at 320°F or 160°C.

Soon after, load the sliced sourdough bread in the toaster and wait a few minutes until it drops to 194°F or 90°C. This will help achieve the soft texture you’ll love.

Stovetop Method

You can also use your stove to heat the sourdough bread.

The first thing you need to do is wrap the sourdough bread with aluminum foil. This’ll protect the bread from getting burned and will allow it to heat evenly.

Then, place the wrapped bread in a pot and use the lid to cover it. Now, put the pot on the stove and turn the flame to low heat. Let it sit there for 5 minutes. Afterward, check if the sourdough bread has completely warmed up.

If not, you can wrap it back into the aluminum and heat it for a few more minutes.

The Final Word

Now that you know how to reheat sourdough bread, it’s time to bring it out of your freezer and start the reheating process. Remember that the best way to reheat sourdough bread is to let it cool down completely, then cover it in foil, and slide it into the oven for 10-15 minutes.