Why Bread Goes Stale in the Fridge

Bread gets hard in the fridge because of a change inside it.

Bread goes stale because starch changes its structure slowly. This happens even when the bread is still soft and moist.

This change makes a kind of crystal inside the bread. The crystals make the bread feel hard and crunchy again. This is why stale bread feels different from dry bread.

Put fresh bread in the fridge and it will go stale very fast. The cold air makes the change happen more quickly than at room temperature.

So, keep bread in a bag on the counter to stay fresh longer. Your sandwich will taste much better than a cold, hard piece of bread.