With the jelly ... in my belly!! =:-)

In So. Florida you put it in the frig or freezer!

I used to keep mine in a basket on the counter & sometimes in the pantry. With our new kitchen, I now keep it in a drawer. It's working out well for me so far. This summer has been fairly mild (So. Calif.)& the bread is lasting a long time. I believe heat & humidity would possibly be factors causing bread to mold faster.

When growing up, I remember our kitchen had a bread drawer and it was different than the other drawers because it was lined with some type of metal. Not sure if that was to insulate the drawer & keep it cooler or what.

I have a drawer just for bread. Nothing special about it - no metal lining - but I just put bread/bagels in it.

I'm in NJ.

We also have a drawer for our bread, rolls and bagels. We're in NY.

Mine is in the pantry. If it's not eaten up quickly though, it has to be moved into the fridge. I'm in GA.

Up here in Maine I use a graniteware breadbox, but my relatives in the humid Midwest tend to use the fridge, esp in the summer.

Ours is in a regular drawer...Under the counter where the toaster oven sits. The butter keeper and peanut butter are in the uppers above with the cereal and chips, so the whole 30" area is our breakfast/sandwich/snack center.

Here's mine, which is a vast improvement over the old kitchen where it was kept on top of the fridge:

I keep mine on a side counter or in a drawer for about three days and then shift it to the fridge to help it last a little longer.

Sigh, usually on the kitchen counter. Sometimes in the freezer.

I keep my bread in the freezer and each night before bed, I take out what I need for the next day and put it in the refrigerator to be defrosted by the next morning. I am always afraid of bugs and I only like bread when it is very fresh.

Ours is either on top of, or in, the fridge.

In my former kitchen I kept it in a regular drawer and will do so in the new one -- It was next to the fridge and became the toast / sandwich / snack prep area. It was a large drawer and in addition to bread, bagels, and muffins, it held paper plates and the toaster (hate seeing it on the counter!!) plus any opened chips or crackers. I also kept a separate set of "picnic" flatware in the top drawer for toast and sandwiches -- Easier to grab a knife there than walking across the kitchen to where the regular flatware was stored.

We have a bread drawer with a sliding lucite top. Since we don't eat bread often, I keep it in the freezer and just store cereal, oatmeal, and crackers in the drawer. Here are two pictures:

When we redid our old kitchen I had a deep bread drawer in the island (it was supposed to have a lucite top but they never delivered it) I kept all the bread, bagels, english muffins etc. It was very convenient to have it right where I prepped everything and it was directly across from toaster and fridge.

In this house I am putting in another big deep bread drawer. This time under the toaster by fridge in the breakfast bar area.

We are in NY so have high humidity but no real bug issue. I can't stand bread from the freezer.

I'm getting a bread pull out for my pantry. I am so tired of seeing the half loaf of bread on the counter.

In the freezer, because we don't use it fast enough. We just defrost what we need each time we want bread.

We use a regular drawer. We were going to get a special "bread insert" but at $552 we decided to go w/a regular drawer. So far it's worked better than in the pantry...bread definitely lasts longer. It's also in the bottom drawer of a 3-drawer stack so it's close to the floor rather than higher up (heat rises).

This topic was discussed recently...see this thread:
Thread: Muilti questions - cabinets, pendent lights & bread
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg081939041217.html

Bread actually goes stale faster in the refrigerator than it does at room temperature. I know that in humid climates bread goes bad quickly at room temp, in which case it is probably better to keep it in the freezer. Slices of bread will thaw quickly after they are removed from the freezer.

And in answer to the OP's question, I keep my bread in a drawer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bread storage article

Thanks to the article from terriks, I will now continue to store my bread in the freezer but take out what I need the night before and put it in a container to let it thaw at room temperature for the next day.

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/foodscience.asp?foodscienceid=198&bdc=2376
Bread Storage
What's the best way to store bread?We tested several storing several artisinal breads (Olive-Rosemary, baguettes) at room temperature, in the refrigerator, and in the freezer. When stored at room temperature, within just three days the loaves were shrunken, discolored, and firmÂin other words, they staled. The same bread, stored in the refrigerator, fared even worse, hardening within a day or so. Why? According to food scientists, the major reason that bread stales is not moisture loss, but rather a process called retrogradation, in which the starch molecules in the bread crystallize. Retrogradation occurs about six times faster at refrigerator temperatures (36 - 40 degrees) than at room temperature, thereby making the refrigerator the worst choice for bread storage. However, the retrogradation process does slow down significantly when bread is stored below freezing temperatures. The water molecules in the bread freeze, which immobilizes the starch molecules and prevents them from forming crystalline structures.

Because retrogradation is accelerated by cold temperatures, itÂs logical that it would be reversed by heat. Anyone who has ever softened stale bread in an oven or microwave has witnessed retrogradation reversal. Ovens donÂt add moisture, but when stale bread (bread with crystallized starch) is heated to temperatures above 140 degrees, the crystals break down, softening the bread, (140 degrees is the gelation temperature of wheat starchÂthat is, the temperature at which the molecules form a gel).

To minimize retrogradation, store bread at room temperatureÂfor up to two daysÂin a container that minimizes moisture loss (tightly wrapped in foil or in a zipper-lock bag). After two days, wrap bread tightly wrapped in foil, place in a freezer bag, and freeze. Thaw the slices at room temperature, or in the microwave or oven. (For a frozen full- or half-loaf, we recommend heating the bread, still wrapped in foil, in a 450-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, then crisping it by removing the foil and returning it to the oven for a minute or two.) If you find yourself with stale bread, wrap it in plastic wrap and reheat briefly in a microwave, but be prepared to use it almost immediately as retrogradation will set in again fairly quickly. Finally, only refrigerate bread that youÂre intending to reheat (e.g., toast or grill) later on.

We make all of our bread which does change the storage issue. It does not degrade as does "store bought" . We have my DH's mother's glass covered cake holder. The bread goes in there. It sits on the marble counter by the toaster and coffee maker. We finish a loaf every other day, DH and I eat a lot of bread. If/when it gets stale then it is used for croutons and bread crumbs etc. I keep all the extra bread tightly packaged in the freezer, then thaw it out of the bag on a wood cutting board . You do not want the moisture condensing on the bread as that spoils the crust. c

I think the original reason for metal lined bread drawers was to thwart hungry mice. :) Some of the old Hoosier cabinets have a drawer made entirely out of metal (except for the front). I have a couple of vintage pie safes that I refinished and both of them have large gnawed mouse holes on the back side.

I think the best place to keep good bread (the kind with a crust that you need to eat within a day or two) is in a crock.

I'm using a large old cookie jar for this at the moment, but they sell them for just this purpose in Europe, where they KNOW bread.

The thinking is the pottery allows just enough air/moisture transfer to keep the bread from drying out but keeps the crust. But it also keeps the bread contained and away from any pests. It's also really easily cleaned.

If I take bread out of the freezer I have to run it through the oven first to get its crust back. I'm spoiled though. I live in an area with a lot of artisinal bakers, so this is rare.

Bread that doesn't get moldy after 4 days creeps me out.

I bought a fantastic bread tupperware/plastic wear thingee from lillian vernon). I just checked there and it is not available. Here is a link with something similar.

It really really works, I too only like bread several days old at most and this helps!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Bread keeper

In the freezer in a loaf bread freezer box, take slice out as needed wrap in paper towel thaw in microwave, warm and tasty like just baked...or for sandwiches for lunch use frozen let thaw naturally..rolls are in freezer bags.

I use a bread crock. The lid was broken years ago, so I cover it with a round wooden cutting board. It looks like a giant terracotta flowerpot, with a glazed interior. It works fine except in high summer, when it seems to increase the humidity (home made bread) and mould comes. Then I put the bread in the fridge, although knowing that it makes it stale. Sigh.

In the freezer or under the glass cake dome.

I put mine in the warming drawer (when not using). But when I use the warming drawer, I don't put in back in until it is totally cooled off.

Have a look at the cabinet makers bread idea. He built a appliance garage right into the wall. I was thinking of doing this for bread and other food items that constantly end up on the counter. I first looked at his kitchen as I'm considering hickory cabinets but then I started checking out his creative ideas. Scroll down the page to see the appliance garage.

Here is a link that might be useful: cabinet makers built in appliance garage

interesting topic. . .there just doesn't seem to be a good answer, esp for solo folks. I buy organic artisian breads from a purveyor at the local Farmer's Market. They sell their breads double wrapped (plastic wrap and then a plastic bag). . .store it in the fridge and it seems to keep great for well over a week.

I keep mine in a bag on a pottery dish/fruit bowl on the counter. We get Artisan breads, which now that it's just the two of us, do tend to stale or mold before we finish them. I guess we're going to have to cut them at least in half, and store half in the freezer.

My Mom buys pre-sliced bread, keeps it in the freezer and just thaws it for each use.

I like the convenience of having the bread 'right there' to use- when I have used bread boxes or cupboards to store bread products, things get forgotten and really do go moldy.

In my new kitchen, I reserved a 15" wide deep drawer just for bread. Works wonderfully!

I have a bank of drawers, with the bottom being the deepest. Bread goes there. I live in MN where we occaisionaly get humidty. Mine never gets moldy...my family loves bread!

Rev-a-shelf makes a liner you can put in a drawer for bread. Don't know how well it works. We go through bread quickly, and the liner adds an extra step to access the bread, so I'll probably just use a regular drawer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rev-a-shelf bread drawer liner

I was surprised to read the article about bread "staling" faster in the fridge. I live in Ohio - often hot and humid in the summer - and almost always keep regular sandwich bread (usually good quality whole grain of some sort, if that makes a difference), in the fridge. Yes, because it is chilled, it gets a bit hard, but once it comes back to room temp, I find it regains its softness - in my experience it doesn't need to go to 140 degrees to reverse the retrogradation referred to in the article. On the other hand, if the bread is left on top of the fridge or on the counter, it may begin to mold within a few days. I'm not sure I'd have the patience to thaw the bread as I need it....Also, years ago, it seemed frozen bread tended to have soggy spots when thawed - but that was before the days of microwaves (does that make me a dinosaur??). Does a microwave or toaster thaw it without soggy spots?