The science behind the staling of bread is really interesting to study. You need to choose the right ingredients, don't over-bake the bread, and to choose the correct type of wrapping to help keep breads "fresh" longer than 2-3 days. Moisture changes in the loaf after it cools, and that contributes to staling through evaporation and moisture redistribution. If you leave your loaves unwrapped, you will quickly see a 10% weight loss, but usually less than 1% in tightly-wrapped bread. So how quickly you package your loaves after they are cool, and what you package them in can affect it's "freshness". Choose a close wrap - such as plastic wrap or a tight-fitting plastic bag, rather than a loose-fitting plastic bag. If you reuse plastic bags for your bread storage, make sure they are sprayed with a bleach/water solution (1-quart water and 1 t. bleach) to kill any mold spores on the bag surface. Adding coconut oil to your bread will also aid in preventing mold longer than using vegetable oil or butter, as well as using honey and agave nectar instead of sugar. When bread is wrapped loosely in a plastic bag, the moisture from the crumb of the bread quickly migrates through the crust and then into the air in the bag. Even more so if the bread has one end sliced, or if you slice the entire loaf. I only slice bread as needed so it stays fresh longer. The moisture level in the crust increases from about 12 to 28% when stored in a loose-fitting plastic bag, such as a zip-lock bag which is much larger than the loaf of bread. The worst place to store bread is in the refrigerator. In one scientific experiment I have in my files on the subject, refrigerated bread staled as much in one day as bread held at 86°F did in six. Because of the ingredients I use, methods of making and proper storage of the bread, the 100% whole wheat bread recipe I make will stay fresh enough for a peanut butter sandwich after 7 days. We typically use one 1-pound loaf of bread a week. Those ingredients that aid in preventing staling and mold are agave nectar (or honey), coconut oil, and a mixture of chia seeds and water. Chia seeds hold moisture in the crumb of the bread. I also use an overnight sponge method to make the bread, make sure the dough is well-hydrated, use a long, cool, slow rise, and make sure I don't over-bake the bread. If you choose to make lean breads, they begin to stale within 2 hours of baking, which is why fat-free loaves like Italian or French breads stale so quickly. Fats slow staling by improving the loaf volume. -Sweeteners slow staling directly by retaining moisture. The better choices for sweeteners are honey and agave nectar, especially if you are going to freeze the bread. -Use emulsifiers, such as egg yolks or lecithin. Choose breads that are good keepers to begin with. -panettone -breads made with starters (acidic doughs) -breads prepared with cold slow rises -breads that include moist cooked grains (wheat, rice, etc.) or fruit (such as raisins or currants). -breads containing dairy products, potato, potato starch, mashed potato or other mashed cooked vegetable, potato water, eggs, oatmeal (dry or cooked), etc. -well-hydrated (moist) doughs - Slack doughs, along with optimum proofing and oven temperatures, maximize absorption and reduce staling. It's better to err on the side of a wet dough. If your dough is dry and you over-bake the loaf, this contributes to breads quickly drying out and going stale. Bake most panned loaves of bread to an internal temperature between 195-205°F. The higher the temperature, the dryer the loaf will be. Some of the more interesting aspects of staling breads... -Unwrapped bread looses moisture and flavor faster, but retains crumb texture. If you use a loaf of bread quickly, just up-end the cut side on a cutting board and cover the loaf with a cotton towel. This method is often used by people because they like the improved crumb texture from using this method. -Wrapped bread stays softer (especially if you wrap the bread while it's still slightly warm) and tastes better (especially when wrapped after the loaf is completely cool), but the crust softens faster. -The crumb firms fastest at low temperatures between 20-50°F, which are refrigerator temperatures. -High storage temperatures (above 95°F) affect color and flavor. -Optimum storage temperature for bread is 70-95°F. -Freezing at 0° to -20°F has the effect of about one day's storage time, but cold storage effectively stops all other aspects of staling IF the bread is tightly wrapped in one or two layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of foil. Tight wrapping is necessary to keep the moisture in the crumb from migrating through the crust, creating ice crystals which are found when bread is stored in a loose-fitting bag in the freezer. -You can re-gelatinize the starches in stale bread by spritzing a slice with a fine mist spritzer (often used for plants) mist the slice with water. Warm the slice/s in a toaster for a moment or two. You can only use this method once. If you want to re-gelatinize a whole loaf, or a portion of an unsliced loaf, wrap it in foil and bake it for 10-20 minutes at 300-350°F. But you will need to use it quickly. -Grainlady

Reading about bread boxes reminds me of this story. Years ago, I drove to Florida with my sister and her boys, who were almost 5 and 7. We decided to teach them the game 20 questions to help pass the time. My first question was "is it bigger than a bread box?" They didn't know what a bread box was so we changed it to "is it bigger than a loaf of bread?" Kids being creatures of habit, they insisted we start each round of questions with that one. The next day the almost 5 yo asked if we could play 8 guesses again. He was so cute and funny. Still is at 26 yo.

The crust softening is caused by migration of moisture from the crumb to the crust and there's little you can do to alter it a great deal. The crust softens most in bread wrapped in plastic/foil/bag when the moisture level in the crust increases from about 12 to 28%. This is when that dry, crisp, texture of fresh crust changes into the soft, leathery, not-do-pleasant texture, and is also known as the aging process, or "staling". Staling begins within two hours of baking. Add to that extreme heat and humidity, and all bets are off for long keeping times. As dcarch mentions, freezing is the best option under these conditions. The worst place to store bread is in the refrigerator. In one experiment in my records, bread stored at 46-degrees F staled as much in one day as bread held at 86-degrees F. did in six days. In the world of bread science.... Unwrapped bread (covered with a cotton towel) looses moisture and flavor faster, but retains crumb texture better, but the crust will still eventually soften, but not as quickly as when wrapped. Now you know why the French buy fresh bread daily. Lean breads (those with a short list of ingredients - flour, salt, yeast) stale quickly. Enriched breads keep longer, but the moisture will still migrate from the crumb to the crust as a part of staling. There are some ingredients that will slow down mold growth during hot humid weather: coconut oil, honey, raisins or raisin water in the dough, some spices and herbs are also helpful. This is also why biscuits were the bread of choice in the hot/humid south. -Grainlady

If bread is warm, I wrap it in a towel. Once it is cool, I either put it in a plastic bag or wrap it in plastic wrap. If it is a crusty bread, you might want to store it wrapped in a towel or in a paper bag, if you are going to eat it soon. Alternatively, you store it in plastic and freshen it with a short trip through the oven to get that crusty outside. Maybe at 350-400 for 5 minutes.