The case for having a bread box

August 14, 2020 by
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When most people think of a bread box, they probably conjure an image of an old-fashioned kitchen or perhaps a scene from a 1950s television program wherein a dress- and pearl-wearing housewife pulls a loaf of bread out of its storage container to make her young child a sandwich. Whether you call it a bread box or a bread bin, having a dedicated storage container for baked goods has fallen out of fashion over the years. That’s a shame, says Eater’s Pelin Keskin. She has put together an argument that you should make space in your kitchen for a bread box.

Farmhouse Bread Box

The first argument is probably the strongest: it keeps your bread fresh longer. “The dark and dry interior of the bin will protect your baked efforts from a quick death allowing you to savor them for a little longer,” Keskin notes. Despite its name, bread isn’t all you can store in a bread box. All baked goods that do not require refrigeration will benefit from being stored in its dark, dry environs. In cooler months, you can also use it to keep hard cheese.

Another benefit from using a bread box is tidiness. Storing various loaves of bread, packages of tortillas, bags of English muffins, etc. in a bread box keeps your counters free of clutter. If you happen to have a pet that enjoys chewing a hole in the corner of your bread loaves, a bread box solves that problem as well. Bread boxes/bins come in a variety of styles to suit every aesthetic, so you aren’t limited to just old-fashioned wooden ones (although that is what I have and I love it). Do you use a bread box or bread tin?

Category: Antipasto

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7 Comments

  • Pamsy  on  August 14, 2020

    This post surprised me as I thought everyone had a bread bin (maybe it’s a UK thing). Mine sits on a shelf in the utility room, next to the cake tin and biscuit box.

    Currently it contains tortillas, brioche rolls, gluten free loaf, English muffins and malt loaf.

    Can’t imagine not having a bread bin.

  • gamulholland  on  August 15, 2020

    Does a bread box work in a hotter climate? Or does the bread get moldy too quickly? This is probably sacrilege in other parts of the world, or even other parts of the US, but our Southern California family sticks much (not all) of our bread in the fridge. Sandwich bread or English muffins go in the fridge— baguettes and crusty bread does not.

  • FJT  on  August 15, 2020

    Also British and also have a bread bin!

  • tmjellicoe  on  August 15, 2020

    I’ve used one for almost 20 years and love it because it does keep the clutter down.

  • Rinshin  on  August 16, 2020

    Input all bread and tortillas in the freezer. Works for me.

  • Zephyrness  on  August 18, 2020

    Interesting, as I think of a bread box as one more bit of clutter. I don’t have a great deal of counter space, so most things are put in the cabinets, or one of two pantry closets. Bread is one of those things. I don’t have often have many different loaves a bread, prefering to declutter by defrosting one at a time. I have enought people at home that the problem isn’t usually make the bread stay fresh longer, but trying to keep enough bread in the house. I love how different solutions work for different people. Will keep this in mind if my husband and I retire to a house with a big kitchen and no pantry closets.

  • MarciK  on  August 18, 2020

    My mom has a bread box when I was a child. I don’t go through it long enough, so I generally store in the freezer. But if I had a bigger kitchen, it’s something I’d like to have, along with a cookie jar.

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