Why does bread shrink when you freeze it?

How much does it shrink?

Quite a bit - but I don't have any figures...

She says 'it doesn't taste the same' after freezing, but maybe bread isn't supposed to be frozen.

Shall I phone her? But she might not have a frozen AND a fresh to do a proper mathematical analysis, and won't have, say an older loaf, to act as a control...

x

I can't resist, thinking of the "sex with a small penis..." thread.

I guess bread shrinks for the same reason a penis does when it get's cold.

We go through a lot of bread in our house (4 loaves a week seems like a lot to me).

We routinely stock up at the store, and then keep loaves in the freezer until we need them. i haven't noticed any problems, so it might just be the brand that she's using.

(Or maybe she has to smash the bread to get it to fit in the freezer.)

Most freezers (except the very low temp lab freezers or their equals) are constantly "going on and off" with a low level of freezing and thawing, thus there is protein breakdown over time - but I don't think you'd notice that in a relatively short time, especially in bread. Maybe it somehow dries out? Needs double wrapping? My bread in the freezer doesn't change much (never as good as right out of the oven), but then I don't keep it a long time.

I use 'unbespoke' i.e. store bought bread. If it's on sale, may get two or three loaves instead of one, and freeze the extra. If it shrinks, I haven't noticed it. Of course, my bread is sealed when frozen, and thaws before I open the packaging.

Chemically things (except water) get smaller when colder - molecules move around less. Bread doesn't usually have a lot of water in it.

aha!

Here are the tips on freezing bread from my favorite baking 101 site:

http://www.baking911.com/howto/freeze.htm



Click the link to learn of her tips for freezing shaped, but pre-baked bread dough.

I suspect that your friend is buying what is known as "balloon" bread (which is mostly air and moisture packed in a wafer-thin plastic bag). The dry freezer environment is removing the air from the unprotected bread loaf and probably replacing it with ice crystals.

She can probably remedy this by double bagging the loaves with thicker bags, removing as much air from the bags as possible, and storing them for no longer then a couple of months.

Also, she should let the bread thaw completely in the bag before attempting to use it. Toasting the frozen slices doesn't give it a chance to reconstitute itself.

Now I'm thinking 'baguette'

x

Thanks for all that info - A2K'ers are a fab, informative bunch - shall pass on all your posts (apart from yours chai - snigger)

x

Frozen bread tears my lips up.

I imagine it's due to bread being made of wheat and air and water. The bread and the air shrink when frozen but the water expands, probably bursting or tearing many of the tiny little air bubbles in the bread. Just a wild guess.