Fredericka, I freeze bread all the time. There are only two of us
and even a simple 3 cup bread recipe results in more bread than we
eat in a day.
As soon as the bread has cooled, tightly wrap each loaf in aluminum
foil. Then put the loaf in a freezer bag, removing as much air as
possible and freeze.
1. To thaw any loaf, preheat the oven to 500 F. Remove the loaf
from the bag but keep the aluminum foil on. Put the loaf in the
oven. Depending on the size of the loaf, it will take at least 20 -
30 minutes for the heat to penetrate the foil and thaw the
bread. Use a thermometer (stick it right though the foil) the first
few times for each size loaf until you get a feel for how long each
size takes. All you want is for the center to get into the 50's
F. It will warm further before it is done.
2. Once the loaf is thawed, turn of the oven, remove the loaf and
unwrap the foil. Return the loaf to the oven for 3 - 5 minutes to
dry the crust. Leave the oven door open for this step. Bread that
has been frozen generally has a crisper, cracklier crust than it had
before freezing so don't leave the naked loaf in the hot oven too
long. The crust might just turn to crumbs.
The foil protects the bread from both freezer burn and from toasting
in the hot oven and it retains the moisture in crumb.
3. Quick thaw for smaller loaves, like rolls or batards that fit
into a toaster oven - remove loaf from the freezer bag but leave
foil on, put it in a toaster oven. On the toaster cycle, turn the
toaster oven on for its maximum time or darkest setting. Leave the
loaf in the oven for at least 15 minutes after the toaster turns
off. Finally, remove the foil and put loaf back into the toaster for
a few minutes to dry the crust. Again the foil protects the crust
from burning and retains moisture.
Werner