How To Store Focaccia Bread In The Freezer

Imagine returning home from a long day at work and the first thing that greets you is the delicious scent of fresh bread wafting through the house. And if that bread is focaccia, offering a subtle earthiness complemented by the wholesomeness of Italian herbs, it's even better. In case you have ever wondered, it is not very difficult to make a versatile focaccia bread at home. Plus, it's super simple to make a big batch of the bread and freeze it, so you can enjoy its pleasures over a long period of time. Now, you may be wondering how best to store focaccia bread in the freezer. All it takes is a bit of preparation — including flash-freezing your focaccia before wrapping it — and a few simple tools like plastic wrap.

This Italian bread is undoubtedly a crowd-pleaser. However, in order to make the best focaccia bread of its kind, you may want to keep these crucial tips in mind. Once you have prepared this soft and fluffy bread at home, it's quite easy to store it away and enjoy it at a later time too.

Once you're ready to store your focaccia bread in the freezer, you should first ensure that the focaccia bread has cooled properly and arrived at room temperature. For ease of use, you may choose to cut up your focaccia bread into squares or smaller portions if you intend to eat the bread as a snack or a side, but you can also keep it intact to use as sandwich bread as well. Flash-freeze these smaller portions by placing them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper for at least half an hour, but preferably longer. The baking tray placement should ensure space between each pre-cut portion. Once this step is done, you can move on to the step that ensures your focaccia remains fresh for as long as possible.

Wrap the flash-frozen focaccia pieces in plastic. You can also double-wrap them if you want them to last longer. The second layer can be a freezer bag, which also helps prevent freezer burns. These steps will ensure that your focaccia can stay fresh for a month or more.

After you have successfully frozen your focaccia bread for future use, the next step is to ensure that the bread is fresh and delicious when you thaw it for use. The easiest way to thaw frozen focaccia is to just pop it in the microwave. However, if you don't want to dry it out too much, be sure to cover it with a damp towel first and heat it for just 30 seconds. You can always zap it some more later, if needed.

Putting it in the oven after letting it thaw to room temperature is another easy method to try. Be sure to mist it with warm water and then heat it for six to eight minutes. Simply leaving it overnight in the fridge or on the counter to thaw naturally will also work, though this method will definitely take longer. You can also use a toaster to thaw frozen focaccia quickly. For this to work well, you may need to toast the slices twice.