The Bakery-Approved Trick To Keep Baked Goods Fresh Longer

The good news: You've just acquired a delicious baked good, whether that's a hearty loaf of white bread or a flaky, buttery croissant. The bad news: You're going to have to eat it as soon as possible before it goes stale. Maybe you could delay it from going stale if you have a breadbox, or perhaps you could make use of stale bread and make some French toast (which wasn't actually invented in France). But to keep things as fresh as possible for as long as possible, former bake shop owner and current recipe developer of Mimi's Organic Eats, Mimi Council, exclusively told The Takeout that it's a good idea to store your baked goods in zip-top plastic bags — well, most of them, anyway.

"You only want to store baked goods in this type of storage if they are soft, chewy, or moist to begin with," said Council. "So, that means soft and chewy cookies, brownies, cakes, cupcakes, etc." Whether you're using Ziploc bags or Tupperware, it's a good idea — just avoid using it for crispier treats. "If you put crispy baked goods — biscotti, shortbreads — in an airtight container, they can become soggy, which is not ideal," explained Council. "Same goes for pie crust or scones."

As you can imagine, a zip-top bag makes it much easier to store baked goods like mini cakes in the freezer; if you want them at a later date, all you have to do is unzip it, take it out of the bag, and let it thaw. But some kinds of baked goods hold up to the freezing process better than others, according to Mimi Council. She said, "The ideal candidates for freezing would be things like soft and chewy cookies, brownies, loaf breads like banana bread, shortbread cookies, cakes or cupcakes that haven't been frosted yet, or unbaked pie crust."

As for what baked goods should be stored in the fridge and which can be kept on the counter, Council set things straight for us. "Baked goods with ingredients like cream, pastry cream, chocolate ganache, custard, or things like that need to be refrigerated," she said. "Basic bakes like cookies, brownies, most cakes or cupcakes, scones, [and] fruit pies can be left out at room temperature." So the next time you have a roommate (or a mother, ahem-hem) who insists on refrigerating these pastries, you can tell them an expert said it's not necessary.