Packaging & Freezing

The great thing about Community Loaves is that you can literally bake whenever it works for your personal schedule, as long as you have access to a freezer.

However, if you don’t have access to a freezer or freezer bank, then you are a Saturday baker. You’ll want to bake on Saturday, package the items on Sunday (which provides plenty of time for loaves and cookies to cool), and then transport them to your designated hub.

Otherwise, you can bake any day of the week that suits your schedule. You’ll still package these beauties up the next day after they’ve had plenty of time to cool (see our Packaging and Freezing guidelines). Then pop the packaged items into your freezer or get them to a freezer bank. What’s a freezer bank? Learn more here.

We’ve learned that not all freezers are the same. Some are wetter/warmer than others. Ice caps can develop in the freezer and moisture can get into the packaging. The best tip/trick we’ve learned for this situation is to double bag the bread; this appears to eliminate the issue. On donation day: take the bread out of the freezer, remove the outermost wrapper, and keep that for the next round of packaging.

Another suggestion is to place the loaves in an insulated shopping bag (like those used to transport ice cream home from the grocery store). In this case, you only need one plastic bag, just place the packaged loaves directly in the insulated bag and then pop it in freezer. This is also a beneficial practice for the cookies, as it helps them stay as fresh as possible.

Let us know in the comments if this helps, or if you have another tip to share.

Preserving the fresh-baked quality of your loaves and cookies in a safe manner is of the utmost importance to our program practices.

• Cooling
  • Thoroughly cool loaves and cookies to room temperature before packaging. This prevents unwanted condensation from collecting inside the packaging as the item cools, which can lead to mold or spoilage.
  • In the early days, same-day bakers would package the loaves while they still had a little heat and that created steam in the bags…which could potentially lead to mold.
  • In an abundance of caution, the standard recommendation is to let them cool overnight. But in fact, 5-8 hours should be sufficient.
• Packaging
  • When items are completely cooled, use kitchen tongs or a gloved hand to place in the bag.
  • For the bread loaves, squeeze out as much air from the bag as possible, then twist tie tightly closed. Watch our bread packaging video in baker resources if you have questions.
  • For the cookies, fold the top of the wax bakery bag over and affix a sticker over the flap to seal. Watch our cookie packaging video in baker resources if you have questions.
• Freezing
  • If baking any day other than Saturday, place the packaged items in your freezer until donation day, or a drop in a freezer bank. Even if you bake on Friday, go ahead and freeze your items, as even a short freeze will extend their shelf life.
  • When transferring for donation, simply remove the baked items from your freezer and insulated bag and take them to your desired drop off location.

Let us know if you encounter issues with packaging your baked items, or if you have tips for your fellow bakers, in the comments below. Take a quick glance at the FAQ below, Troubleshooting Freezer Issues, for more.