Kitchen

[DEnatsfan]

I remember my mom and grandmother using a breadbox. Do they still make them? Does the bread keep well or will it mold? I don't remember my mom throwing out bread, but we did eat a lot of bread pudding.

[betteb]

Yes I do remember, yes they do help keep the bread fresher longer.

From Wiki

Bread does not go stale by "drying out"—stale "dry" bread weighs the same as moist "fresh" bread, indicating almost no loss of water. Bread goes stale through a process of retrogradation, in which the starch transposes to a crystalline form in the presence of the water contained within the bread itself. The process speeds up at cooler temperatures,such as under refrigeration, and thus bread stored at room temperature remains fresher for longer periods than refrigerated bread. (Frozen bread, however, traps the moisture as ice, and prevents the staling process.)

Breadboxes are thus designed to:

• Keep their contents at room temperature, prolonging edible storage time.
• Have a lid loose enough to allow airflow, reducing condensation, which helps to prevent the formation of mold
• Have a lid tight enough to protect their contents from mice and all other pests, including ants.

A search for bread box on Amazon had over 900 results. Your post makes me want to find a nice retro looking box

[MathisFan]

I've used a bread box for years. I have one with a drop down front that I keep bread and crackers in. I also have a couple of vintage style enamel ones that I keep chips and other snack items in.

[151949]

I have a TT bread box I got as a house warming gift. It looks much nicer than just having bread lying out on the counter.

[ittyreen]

I think my mother/grandmother used metal bread boxes. I have a wooden one that has a recipe card box to match.

[FranandZoe]

I bought a beautiful Temptations bread box a few years ago - love it. I use it for everything but bread lol. Bread will get moldy if you don't refrigerate it. Or freeze it.

[oceantown]

You may be interested to check out the bread boxes on the thread here....

http://community.qvc.com/forums/kitchen-and-food-talk/topic/481858/if-you-like-retro.aspx

There are a few items pictured from the King Arthur Flour website including a cake tin, a biscuit tin (could be used for cookies) and a couple bread boxes. They are very unique and have a great retro look. Pretty colors too.

If you go to the King Arthur Flour website and put "bread box" in the search, a couple more styles come up too. One with a wooden lid that doubles as a cutting board.

[betteb]

On 12/2/2014 ittyreen said: I think my mother/grandmother used metal bread boxes. I have a wooden one that has a recipe card box to match.

Originally bread boxes were made of wood, tin or clay.

[oceantown]

This is one of the styles on the King Arthur Flour website.

They also have this one in a beautiful turquoise color and it has the wooden lid that doubles as a cutting board:

[Foggy morning]

I found a nice, reasonably priced, stainless steel breadbox on Amazon a year or so ago. It holds crackers, energy bars, my favorite shortbread cookies, and sometimes even bread!