The bread box might sound like an outdated piece of kitchenware, something you might find in a log cabin or Colonial Williamsburg. But the simple device is as useful today as it was in the 18th century—after all, we still eat bread, and bread tastes better fresh.
Whether you’ve climbed aboard the home-baked sourdough train or want something less unsightly than a plastic bag for your pre-sliced store-bought sandwich loaf, the bread box is ideal. It’s an attractive and convenient storage solution that helps both preserve the freshness of your loaves and ward off mold.
From hardwoods to brightly colored vintage styles, bread boxes offer a dark, cool place to keep your baguettes crusty and banana bread supple. But there are too many options out there to possibly consider them all. Thankfully, we did the work for you.
What’s bigger than a bread box? The Home-It Stainless Steel Bread Box. It features a cavernous interior coupled with a flip-up garage door kind of thing that opens and closes smoothly. There was more than enough room for a large loaf and a bunch of rolls in our test, and everything stayed fresh—not just mold-free but also not even stale—for a full six days.
This is a really basic bread box that works well and holds a lot of stuff, but it’s really basic in looks, too. It has kind of an institutional design that’s unobtrusive but wouldn’t feel out of place in a school cafeteria. It’s quite inexpensive and does the job nicely, but some might prefer a more distinctive look for something that’s going to sit on the kitchen counter all the time.
This honey-colored bread box is made of lightweight, sustainable bamboo, with a wavy-patterned acrylic door that blocks a lot of light but still gives you a blurry view of the contents. The box looks nice, and it maintained freshness in a variety of breads, rolls, and crackers for as long as five days. It’s not especially long or wide, but it’s taller than most other bread boxes, which lets you stack items inside for bonus capacity.
A simple but clever feature we really appreciate with the ETMI is its flat top, which can hold cans, spice jars, small kitchen appliances, or anything else that helps store more stuff in the same amount of kitchen space. We also like the magnetic closure that holds the door shut securely: It’s a minor feature but shows someone thought through the design. This bread box comes at a very reasonable price, too.
The only downside is that you have to assemble it yourself. This isn’t difficult by any means—there are just five pieces, all with pre-drilled holes—just note that you’ll have to break out the screwdriver.
If you spend your days dreaming of Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Table kitchen, this is the model for you. The Granrosi Large Bread Box has rustic farmhouse charm, complete with chalkboard-style lettering on the front. The lid fits securely but not so tight that it makes a complete seal, which lets mold-causing moisture and humidity out. We had a test loaf with no mold growth a full week past the use-by date, and it helped stave off staleness with everything from panettone to bagels.
The powder-coated metal box (we’re pretty sure it’s aluminum, but the brand doesn’t specify) is lightweight and easy to move around, and it comes in either black-on-white or white-on-black, with your choice of metal or bamboo lid. (We tested the metal version.) It’s inexpensive but effective, with a huge capacity. It can easily fit two large sandwich loaves with room for plenty more. That’s great but could honestly be overkill for a smaller household with less counter space to spare.
After extensive testing, our top choice is the classic farmhouse-styled Granosi Large Bread Box. It’s simple, effective, and a good value. To splurge on a larger-capacity, designer item, try the Yamazaki Tosca Bread Box instead.
