Why You Should Always Use 2 Layers Of Wrapping To Freeze Baked Goods

Whether it's dealing with a lot of leftovers after a dinner party or meal-prepping for the week ahead, we all know the dilemma of trying to figure out the best way to save already cooked food for later. Should it be put in the fridge or the freezer? And once you figure that out, how do you know if they should be wrapped in foil or plastic wrap? According to Eating Well, most foods freeze well — except for certain vegetables, cooked rice, and pastas, and most cream-based sauces and soups — so baked goods and most meats are good to go. Consumer Reports notes that anything you're not planning on eating within four days that hasn't been sitting out too long is safe to pop in the freezer for weeks or even months. But, just because you can freeze it, doesn't mean you can't freeze it wrong.

Consumer Reports explains that to keep food fresh, it needs to be kept as airtight as possible with heavy, freezer-safe material like aluminum foil, freezer paper, or freezer-weight bags, which might lead you to believe that you can simply do away with the cling wrap for your freezable foods. However, that is not always the case.

Brisk Food Truck Rentals explains that plastic wrap is beneficial for keeping moisture in foods and protecting fruits and custards from oxidizing with air exposure. However, it does not hold up to extreme heat and cold as well as foil. So, unless you're storing it there, you might not want to use plastic wrap in the freezer too much. Because of this poor temperature resistance, Brisk recommends wrapping food intended for long-term freezer storage, such as baked goods, in plastic wrap first, then adding a second layer of protection with aluminum foil. As Sally's Baking Addiction notes, the first layer of plastic wrap keeps baked goods like bread moist and fresh, while the outer layer of foil prevents condensation from getting in and causing freezer burn.

Although it is not generally recommended to put plastic wrap in the oven, My Recipes explains that food wrapped this way can be heated up at low temperatures in the oven — and often is in restaurants — because the foil protects the plastic wrap while the plastic wrap protects the food from drying out.