Bread Storage Experiment: Refrigerator vs. Cupboard Mold
This paper reports on a controlled home experiment examining mold development in commercially baked white bread stored under two common household conditions: a kitchen cupboard at approximately 65°F and a standard refrigerator. Drawing on existing food science literature regarding moisture, temperature, and preservative use in commercial bread production, the experiment tested the hypothesis that refrigeration would slow mold growth. Over thirteen days of daily naked-eye observation, bread stored at room temperature developed visible mold by day seven, while refrigerated bread showed no mold growth. The paper discusses experimental design, contamination controls, results, and recommendations for future study with different bread types and storage conditions.
- Introduction: Rationale and hypothesis for the experiment
- Literature Review: Commercial research on bread mold and preservatives
- Experiment Design: Materials, procedure, and contamination controls
- Results: Daily mold observations over thirteen days
- Conclusions: Refrigeration confirmed to inhibit mold growth
- Recommendations for Further Study: Suggested variables for future bread experiments
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- The paper clearly states its hypothesis upfront and follows through with a systematic experimental design that directly tests that hypothesis, making the argument easy to follow from start to finish.
- The literature review situates a straightforward home experiment within the broader context of commercial food science research, lending academic credibility to a simple study.
- The author proactively addresses threats to internal validity — such as light exposure and contamination risk — demonstrating methodological self-awareness appropriate to the school level.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the scientific method applied to an everyday consumer question. By controlling variables (same bread type, same bag style, same handling procedure) and observing results daily, the author models hypothesis-driven experimentation. The explicit acknowledgment of limitations — such as unequal light exposure — and suggestions for laboratory replication show how to frame a modest experiment responsibly within a research context.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a standard scientific report structure: Introduction (rationale and hypothesis), Literature Review (existing research on bread mold and preservatives), Experiment Design (materials, procedure, and controls), Results (daily observations over 13 days), Conclusions (confirmation of hypothesis and implications), and Recommendations for Further Study (variables for future experiments). This IMRaD-adjacent format is well-suited to a lab-style science paper at the undergraduate level.
Introduction
The purpose of this experiment was to examine two common ways bread is stored in the home kitchen: in a cupboard and in the refrigerator. It was hypothesized that bread would stay fresher and be slower to develop mold when stored in the refrigerator. Commercial bakeries and retail stores must ensure the freshness of their products to remain profitable, and the findings of this experiment are important to households as end consumers of these products.
Moldy bread is unappetizing and may even be unsafe to eat. Because of the chemicals and oils often contained in commercially baked bread, moldy product should not be composted. Moldy bread is therefore wasted, and food waste can be costly over time. The experiment was designed to determine whether such waste could be avoided through refrigeration.
Literature Review
Lainez, Vergara, and Barcenas (2008) evaluated partially baked bread stored in warehouses at 1°C (32°F) and 7°C (approximately 44°F). They found that bread stored at the freezing point did not show mold until the twenty-eighth day, but that bread stored at 7°C — still well below room temperature — showed mold on the ninth day. Karagolu, Kotancilar, and Gurses (2005) reported similar findings. In their study, calcium propionate added as a preservative during the dough-mixing process helped prolong the development of mold by reducing moisture within the packaging.
Fernandez, Vodovotz, Courtney, and Pascall (2006) reported the effectiveness of modified atmosphere packaging in extending the shelf life of soy bread. Abu-Ghoush, Herald, Dowell, Xie, Aramouni, and Madl (2008) reported similar findings with flat breads. Latou, Mexis, Badeka, and Kontominas (2010) studied mold inhibitors used in sliced wheat bread, and Tosi, Re, Masciarelli, Osella, Sanchez, and de la Torre (2002) examined mold growth in breads made from whole-fat and defatted amaranth flours.
Clearly, mold formation in bread products is of concern to manufacturers who seek to enhance shelf life without compromising taste and texture. No scientific literature appeared to address measures that could be used in home kitchens to prolong the shelf life of bread and inhibit mold growth.
Experiment Design
As stated by Karagolu, Kotancilar, and Gurses (2005), "The shelf life of bread is mainly influenced by water content and its distribution in bread that influence the softness of the crumb, crispness of the crust, and quality of the bread." For this reason, an inexpensive loaf of plain white bread was selected for the experiment. It was thought that mold could be observed relatively quickly on this very soft, moist bread.
Three slices of white bread were placed in zip-top plastic sandwich bags. One bag was stored in the refrigerator, while the other was stored in a kitchen cupboard in a home where the average temperature was approximately 65°F. These conditions were selected because they replicate the circumstances under which most households store their bread. The experiment could easily be duplicated in any home or in a school classroom with a small refrigerator. The cost of materials is minimal, no special tools or instruments are required, and results can be observed with the naked eye.
It was hypothesized that the bread stored in the refrigerator would develop less mold than the bread stored at room temperature, and that mold would form more quickly in the room-temperature sample. Results were obtained through daily, naked-eye observation of both bread samples. The same type and quantity of bread was used for both samples. Before removing the bread from its original packaging, the researcher washed their hands thoroughly with soap to minimize the possibility of contamination. The bread slices were removed from packaging and placed directly into the zip-top bags without resting on any other surface, again to reduce contamination risk.
Both bread samples were stored in the dark — one in the refrigerator and one in the cupboard. Exposure to light was approximately equal for both samples each day. The refrigerated sample was illuminated when the refrigerator door was opened during normal use; the room-temperature sample was exposed to some light when the cupboard door was opened. The amount of light each sample received is considered insignificant in terms of its impact on the results. To further reduce threats to internal validity, future researchers could replicate the experiment under laboratory conditions, where both samples could be kept in the dark for exactly the same amount of time each day.
References
Abu-Ghoush, M., Herald, T. J., Dowell, F., Xie, F., Aramouni, F. M., & Madl, R. Effect of preservatives addition on the shelf-life extensions and quality of flat bread as determined by near-infrared spectroscopy and texture analysis. International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 43(2), pp. 357–364. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database December 23, 2010.
Fernandez, U., Vodovotz, Y., Courtney, P., & Pascall, M. A. (2006). Extended shelf life of soy bread using modified atmosphere packaging. Journal of Food Protection, 69(3), pp. 693–698.
Karagolu, M. M., Kotancilar, H. G., & Gurses, M. (2005). Microbiological characteristics of part-baked white pan bread during storage. International Journal of Food Properties, 8, pp. 355–365. DOI: 10.1081/JFP-200060239. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database December 23, 2010.
Lainez, E., Vergara, F., & Barcenas, M. E. (2008). Quality and microbial stability of partially baked bread during refrigerated storage. Journal of Food Engineering, 89(4), pp. 414–418. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database December 23, 2010.
Tosi, E. A., Re, E. D., Masciarelli, R., Sanchez, H., Osella, C., & de la Torre, M. A. (2002). Whole and defatted hyperproteic amaranth flours tested as wheat flour supplementation in mold breads. Food Science & Technology, 35(5), pp. 472–475. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database December 23, 2010.
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.