Grains and bread

A crusty sourdough loaf wants air for its first day and a bag after that. The fridge splits the experts, the freezer does not, and a sticky, fruity-smelling crumb means rope.

Dry pasta keeps a year or two and mostly fears beetles. Cooked pasta carries a spore that survives boiling, so it gets two hours and then four days. Fresh pasta, honestly.

Plain and glazed cinnamon rolls keep on the counter for 2 to 3 days, but cream cheese frosting sends them to the fridge. Counter, fridge, freezer, canned dough and mold.

The fridge buys weeks against mold and costs you texture, because tortillas stiffen fastest at fridge-door temperatures. Pantry, fridge, freezer, mold and reviving them.

Keep flour sealed, cool, dry and dark, and refrigerate anything whole grain. How long white and whole wheat flour really keep, what the best-by date means, what to do about bugs, and why raw flour is never a taste test.

Dry white rice keeps for years, brown rice for about six months, and cooked rice for three or four days. Cupboard, fridge, freezer, weevils and the overnight rule.

Fresh bagels keep 1 to 2 days on the counter and about 3 months in the freezer. Why the fridge makes them stale, and how to freeze and reheat them.

Homemade bread keeps 3 to 5 days wrapped on the counter and about 3 months frozen. How to store soft, crusty and sourdough loaves, and why the fridge stales them.