Exactly! It dries out either way, so why not store it in a more convenient form (sliced) that prevents decay (refrigerated)? Yes, there's nothing quite like fresh baked bread the first day, but after that it's never the same anyways - quickly diminishing returns.
That's not entirely right in my opinion. The texture of the crust and the crumb changes when you refrigerate. You will also dry the bread out significantly faster in the fridge. Decay (by which I assume you mean mold) isn't really the first cause of bread degradation; drying out is the first way it degrades. Yes, if you have bread with meats or cheeses, you might not want to leave it at room temperature for a week, but bread will last fine for a week or two in many climates without molding. While bread still warm from the oven or within a few hours of baking does have a distinct taste, I think re-heating in an oven gives an extremely delicious product.
If you have a good bakery and can visit it daily, then more power to you. American life being what it is, the best bread available to me can only be purchased once a week at the farmers market. I enjoy it fresh the first day and immediately refrigerate the rest in a giant freezer bag.
I recommend wrapping your bread in a paper bag and leaving it at room temperature. Plastic is generally considered a bad idea; I think that is because it encourages mold growth. If your room is extremely humid (like mine is sometimes), I recommend no paper bag. Place the bread on a wooden cutting board or some chopsticks to give ample airflow.
But I still think you're wrong about reviving sliced vs unsliced bread - in my experience it's all about temperature control. Yes, sliced bread will become toast more quickly, but if you can set your oven low enough and use a timer, the results are just as good.
I'd have to disagree with you here. I find that re-hydrating a loaf that has not been toasted is a little easier. You wet the outside and you heat in an oven. The added steam in the oven tends to re-hydrate a little better. I think the reason is that the crumb doesn't get over-saturated with water. You can do this with pre-sliced bread, but I find that its hard to balance the "doneness" of the crust and the crumb. If I toast enough that the crumb is soft (it gets a little custard-y) but not too ... wet..., the crust is often too dry to eat. When you re-hydrate, reheat a chunk of bread, then slice, the texture of both is a little better. You don't have to be as careful with the timing either.
I might want to note that the type of bread matters a lot in all of these discussions. The best made brioche won't last a few days no matter what you do. Re-hydrating that just doesn't work as far as I can tell. You need to make bread pudding or something. In my experience parisian yeasted baguettes also tend to go stale at the same time they dry out, so re-hydrating is pretty useless. Other white yeasted loafs can last about a week, but dries out considerably at room temperature and a sourdough whole wheat loaf can last between 1-2 weeks and will usually not go "stale".
It shouldn't be a competition. The problem is that these days it's actually hard to find good bread not filled with loads of junk unless you really go out of your way to look for it. And if you don't know what you're missing it's hard to know what really great bread can be like. In the Netherlands most bread (even at 'bakeries' is also total drama quality.
But I can tell you... that junk filled with a list of additives as long as my leg? It makes me sick as a dog. Quality bread made of 4 or 5 ingredients? Not a problem. Tastes a million time better too, because it includes the 1 ingredient missing in the crappy breads: time.
I think a significant amount of people who have problems tolerating bread / wheat products these days don't so much have a problem with the wheat but with all the other crap that goes into them.
I agree. After I started making bread, I started to realize that other breads and wheat products were giving my stomach problems. However, I don't really know if: 1) I've become more sensitive 2) I've become more aware of how bad breads make me feel 3) wheat products have changed or 4) it is all psychosomatic.
