Sliced bread

Keep it in its original bag, tightly closed, at room temperature and away from sunlight or the hob. A bread bin can help, but the fridge usually makes bread go stale faster.

Yes. Freeze it in its bag or a sealed freezer bag, ideally with slices separated so you can take out only what you need. Toast slices straight from frozen, or thaw them at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

For breadcrumbs, toast the slices until dry, then blitz or grate them. For a quick savoury topping, tear stale slices into pieces, toss with oil and herbs, and bake at 180 °C for about 10 minutes, turning once.

Yes: butter the slices, overlap them in a baking dish, pour over a mixture of eggs and milk, and leave it to soak for 15 minutes. Bake at 180 °C for about 35–40 minutes, until the centre is set and the top is golden.

Look for wholemeal wheat flour as the main flour in the ingredients; a brown colour or seeds on top do not prove that it is wholemeal. Wholemeal bread is made with flour that includes the grain’s bran and germ.

Try a tortilla wrap, a pitta, or a split roll; they all hold fillings, though a wrap is easiest to fold around them. For a crisp alternative, use large lettuce leaves, but keep wet fillings separate until you are ready to eat.

Large holes usually form when gas pockets in the dough expand during proving and baking. A few holes are harmless, but they can let soft fillings such as egg or mayonnaise leak through.