Homemade bread dries out so quickly because it lacks the preservatives that store bought bread contains.
Also if you've just made the homemade bread it can be still baking on the inside which makes it dry out faster.
Homemade bread, while flavorful, has a short shelf life because it lacks the preservatives found in commercially produced loaves.
No matter what you do, bread will go stale if you keep it at room temperature.
After that, it will be noticeably stale but still perfect for toasting, croutons, or crumbs!
To keep bread from getting hard the bread is best kept in a sealed bag to help keep the moisture in and prevent it from drying out.
Just like store bought bread is in bags and sealed you should do the same with homemade bread as well.
You can also wrap the bread in some plastic wrap such as Saran Wrap to help hold in the moisture content of the bread.
Bread gets hard after a day mostly due to Starch retrogradation.
As soon as the bread starts to cool the starch starts to go back to its original form.
Also if bread is not kept in a plastic bag the air can draw moisture out of the bread which leads to the bread becoming hard as well.
You should not refrigerate bread as refrigerating bread makes the bread go stale faster.
Bread is best kept on the counter or in the pantry.
Bread Typically last about 7 days in the pantry although sometimes the bread may last a bit longer.
Bread goes bad quicker in damp locations.
Store bought bread has a shelf life of about 7 days in the pantry before it goes bad.
So it's best to eat the bread within 7 days and only buy enough bread that you can reasonably eat within 7 days.
Keep the bread stored in a cool dark place to help keep the bread from going bad and keep the bread sealed in the plastic bags they come in to prevent the bread from drying out.
It's also best to never refrigerate the bread as it can actually make the bread not last as long as it can cause the bread to dry out or become more soggy.
I always just keep the bread in the pantry and eat the bread within the 7 days and most times the bread I have is eaten well before 7 days so it's not usually a problem.
I only buy enough bread that I know we're gonna eat within that time and not buy too much.
Then I buy more bread when needed.