My goal with the bread is to keep it from molding, which is does in a couple days sitting on the counter. Usually it isn't around long enough to freeze.

That may be true, but in my experience it takes longer to go stale in the refrigerator than it does for it to mold outside the refrigerator. So I store my bread in the fridge and everything is fine.

I've never stored my bread outside the bag in something like a breadbox though, so maybe that would make it last longer. I've never had my bread go stale in the fridge before I finished it, so I'm not too worried about changing my habits.

What? That can’t be right. I’m aware most people put bread in the pantry or whatever, but why would the fridge make it go stale?

A big part of staling is the recrystallization of starch, which happens faster at cold-but-not-freezing temperatures.

https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/06/does-refrigeration-reall...

https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/06/does-refrigeration-reall... Temperature causes starches to crystallize and cause it to get stale

Because air is much dryer inside a fridge.

I still put my bread in a fridge (unless it's something that's really intended to be consumed soon) because I prefer stale to mold.

Drying is only part of staling. You can seal bread airtight and it will still go stale faster in the fridge.

Freezing does something to the bread that I just don't like. It's just different coming out of a freezer.