This is one of the funniest things when introducing people to some of the ingredients and methods used in commercial food production -- stuff like Xanthan gum as a thickener, soy lechtin as an emulsifier, or calcium propanate as a preservative. Once people know what they do and how it works they stop being "scary chemicals" corporations are putting in our food. I think it's a branding issue, sodium bicarbonate is a scary chemical but baking soda is a household ingredient, MSG is super scary but seaweed salt sounds delicious.

There are tactics other than preservatives to make bread last, such as covering it, freezing it, and tangzhong: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2018/03/26/introductio...

I tend to bake two loaves (always with tangzhong if the particular recipe can tolerate it), wrap both, immediately freeze one, and the other one lasts somewhere short of a week.

You definitely need to slice and freeze it! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31015602

No preservatives necessary. You just need a freezer and a toaster.

Adds inconvenience though when a kid just wants a pb&j right this moment. But yes, freezing is the way.

If you make artisan bread with sourdough, it can easily last 3-4 days. Mine don’t grow mold until 7-9 days.

It shouldn’t go stale in a day if you keep it somewhere somewhat airtight.

If you keep it airtight, the crust will dampen from the moisture that comes from the inside.

Which storing bread that has a crust worth preserving, I tend to make sure it gets a little air (covering it with linen cloths, for example), and accept the small amount of drying out that comes with this form of storage.