Don’t Can Bread & Cake for Preservation

Posted in Food Safety,Our Blog on June 19, 2026

The internet is full of so much information that can be super useful for many hobbies, especially if you are new to a certain hobby. It is also full of misinformation or people chiming in saying “my grandma did it, so it’s ok” but today we learn why you don’t can bread and cake for preservation no matter what the internet says.

The actual process of baking bread or cake in a jar is not canning; the product is baked in an open glass canning jar and then covered with a canning lid upon removing from the oven. There is no further canning process applied afterwards.

The bread and cake recipes may call for the addition of fruit, liquids, or vegetables, which actually increases the moisture content, making a rich environment for microorganism survival. In addition, the practice does not remove all oxygen, leaving some oxygen available in the jar for microorganisms to thrive.

Using this technique to preserve breads and cakes is not recommended. Many cakes and quick bread recipes often have little or no acid resulting in a pH range above 4.6. A pH of this level will support the growth of pathogenic organisms that cause foodborne illnesses. There is a great concern about the hazardous bacterium called Clostridium botulinum (botulism) growing in these jars after the item has been baked. Botulism is often a fatal foodborne illness. There are reported cases each year of individuals who encounter botulism poisoning through improper canning practices.

Several studies over the years conducted by many universities have shown that some bacteria are heat-stable and can survive the baking process and then multiply in the bread during storage. Underbaked products were found to be another serious problem among available recipes for consumers to follow.

When breads and cakes in jars are made for sale commercially by companies, they use additives, preservatives, and processing controls to ensure the food safety of the finished product. Currently, there are no reliable or safe recipes for baking and sealing breads and cakes in canning jars, and storing them at room temperature for extended lengths of time.

Canning jar companies as a whole do not recommend using their jars to bake with in any type of oven. The risk of shattering or even small glass fragments going into the food is not worth it. Ingesting glass is not something typically on the to-do list for anyone.

Alternatives

An acceptable alternative is to make a dry mix in a jar. Place all of the dry bread ingredients in a jar. Add an oxygen absorber to prolong shelf life. Attach complete directions to the jar that includes wet ingredients to add (e.g. eggs, oil, etc.) and baking instructions. Be clear that baking should be done in a cake pan or bread pan and not the mason jar.

Another idea is baking and then freezing your breads or cakes. Many people find this alternative to be great especially with seasonal breads like zucchini where we have a small window of baking time using the produce from our gardens.

For more information on safe canning and alternative food preservation tips please follow Make Food Safe.