Wrapping bread and storing it at room temperature will help it retain moisture for a few days. Freezing is the answer. The takeaway: If you're storing bread longer than a few days, it's best to keep it in the freezer. Slice the cut-off portion and wrap the slices airtight in plastic, four or six slices to a packet or however many you think you and your family will eat in one day. Place these individual packets into a plastic bag, seal tightly, and place in the freezer, preferably in the coldest part away from the door.
When you want bread, simply remove one packet, unwrap it, and store the slices in a zip-top plastic bag.
Soft sandwich breads can be served as is; crusty breads will benefit by toasting, or at least reheating until warm. What about refrigerating bread? But as I said, be sure to reheat or toast it before using. Certain breads, just by the nature of their ingredients, are more likely to stay fresh at room temperature than others.
So if freezer space is an issue, try your hand at one of these two styles:. The more liquid released by starch, the drier staler your bread will be, since this released liquid quickly exits your bread via evaporation. Want to give sourdough bread a test drive? Make or buy your starter , then try our recipe for Rustic Sourdough Bread. Tangzhong: When making soft sandwich bread or dinner rolls, keep them fresh longer at room temperature by starting with a quick and easy tangzhong starter.
Read the preparation details and the science behind this surprising process here: Introduction to tangzhong. Various online food sites have offered versions of this bread hack, and it works While your baguette will never return to its just-baked goodness, you can at least soften the interior and add some crunch to the crust by taking a few easy steps.
Will this work for other crusty breads? Yes, though the thinner like a baguette or smaller like a roll the better. In the course of testing the various bread-storage suggestions I collected from my fellow bakers, I also came across a surprising result: storing bread in a closed container with uncooked rice helps keep it from molding. I tested three baguette chunks side by side: one in a glass container with rice, one in a plastic bag, and one in a micro-perforated cellophane bag the kind crusty breads are often sold in at the supermarket.
In fact, it had become unbearably hard after just 24 hours. The baguette in the plastic bag, though still soft, was starting to mold. But the baguette in the glass container sitting atop a layer of rice, while soft like its companion in plastic, showed no signs of mold. Apparently the rice absorbs just enough moisture to make the loaf less attractive to mold spores. So if your bread is prone to molding at room temperature, try storing it with dry rice. For optimal bread storage, check out our all-purpose bread bags.
Or if you'd like to bake loaves that stay extra fresh after baking, consider baking Rustic Sourdough Bread or Japanese Milk Bread. PJ bakes and writes from her home on Cape Cod, where she enjoys beach-walking, her husband, three dogs, and really good food!
I slice an entire loaf of bread as soon as it has cooled, then place patty papers between the slices. That way I can wrap and freeze the loaf and easily remove one slice or as many as I wish and pop the rest of the loaf back into the freezer. Just a thought. Can the rice hack be used with a ziplock bag instead of a glass box? My breads are generally a little e bigger for the glass boxes I have. I have your plastic bread storage bin. It keeps a loaf very nice for about five or six days.
If the bread last that long. In my experience, a refreshed loaf has pretty much the same shelf life as a just baked one perhaps a day less?
You could also slice any leftovers and freeze them for easy toasting. Hi Ruth! Not sure what you mean. There is no active bacteria in bread, as it has baked at a high temperature so any sort of bacteria good or bad would no longer be viable after that.
Many people do find it easier to digest though due to the long fermentation. You mention these are specifically not for store bought sandwich bread.
But what about homemade sandwich bread? Just regular white sandwich bread and would really rather not use single-use plastic like I have. Hi Anna! Great question. I have a feeling you could definitely use beeswax paper to store those loaves — but you might want to consider a bread box? I feel like that might be the best option for you, especially if you make sandwich bread regularly, especially if you are mostly looking to reduce single use plastic.
Are you mostly just looking to reduce single use plastic? Sourdough holds up a bit better than traditional yeast breads, which is why it is a bit hard to tell. Wow very interesting thanks! Does the running water over a thawed frozen loaf work if its only half a loaf? Presume so just turn it cut down and make sure to only run water over the crust not the inside of the loaf?
The baking time will most likely be way too long and the loaf could easily dry out without having the crust as insulation. Hi Stephanie! I use a Ziplog bag, and just reuse it many times. When it does become unusable, I recycle it with my other soft plastic at a soft plastic recycling center cling wrap is not soft plastic, so I try to avoid using that. Mobile Menu Trigger. How to Store Bread Day One — Day Two: for bread that has just been baked, I always leave it out, completely uncovered, at room temperature on the first day of baking.
The crust on freshly baked bread will remain at its best texture for at least one day, if not two full days.
If you slice into your bread: it is best practice to leave it cut-side down on a cutting board uncovered, particularly if you enjoy a crisp crust. This will help protect the interior from drying out, but not result in any moisture collecting on the crust and it becoming too soft. If you have not sliced into your bread: if I choose not to slice into the bread on the day of baking, I generally transfer the whole loaf to a large paper bag and fold over the edges. Usually by day three, the best option is to store it bread box if you have one or a large Ziploc bag.
You can get around this by toasting your bread lightly. No, but seriously, if you do not plan on consuming your whole loaf of bread within the first few days of baking, I generally always advise storing it in the freezer see my instructions below. How to Freeze Bread: One of the best tools in your kitchen for storing bread is the freezer! How to Freeze Whole Loaves of Bread: To freeze entire loaves of bread, allow the bread to cool completely, then transfer to a large, durable Ziploc bag, press out any excess air, and seal.
How to Freeze Sliced Bread: If you only consume a small amount of bread at a time or have it occasionally here and there or have a small household, one fabulous way to store bread is to slice it before freezing. How to Refresh Bread Perfectly: This is my favorite method for freezing and refreshing whole loaves of bread. How to Refresh Whole Loaves of Bread: Allow your frozen loaf of bread to thaw in the bag at room temperature for several hours or overnight on your countertop the night before.
Preheat your oven to degrees Fahrenheit C for at least 20 minutes with a rack in the center position. Remove the loaf of bread from the bag and lightly run it, very quickly, under cold water. This light coating of water steams in the oven and results in a far crisper, fresher crust than placing a loaf in the oven dry. Place the whole loaf of bread directly on the oven rack and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is crisp and cracks slightly when compressed slightly.
This time might vary slightly depending on the size of your loaf of bread baguettes might only need about 15 minutes at the most , but I always err on the longer side. Remove and allow your perfectly crisped, refreshed loaf of bread to cool completely on a cooling rack — usually at least an hour — before slicing. Store bread as directed above. I generally find that refreshed whole loaves of bread will store just as well, perhaps drying out slightly faster, as freshly baked loaves.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you. Please read my disclosure policy for more information. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.
Phyllis Coffey — July 7, pm Reply. Laura — July 8, am Reply. Laurenne — January 5, pm Reply. This is the ideal scenario for good eating, and you never have to worry about how to store it, slice it or preserve it. You're going to eat it over the next couple of days. Buy the loaf whole, not sliced. That will limit the bread's exposure to air and keep it fresher. Then, slice it as you need it, using a good serrated knife to cut the hard crust without "squishing" the loaf.
It can be stored in a breadbox, bread drawer or the bag it was sold in. Bakeries use bags made of wax paper, brown paper or plastic with tiny perforations that allow air to circulate. Air keeps the crust crisp. That's why wrapping rustic bread in plastic isn't advised.
0コメント