Everyday getting up in the morning craving for a perfect breakfast but the whole cravings ruins when the bread is stale. The bread is a staple food in human diet. Earlier, no one consumed flat bread instead they chewed the grains of wheat they cultivated.
Much later, people learned to mix water and wheat and bake the batter which resulted into soft and tasty breads. Breads and its creation have a long history than any other civilizations. Accidentally, people learned to mix yeast and into the dough which made it fluffier and soft.
This age-old bread revolution is still creating newness in todays world. Although machines are doing its job for huge productions but there are still many regions around the world where breads have their own great deals. Breads are quite precious and precisely people prefer to have handmade breads. The freshly baked bread has a different aroma and softness when it comes directly out of oven. But breads in a very short time becomes stale.
As soon as the bread is taken out of the oven it starts to lose its freshness. And as the days pass by it becomes hard and stale and people end up throwing it in the dustbin. In this period, people don’t really want to bake bread on a daily basis, due to the busy schedule and restlessness most of us buy breads from the market.
However, in this article I will be talking about storing of breads and don’t just throw away breads which are a day old. Let’s talk a little more my dear bread lovers.
Many of us, tend to bake our own breads, we might be familiar with breads such as a sourdough boule, ciabatta, or a baguette, these type of breads is advised to consume within 2 days or else it will dry up and you will find mold grow and stale loafs. However, you need not worry of staleness, you can consume the piece of loaf by infusing your chef ability. It is easy to make croutons and refrigerate for future use, turning the dry breads into breadcrumbs or freezing it in slices or toasts. You are also free to covert the bread into caramelized bread shorts for snacks.
If you really want to store your bread and use it for long. You have to work a little harder to keep your bread fresh. There are huge and varieties of answers of storing the bread and keeping it fresh. However, if you’re thinking to refrigerate your bread it might turn into a bad idea as the cool temperature might stale your bread faster. However, let me tell you a better option.
BEST WAYS TO KEEP YOUR BREAD FRESH
If you are finding for a moist bread, you have to allow a little air circulation. For this a ceramic bread box will be excellent to keep your bread moist. In case you don’t have one or you are not willing to buy then the home remedy to keep your bread out from dryness is to sit your bread on a wooden board, cut side down. Or else, you can grab a paper bag and pose the same technique as mentioned earlier. This will give a good air circulation and won’t make your crust soft.
The next way, if you want to save you bread from staling at all cost you can go for a plastic bag, this option is suggested by many bakers of big bakeries. Be sure to air-out the plastic bag before storing and zipping your bag. However, this will soften the crust, but the bread will not dry out for sure. If you want the bread to be soft just toast it a bit and consume as you wish.
Let me tell you one more thing, every bread has its own quality and it completely depends on how it is being baked before it starts to stale. Freshly baked or home baked breads can last up to few days. It might stay well if you refrigerate it, but you might fail to taste the freshness. All you have to concentrate on is placing and packing. Mold and staleness always ruin the bread and steals the freshness.
SECRETS OF BREAD STORAGE
Let’s hop on to bread boxes for the freshness. After you bake a bread all you need to do is wrap the bread in a thin dry kitchen towel and store it in a paper bag or a container. You can also use a bread box for storage but as many don’t really want to purchase it, we can use other methods. At the time when you serve, put it in an oven heated 400F for around 5 minutes. You will get the freshness you where craving for.
Wanting to have fresh bread every day, then don’t buy or cut your bread into slices. This will stale your bread faster. If you have baked your bread, then cut the portion you want to have and store the rest of it. This will help the bread to carry on the freshness. Or else, the more the bread is exposed to air, the chances of mold increases.
In case, you have staled your bread, you can revert it back by placing some apple slices with the bread in a plastic bag, this will help the bread to regain its moisture. You can also try moistening a paper towel, placing the slices of stale bread on the towel, and microwaving it for a few seconds.
A short tip for the readers, never slice the bread immediately after removing from the oven, you might ruin the freshness. Let it complete its bake and then store it accordingly.
Every bread has its different type of storage process, a bread might mold fast or stale the next day itself if not properly stored. A few things you should keep in mind and handle your bread with care.
A few breads like challah and brioche will take really long to stale but in case of baguette it will start to stale rapidly because it lacks fat and its narrow shape. If you are fond of this bread you need to consume it the very day when it is baked, you can store at your own risk. However, storing bread can be a big deal but the great thing is that you can make new recipes out of these breads without concerning about the staleness.