How to Store Bread According to Your Bread Character
Welcome back to The Grown-Up Kitchen , the Skillet section dedicated to answering basic kitchen questions. Not every voting age adult is comfortable eating steaks or even reheating frozen pizza. (My stepfather claims he’s never been able to reheat popcorn in the microwave.) From basic cooking skills to gadget functions, food storage, and knife maintenance, I’m here to help you feed yourself like an adult.
This issue addresses the simple yet important issue of bread storage. (You know, this is how you can save yourself from throwing up when you find a blue-green mold doll in your bag of bread.)
Storing bread is not a one size fits all method, you should consider your use and the type of bread you like to eat. I think everyone has a “bread character” and knowing yours will help you store bread more efficiently. You must consider how often you cut a piece. Do you eat bread every day, take a break on the weekends, or have an occasional craving? Do you only store store-bought sliced loaves, or do you buy a rectangular bread with seeds that always seems moist? There are three possible places to store your bread, each suited to different personalities: countertop, refrigerator, and freezer.
Keep it on the counter
Countertop storage is ideal for those who eat every day and works best with dry bread. Storing on the counter, in a bag, or in a bread box makes it easy for you to grab a slice and it’s already at room temperature, which means you can chew immediately, or the toasting time will be relatively quick.
Dry or crispy breads, such as buns or ciabatta loaf, keep better at room temperature than moist breads. Bagged English muffins, olive buns, or Mestemacher seed breads are high in moisture, and the extra moisture contained in a plastic bag, especially if you live in a humid climate, can be a holiday day for bread mold. The temperature range of 60-80°F does not inhibit fungal growth. In fact, mushrooms like to live in the same temperatures as ours, so plan on making this loaf three to five days in advance. Households of two or more people who consume bread daily will likely have no problem with countertop storage. If you’re on the fence, read on.
Keep refrigerated
Refrigeration may be the “correct” version for most people. This can work for both daily bread eaters and rare bread eaters, but is perfect for those who want an egg sandwich, maybe twice a week. Bread-loving spores are not interested in growing at 35-40°F, wet or not. Regardless of the type of bread, you can significantly extend the life of your loaf by up to two weeks. Despite cold conditions, the bread remains flexible, so you can easily cut off a few pieces of sourdough or split an English muffin with ease. (This does not apply to whole frozen loaves.) Keep in mind that if you can store bread in a paper bag on the countertop, make sure the bread is wrapped in plastic if you keep it in the refrigerator. refrigerator for a while. Long-term storage can lead to loss of moisture, stale bread and loss of taste.
Store it in the freezer
Don’t consider yourself a carb lover but crave a tortilla sometimes? Store bread in the freezer. Bread keeps surprisingly well when deep-frozen, some of them keep up to six months and they thaw to like new conditions. Seriously, it’s like the bread was born again. This is one of the reasons why the frozen food sections are filled with bread-based products, they heat up phenomenally. In fact, your supermarket bakery probably freezes bread too .
Regardless of the type of bread, cranberry and walnut tortillas or baguettes are welcome, and high or low water carbs will do just as well in the freezer. The only annoying thing is that when you want a piece, it will be frozen. This makes clipping a problem. The best way to deal with this problem is to get started before you freeze it. First cut the banana . Share English muffins, bagels, cookies and scones. Wrap them well in polyethylene (moisture loss occurs in the freezer too), and put in the freezer.
When cravings for carbohydrates appear, eat a couple of pieces. If you pull, they will break, or you can use a butter knife to split them open. Roast them as you normally would with an extra minute or two. Enjoy your new, grown-up way of storing bread. You’ll spend less bread, save some money, and always have “fresh” bread whenever you want.