November 8, 2007 - 8:39am
leaving house while bread is still cooling
Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do with an bread that is still cooling down from baking and too hot to put away, but you have to leave the house for several hours or go to bed? I have been putting a towel over it, but are there any other suggestions that work better?
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I suppose what to do with a cooling loaf depends on the kind of crust you want and for how long you have to leave it. I don't think leaving any bread on a cooling rack for an extra hour or three is going to matter much. If you are going to leave it cooling for 8 hours, I would put it in something that breathes so the crust doesn't get too soft or soggy with condensed water. I use super-duper bread bags I get from KA Flour's online store, but a plain brown paper bag, left open, would probably do the job. Putting a towel over it sounds okay, too.
David
If it's a sourdough or pre-fermented bread you don't have to do anything to it. If it's a softer crust type bread a paper bag or loosely covered with a towel is fine.
Hi docpat! Nice to see you here.
Lately I've been working on sourdoughs with limited success, and sometimes the final proof takes so long that I find myself just waiting for the loaf to finish baking so I can finally go to sleep. When the bread is that hot, the best place I've found to store it away safely until the morning is on a rack in the microwave.
L_M