bread storage

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inkedbaker on 1 Oct 2011 at 09:19

now that i've become fairly decent at baking bread, I would like some suggestions on bread storage and freezing loaves. How long will a loaf keep in the freezer, and what is the best way to store my bread to maintain freshness? Any takers?

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Sjadad on 1 Oct 2011 at 13:57

When I want to freeze bread (sourdoughs, Poolish-based, etc), I first allow the loaves to cool completely to room temperature. I double wrap in plastic wrap, and then wrap in heavy duty foil. I label the foil with the date, the type of bread, and a warning that there is plastic under the foil, just in case someone wants to pop it in the oven to warm it up. I defrost it before unwrapping. Frozen loaves don't spend that much time in my freezer. Usually less than a month, although I must admit that I have had loaves frozen for several months and they hold up very well. Sourdoughs hold up the best. Good luck!

I defrost it before unwrapping...

Me too:-)

My experience is when freezing, some of the moisture comes out of the bread and forms crystals on the inside of the bag, and when thawing, that same moisture all slowly goes back into the bread   ...except if you open the bag before the bread is defrosted, which often leads to yuckily dry bread. By leaving the wrapping closed until after the bread is thoroughly thawed, you don't have to figure out "how much" moisture to put back in the bread - the amount of moisture in the bag is exactly right, just let it all go back into the bread by itself.

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cubfan4ever on 1 Oct 2011 at 23:07

how long does the bread hold up?

super hard, I hold mine over the sink, wet my hand with running water and rub it over all sides of the bread then put the bread in the preheated 300 degree F oven and let it rebake for about 10 minutes.  I also "store" my bread in a brown paper bag or wrapped in a linen towel for a day or two. And freezing works great and upon defrosting the crust will either be as good as first coming out of the oven or rebake for a few minutes. 

Have fun :)

Anna