Greetings everyone,
I am no bread expert nor baker, however I thought that this forum would be the best place to get advice on an issue I’ve been having.
I buy my sourdough from my local shop. This is the second time that the interior of the loaf is completely white, “bleached”, looking like mould. I bought the bread and left it overnight in the fringe, slicing it the following day. As you can see by the picture, there is only an outer ring close to the crust that looks normal,
What is wrong with this loaf? Is this mould? Would it be because I left it in the fridge? Would it be safe to eat?
Thank you in advance for your help!
It almost looks like freezer burn. Anyway, it could be caused by chilling the loaf. Chilling speeds up the otherwise natural crystallization of the crumb quickly resulting in stale bread. The first day or two of a fresh loaf should never be chilled or frozen as the moisture in the interior moves toward the crust. Chilling or freezing prevents this evening out of the moisture inside the loaf. A frozen loaf that is quickly chilled will look like your picture when thawed out. I don't think the baker sold you a fast frozen and thawed loaf.
I can think of an exception to chilling bread and that would be in a tropical situation where heat and humidity threaten to mold the bread or when the fridge is warmer than the room (think winter cabin.) Then to refresh the stale crumb, pop bread into a toaster. So my advice would be..... try popping a slice in the toaster and see what it does. Next time chill the bread only when you plan on toasting the whole loaf. My Dad used to do this with his raisin bread 'cause it took him two weeks to eat a whole loaf.
Mini
I also thought freezer burn as first thing... is this supposed to be a fresh baked loaf?
Didn't mean to scare you away. Sorry.
Mini
…is a sure way to stale a loaf prematurely. The only breads that can/should be refrigerated are high rye content sourdoughs. Sourdoughs because of their acidity naturally resist staling and actually develop flavor over days, just as a curry or stew can. Keep the cut side of the loaf down on a crumb-free surface. If you don’t mind losing the crisp crust (which will happen over time anyway), wrap the loaf in a plastic bag. And as Mini pointed out, if it starts to dry out, just pop it in the toaster.
Thank you for your comments everyone. As you can see I am clueless when it comes to how to store bread. I didn’t use to store bread in the fridge, but I ended up doing so as we don’t eat much bread and then we end up having to throw half of the loaf away. I will try to store the dough at room temperature and see what happens.
As for toasting the bread, it didn’t change the whiteness of it at all. We still ate it though.
I spoke with the baker and he also thinks it could be freeze burn, as the dough is frozen in the supermarket before baking I believe.