If you are making a "direct" method loaf, that is with baker's yeast and no pre-ferment, and you are keeping it in an air-tight bag, it will keep for 4-5 days, most likely, or until it molds, whichever comes first. Enriched doughs, that is doughs with oil, milk, eggs, etc., will keep moist longer than lean dough breads. There are additional variables that also impact "shelf life."
However, most sourdough breads keep 5-7 days in a bakery bag. In fact, some actually seem to get better for the first 2-3 days after baking.
I'm having fun with my breadmaker. No pre-ferment. Just put all the ingredients into the pan (yeast last) and let the machine do all of the work.
I've been playing around with diffeent grains using this stock formula:
1 1/4 cups water
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 to 1 1/2 packages active dry yeast
4 Cups Flour
I've had the best results with 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour and 1 1/2 cups of another grain. With this method, my Buckwheat and Rye were the 2 best breads. I tried Red Rice flour. I'm sure the Bread was healthy, but the taste was very plain. The only Bread that I made with this forumla was Barley Bread. It was very doughy.
I've found that with any less that 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, the Bread dosen't rise enough. I'm currently trying a 50% mix of all purpose and whole wheat, with an added tablespoon of vital wheat gluten.
Try using the "Food-Saver" vacuum and it will last many, many months in a deep freeze. The vacuum may squeeze it a bit but should recover nicely with a warm up.
Our sourdoughs last at least 5 days (they're eaten by then!). I keep one on the bench top in a sealed plastic bag, slice and use as we need. They're used within 4-5 days, so I don't actually know how much further they would last. Old bread is not necessarily stale bread. I agree with David's comments; they seem to get better and take on new characteristics after a few days.
What is a bakery bag? I've been making sourdough no knead, and I've read to keep it in a paper or cloth bag to preserve the crunchiness of the crust, but it seems to get too dry that way. In a Ziplock, it stays moister, but the crust also gets soft.
I follow the same procedure as Gavin. My sourdough starts getting a bit dry around the sixth day so I slice it, bag it, and move it to the freezer. Makes great french toast.
BTW, the crust doesn't get soft even when stored in the plastic bag. Possibly because my crusts are baked to a deep rich brown.
Hi, dragon49.
Welcome to TFL!
If you are making a "direct" method loaf, that is with baker's yeast and no pre-ferment, and you are keeping it in an air-tight bag, it will keep for 4-5 days, most likely, or until it molds, whichever comes first. Enriched doughs, that is doughs with oil, milk, eggs, etc., will keep moist longer than lean dough breads. There are additional variables that also impact "shelf life."
However, most sourdough breads keep 5-7 days in a bakery bag. In fact, some actually seem to get better for the first 2-3 days after baking.
What kind of bread are you baking?
David
David,
Thanks for the reply!
I'm having fun with my breadmaker. No pre-ferment. Just put all the ingredients into the pan (yeast last) and let the machine do all of the work.
I've been playing around with diffeent grains using this stock formula:
1 1/4 cups water
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 to 1 1/2 packages active dry yeast
4 Cups Flour
I've had the best results with 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour and 1 1/2 cups of another grain. With this method, my Buckwheat and Rye were the 2 best breads. I tried Red Rice flour. I'm sure the Bread was healthy, but the taste was very plain. The only Bread that I made with this forumla was Barley Bread. It was very doughy.
I've found that with any less that 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, the Bread dosen't rise enough. I'm currently trying a 50% mix of all purpose and whole wheat, with an added tablespoon of vital wheat gluten.
Later
Try using the "Food-Saver" vacuum and it will last many, many months in a deep freeze. The vacuum may squeeze it a bit but should recover nicely with a warm up.
Our sourdoughs last at least 5 days (they're eaten by then!). I keep one on the bench top in a sealed plastic bag, slice and use as we need. They're used within 4-5 days, so I don't actually know how much further they would last. Old bread is not necessarily stale bread. I agree with David's comments; they seem to get better and take on new characteristics after a few days.
Gavin
What is a bakery bag? I've been making sourdough no knead, and I've read to keep it in a paper or cloth bag to preserve the crunchiness of the crust, but it seems to get too dry that way. In a Ziplock, it stays moister, but the crust also gets soft.
I am in the process of placing a couple of gift ideas on my food blog. Take a look at these on my recent post.
www.elisfoods.wordpress.com
Eli
[url=http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/9140/bread-packaging][u]Here[/u][/url].
I follow the same procedure as Gavin. My sourdough starts getting a bit dry around the sixth day so I slice it, bag it, and move it to the freezer. Makes great french toast.
BTW, the crust doesn't get soft even when stored in the plastic bag. Possibly because my crusts are baked to a deep rich brown.