So I bake french bread every week or so. Marvelous. It would be nice to store it in such a way that the crust stays crisp. I just throw mine in a long plastic newspaper bag, and that preserves it nicely, but obviously doesn't retain the crisp crust. So what's the trick? Certainly a paper bag is optimal for storage in this regard but I don't happen to have any long tubular paper bags. What do folks do? I could make long tubular paper bags with a stapler. Newsprint? Paper from supermarket shopping bags? I could sew up some linen tubes. If I poked some holes in the plastic bag, would that do it? Yes I know I can buy such long tubular french bread paper bags, but I'd rather not be bothered. The idea of paying money for paper bags is somewhat distasteful to me.
Yeah, linen or paper work well. Basically anything that lets moisture escape yet doesn't allow a draft, which would dry out and stale the entire loaf quickly.
I often use a linen tote bag, one of a few we've gotten for making donations or subscribing to magazines.
I don't think you'll ever be able to maintain the just-baked crust for any length of time. You can restore the crust with 5 minutes in hot oven.
That said, you can buy plastic bags that contain micro-perforations that are designed to preserve as much as possible the crisp crust. I bought 500 of these on Amazon and I use them to transport bread. I've never attempted to keep bread for more than a day at room temperature. I either use it or freeze it.
very long even storing it in paper bags in dry, very dry Arizona. That is why a 450 F oven for 5 minutes is there:-)
Yes, that all makes sense. Thank you. No question that the crust will inevitably get soft, but I'd like to keep it crisp for a few days, if possible. I do find it a bit puzzling about how much ventilation is best. Too little and the crust gets soggy. Too much and the bread dries out. Plastic with microperforations doesn't sound functionally a lot different than a plastic bag with a few holes punched in it. But I like the linen option, and I think I'll put together a couple of such tubular bags. I think you can buy these linen french bread bags for some ridiculous price. Tote bags are a good idea, except they are loads bigger than the bread that I'm storing in it.
I don't think you can keep it crisp for more than a few hours, certainly not days.
an old fashioned Bread Box? I always wondered how they worked because they have gaps in them but now I suspect that those old timers knew more than they let on. Those gaps are probably enough to help the crust stay crisper longer but still allow the loaf to breathe so they don't get moldy.
I believe bread boxes, as such, were mostly used to retain moisture (in the era before plastic bags) in order to keep bread from drying out. I think that's why no one uses bread boxes anymore, because we have plenty of plastic bags. Most bread is sold in a plastic bag. That's what "stale bread" meant to them -- dried out bread. I think in those days, crispy crusts were not a high priority. The boxes were ventilated enough to prevent condensation, and the formation of mold. They were also important for keeping rodents out. But as I said, it's a bit puzzling exactly how much ventilation is best to assure a crisp crust.
for mold. I think crusty bread is crusty for a few hours, 5 or 6 would be the limit. We often “freshen” buns and baguettes by giving them a quick run in the oven, spraying a bit water on them just before they go in the oven seems to be beneficial.
Gerhard
I can buy crusty french bread in a decent store, and it's been sitting out there all day. I get it home, and it's still crusty a day or two later. So either their bread is special in some way, or their paper bags are special in some way. So no, you can keep bread crusty for several days if you know what you're doing. This is not about keeping it crusty forever.