Storing homemade bread

[dogmatix]

I am looking for the best way to store my bread machine homemade bread. I've been looking at bread bags and bread boxes (some with slicing guides). But I can;t find anything that consistently gets good reviews. Does anyone care to share their best/favorite way to store homemade bread? Thanks!

[QM]

Personally I leave mine on the counter is a zip-loc bag for about a day, then I freeze the rest. I just take as needed out of the freezer. After it's been in the freezer, it doesn't have the same "fresh" taste, but good enough for me!

[Grainlady]

Because of the ingredients I add to my homemade enriched breads (agave nectar, coconut oil, and chia seed jel), cooling and storage methods, the bread stays nice and soft for as long as one week. Soft enough for a peanut butter sandwich after a week.

After completely cooling, I put it in a plastic bag (or wrap in plastic wrap), and keep it in a clear, 2-piece plastic bread keeper - [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-International-Clearly-Fresh-Keeper/dp/B00004RDCR"]Amazon.com: Progressive International Clearly Fresh Bread Keeper: Kitchen & Dining[/ame] I never use the slicing guide. I can slice a 1-ounce slice (a serving) without a guide because I've done it for so long... I put it in the plastic bread keeper to keep it from getting squished in my pantry.

TIP: don't cut the whole loaf unless you will be using it quickly.

Here's some information I teach in my bread classes... It's less about right or wrong, but more about choices.

Staling - Retrogradation of Amylopectin

WORST PLACE TO STORE BREAD: The fastest way to make bread stale is to store it in the refrigerator. In one experiment, bread stored at 46°F (most refrigeratore are 40°F or cooler), staled as much in one day as bread held at 86°F did in six days.

- Moisture changes contribute to staling through evaporation and water redistribution. Evaporation can cause a 10% weight loss in UNwrapped bread but usually less than 1% in wrapped bread.

- Wrapped bread tastes dry because water has migrated from the crumb to the crust, and from the starch to the gluten.

- The crust softens in wrapped bread and the moisture level in the crust increases from about 12-28%. This is when that dry, crisp, pleasant texture of fresh crust changes into the soft, leathery, not-so-pleasant texture of stale crust.

- Unwrapped bread looses moisture and flavor faster, but retains crumb texture better. If you are going to use a loaf quickly, many people just up-end the loaf on the cutting board (cut side down). At most, they toss a cotton dish towel over it (to keep "critters" off). Use this method if you like the better crumb.

- Wrapped bread stays softer (especially when wrapped warm) and tastes better (especially when wrapped cool), but the crust softens faster (from moisture migrating from the crumb to the crust).

- Crumb-firming is fastest at low temperatures between 20° and 50°F.

- High temperatures above 95°F affect color and flavor

- 70°-95°F is the optimum storage temperature for bread.

- Freezing at 0°F to -20°F has the effect of about one day's storage time, but then effectively stops all aspects of staling indefinitely. In other words, freezer bread will be like eating day-2 bread.

- If stale bread is frozen, it will be stale bread when it is defrosted.

HOW TO RESCUE STALE BREAD...

Heating day-old bread to a temperature of 120°+ will re-gelatinize the starches, which temporarily reverses the staling process.

For one slice of bread, spritz water on it with a fine mixt spritzer and warm the slices in a toaster or toaster oven for a moment or two.

For an entire loaf, wrap it in foil and bake it for 10-20 minutes at 300°-350°F.

Re-gelatinization is only good ONE time. Don't try this 2-3 times on the same loaf of bread.

Edited to add: Wrapped bread means a close wrapping, not a loose bag. Loose bags allow more air curculation on the bread surface which means more evaporation and breads lose more moisture from the crumb to the crust and the air.

When freezing bread, wrap tightly with plastic wrap (a close wrap) first, and then foil. If you don't apply the close wrapping, moisture migrates to the loose-fitting bag which creates ice crystals. Ice crystals melt during thawing and make the bottom of the loaf soggy. You'll have a better crumb if you can keep that moisture IN the bread, rather than in the loose-fitting bag.

[lukesmama]

I use one of those large Glad containers (given to me). The loaf is a bit long when it comes out of the oven, but after the cook eats a nice sized slice (lol) it's just the right size.

[Buc-O-Mama]

I've had the best luck using the (recycled) plastic bags that are from the inside of cereal boxes or (recycled) potato chip bags. I just fold them over and pinch with a clothespin. I live in Florida, so it is necessary to keep bread in the fridge (when I make 2 loaves at a time) because fresh bread can mold fast.

[launilb]

Since it is just my husband and I, i make the smallest loaf my machine will make and we use it in two days. I wrap the loaf in plastic wrap tightly and then allow it to finish cooling. Unwrap and slice it all at once. Slicing it all at once for us isn't an issue since it is gone in two days. We usually use a zipper bag and it keeps it very nicely. That way we always have fairly fresh bread!

[Luv2BeFrugal]

We use ziplock bags sometimes and bread bags (can buy from co-ops at a reasonable price) other times...depends on the loaf size (I have a few different pans I've accumulated over the years). We don't refrigerate our bread...

[guest002]

I wrap mine in plastic wrap. When my larger Tupperware container gets empty of what it's storing I'm gonna try that.

[dogmatix]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

[nvmommyx6]

|I put mine in a baggie and freeze it, then I seal it in the foodsaver bag airtight and put it back in the freezer with date and flavor marked on it.
One thing you'll notice is the fresh home made breads have no preservatives so they go bad faster, so if we are not eating it, it is in the freezer!
I find breads go bad faster in the cupboard or in a bread box, mine are stored in the fridge, they last longer that way!
Good luck!

[redhead68]

I store my home-made sandwich bread in a ziploc bag on the counter and slice it as needed. The crust does soften, but I haven't noticed that it becomes leathery. We typically eat the entire loaf by the third day.