Discovered the Bread store!!/freezing bagels?

[redmaples]

I got to the big city a few days ago with my parents & discovered the bread store! they were short dated, not out dated so okay for freezing. Bread goes quickly around here too with college kids home for the summer.
I brought home 15 bags of assorted Arnolds whole grain breads, bagels, sandwich rounds for $20!
Very exciting as the best price for a loaf of whole grain bread here has been $2.50 recently. I haven't been buying bagels because of their cost.
I'm not too sure how the bagels will freeze, so only got a few to try it. I double bagged them before putting in the freezer. Can anyone tell me how well the fresh bagles freeze/ how long they might keep in the freezer?
the bread store is an hour away & we won't get there too often, so next time I'd like to get a bunch more bagels!

[jlaporte]

i freeze em all the time. so far have never had a problem. i usually just keep em in the bag they came in and toss em in deep freeze take em out the night beofre i wanna use em or even just 2 or 3. they thaw just fine. we used 2 pkgs last night and made great bagel pizzas for dinner i had left over meatballs from the other night cut those up and tossed em on to no waist! but in mhop i never have a issue freezin and using bread and suck bought from thrift stores. even past the expire date.

[redmaples]

ah, thanks for the feedback...& the idea of bagel pizzas, never thought of that!

[jlaporte]

aww u r very welcome. i use them alot,well i got the kids to do it. its one of the meals they ask for alot and with summer here it is an easy lunch for them. have u thought of using them for sandwiches? i know they r a lot bigger then a slice of bread but in a pinch they come in handy.and u dont need to use the whole thing. maybe an open faced sammie.

[fixer]

We freeze bread, bagels, english muffins and donuts all of the time. We freeze in the original packaging. The key is to thaw in the package or another closed bag. When we need a few pieces of bread, we put them in a zip top bag. This method works much better than thawing them in the open. We keep all types of bread for months without any loss of quality. Congrats on finding a bread store. They are a wonderful place to shop.

[frugalfranny]

Aw...gotta love the bakery stores. We have three fairly close to me and they can kill my budget faster than chocolate!!! (one even sells pies!!)

Bagels freeze great. Do it all the time.
Most of the time I will leave them in their orig. wrapper but in summer I will tend to single wrap them as then I can just grab....less time for freezer to be open.
I do more single wrapping of bread...two slices at a time.. as it is just how/what I use.

[rmy9]

I used to work at Starbucks and their bagels are frozen and then thawed. Just make sure to keep them in the bag while they defrost so they don't get soggy. Or if they do end up a bit soggy when they thaw, just toast them.

[Grainlady]

Suggested storage time and how long people allow breads to languish in the freezer are many times two different numbers.

Depending on how you package breads of all kinds, they are best used within 2-4 months. Because bagles are "lean" breads, they aren't the best keepers in the freezer - only about 2-months. Breads with honey in them are best for freezer storage, because honey helps maintain moisture in the crumb of breads. I package many things in serving sizes using plastic wrap and/or pop-up foil sheets (I get them from Sam's Club - 500 to a box) and then place in a zip-lock freezer bag or plastic storage containers, then place them in the freezer.

Improperly packaged breads will quickly develop ice crystals from moisture in the breads migrating from the crumb of the breads to the air, so the breads are drying out in the freezer in the loose packaging. Just tossing in a loaf of bread, or other breads/rolls/baked-goods, in the bag you purchased it in is a good way to dry them out during long freezer storage.

To freeze bread—sliced or unsliced—wrap it in plastic wrap or place it in a plastic bag with the excess air pressed out. For longer storage, cover the plastic bag with aluminum foil. Since air will slowly migrate through the walls of plastic (wrap or a bag), plastic alone will work for only a month or two (heavier, freezer-type bags will help). If frozen in foil or freezer wrap, bread can be stored for three or four months and still maintain top quality.

Here's a link to a handy-dandy Food Storage Chart you may find helpful.

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/store/texas_storage.pdf

[ttistin]

Another idea for the bagels is to make your own breakfast bagel sandwich like what McDonald's serves. I scramble up some eggs, put in some already fried bacon (can use any meat or no meat at all) and a slice of cheese. Makes a great breakfast (or anytime meal) and tastes better then McD's.

Congrats on finding the bread store.

[pollypurebred39]

I used to do something along the lines of ttistin for my husband. Back when he was working his old job he had to get up at 3 am in the morning, there was no way I was going to get up and make breakfast at that time, so I made up batches of bagel sandwiches wrapped in tin foil and he would just turn on the oven and pop them in when he woke up, and then go hop in the shower and get ready for work. By the time he was done all he had to do was pour himself a travel mug of coffee, grab his lunch from the fridge and his oven toasted bagel sandwiches from the oven. He would eat one on the way and save the other one for his 8am break. While all the other guys were hitting the food truck and paying a fortune my husband had a great homemade breakfast sandwich for break time.

I did something similar with tortillas from the bread store. I would fill them with bean burrito filling and roll them and wrap individually then freeze. I would put them in my husbands lunch kettle frozen and they would be thawed by lunch or if I was out running errands they alway knew they could pull out a bean buritto for a snack.

I'd say these sandwiches stayed fresh if well wrapped for about 2 months. I labeled each sandwich with contents and date and then placed each in an open container in the freezer so they would stay contained and not be all over the place.

[mauimagic]

Would love to have a bread store near us. Bread is at least $4.50 a loaf and goes up from there. But then, if it was cheaper, I would buy and eat more - a definite weakness.

Love the idea of breakfast bagel sandwiches - mahalo for all the great ideas!!

[ladytoysdream]

Through the years, we have froze a lot of bread.

Currently I have 2 upright freezers running, and one of them is all bread & other bread type items. I got a real good deal recently.
This way, we can even share with the chickens

[Monner 1]

I love those bread stores. They really help the budget especially with grandchildren. The kids love the bagel egg and cheeses that I make and whenever they are here that is what they want for lunch. It sure helps this grandma's budget.

Monner

[frugalwarrior]

We've been doing this forever. I don't thaw the bagels but put them frozen in toaster. Pizza bagels are good but we make pita bagels now. I also freeze wraps,then make quesadilla grill cheese sandwiches. 2 wraps w/ cheese and leftover chicken fried like grill cheese. slice in 8 wedges. Dip wedges in sour cream.
The only thing that freezes poorly is cheap store brand bread. Even that is good for french toast. I make a whole loaf and freeze in loaf container. Put in toaster. 2 times down.

[Ceashels]

I froze a bag of cinnamon raisin bagels for *cough* a few months longer than expected and just like Grainlady said, they were dry, but all was not lost: they made a fabulous french toast casserole since they could soak up all that moisture from the eggs and milk.