Realizing that you can put bread in the freezer changed my life - well, at least my bread buying habits ;-)
> put bread in the freezer Except frozen bread tastes bloody awful.
You have to thaw it before you eat it.
Show HN: I made a website to search for half loaves of bread
111–120 of 210 posts
Re: Show HN: I made a website to search for half loaves of bread
#112Realizing that you can put bread in the freezer changed my life - well, at least my bread buying habits ;-)
I'm eating loads of bread, good bread is not easy to come by in London, at least to my taste. There is this one place I like, they do big loafs that reminds me of the bread my grand parents were buying in France. Problem is that they won't sell me halves and my partner doesn't eat much so I freeze it from time to time.
Frozen bread from a decent bakery always beat any kind of "fresh" supermarket bread.
Re: Show HN: I made a website to search for half loaves of bread
#113As a German the cultural differences around bread are really interesting. Already the cartoon picture of the half loaf of bread is so fundamentally different to what I am expecting it to look like. Also people in the comments saying they rarely not finish a loaf of bread. This [1] is how it looks like here and when bought at a bakery it's usually so big that we buy it in quarters and even that lasts a couple of days.…
FWIW in the US this is called "artisan bread", as opposed to supermarket bread. You can get it in bakeries in every major city, and at farmer's markets, but not most supermarkets, especially not outside the city. It's really popular in San Francisco for example.
I found this out because I brought some bread from back to the suburbs to my parents, and they thought it was awesome, and had never had it before ... ! I haven't lived in the suburbs for ~20 years so I forgot that the availability of food is different.
Re: Show HN: I made a website to search for half loaves of bread
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is “artisan” bread, made by hand, which is the round kind. Then there is “sandwich bread”, which is the rectangular kind. Ingredients: Artisan bread is usually just flour, water, salt, yeast (sourdough is just flour and water, too). Sandwich bread can include milk or other fats to make it softer and is more of a “cake”. In industrial settings, there are a lot of preservatives included in the sandwich bread. Mix…
Started baking bread with kids recently. They love it. But next day the leftover bread is stale. I explained that it isn’t full of preservatives. After a moment, they look at me and ask where we can get some.
You definitely need to slice and freeze it! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31015602
No preservatives necessary. You just need a freezer and a toaster.
Re: Show HN: I made a website to search for half loaves of bread
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
Keep in mind, this service appears to be focused on India, where the kind of loaf bread pictured is also not the most traditional. (When I lived in Afghanistan and would occasionally buy loaves of sandwich bread at groceries catering to expats, my Indian colleagues referred to it as "double roti"—a term I found delightful. I wonder how common that usage is in India these days.)
Indian cuisine also has a pretty wide selection of different "breads" (dough patties? DeepL does not even know a word for "Teigfladen" (de)). Naan and Roti are probably the most known, but there are several others including very fatty ones. (somebody from India please chime in, I don't know the names :-) ) (Not from India but had an Indian roommate once and attended his wedding in India thereafter (obviously :-))
- 20 different types of roti to try out if you thought all Indian breads are the same: https://www.innfinity.in/food/types-of-roti/
- 15 Best Indian Bread Recipes: https://food.ndtv.com/lists/10-best-indian-bread-recipes-146...
Re: Show HN: I made a website to search for half loaves of bread
#116Fascinating just to see the prices of bread in another country. In the Mumbai area, it looks like a half loaf costs between 17 and 75 INR -- with most around 22 INR, or 30 cents US. Here in Toronto, we often pay $4 to $5 (USD) for a decent loaf of sandwich bread. The difference is pretty striking.
I suspect that's mostly because Indian labour is much cheaper. Making a loaf of home-made bread uses about $0.30 CAD of flour, and yeast, salt and water don't add much to the cost.
(Edit:) Also of course anti-competitive behaviour by the bakery cartel drives up prices in Canada.
Re: Show HN: I made a website to search for half loaves of bread
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pff, wait til you discover you can freeze also sausages and butter without losing any quality, which sadly can't be said about bread, defrosted bread tastes pretty bad, which is why I don't freeze it. I mean if I would be that desperate or lazy that I wouldn't want to go to small convenience store right under my building to buy half loaf, I have always at home enough flour and it would make more sense to keep dry yea…
I would have agreed with you completely until I got married and discovered that it's not the freezing that does it, but the thawing. It's all in how you thaw. Now I pull the loaf out a few hours before it's needed and let it thaw at room temperature in the pantry. Definitely leave it sealed. I laugh now thinking about how as kids we put the bread in the microwave on defrost. That makes some damn nasty bread :-D
nah, I know that, I defrost everything at room temperature, defrosting anything in MW is insanity
some people recommend sprinkle a bit water and put defrosted bread into oven for short time, but haven't tried it, I prefer fresh bread
Re: Show HN: I made a website to search for half loaves of bread
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pff, wait til you discover you can freeze also sausages and butter without losing any quality, which sadly can't be said about bread, defrosted bread tastes pretty bad, which is why I don't freeze it. I mean if I would be that desperate or lazy that I wouldn't want to go to small convenience store right under my building to buy half loaf, I have always at home enough flour and it would make more sense to keep dry yea…
Depends on the sausage I guess, and on the defrosting process. Personally, I don't like to freeze any meat - chances are that it had been frozen already, and refreezing it will ruin it. My mom freezes everything to save money, and there is an element of emancipation for me to be able to not do that, but generally speaking I just find it a destructive practice from a flavour perspective.
it's not (only/mostly) about money, but (mostly) convenience
Re: Show HN: I made a website to search for half loaves of bread
#119As a German the cultural differences around bread are really interesting. Already the cartoon picture of the half loaf of bread is so fundamentally different to what I am expecting it to look like. Also people in the comments saying they rarely not finish a loaf of bread. This [1] is how it looks like here and when bought at a bakery it's usually so big that we buy it in quarters and even that lasts a couple of days.…
You don't have anything like French pain de mie in Germany?
Yes, they, do. A wide variety of it.
Re: Show HN: I made a website to search for half loaves of bread
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
It really is a game changer. Even just putting it in the fridge prolongs its shelf life. Just make sure to keep the bag sealed with a twist tie, to keep the bread from drying out. I also save the heels until last, as well. They make good end caps while you're finishing the rest of the loaf.
Does anyone actually eat the heels?
They are fine for croutons or breadcrumbs. I don't like them in any other application (like a sandwich).