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Does storing bread in the fridge make it last longer? (2019)

culinarylore.com

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Re: Does storing bread in the fridge make it last longer? (2019)

#71

Post by renewiltord »

crazygringo wrote: post #53
lolinder wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I store my bread in the fridge and never heat it up. I just make a sandwich and eat it as is.

So you basically just always eat stale bread? It might be worth trying to heat it sometimes. ;) Because the article doesn't make it entirely clear: to "de-stale" bread, it's not enough to bring it back to room temperature. You actually have to heat it to the "gelation point" (140°F) to undo the chemical reaction that made it stale in the first place. [1] So even if you don't want it toasted, a quick zap in the microw…

Damn, the process there is more time intensive than anything else. I'd just skip it, trash the stale bread and do a 10 minute grocery trip. How much is a loaf anyway? $10?

Re: Does storing bread in the fridge make it last longer? (2019)

#73

Post by dlubarov »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #50
barrkel wrote: post #36

Since the COVID lockdown in February, we've mostly switched over to part-baked bread rolls, individually packaged and baked on demand - 3 minutes to heat the oven, 10 minutes baking, and you've got a fresh warm roll, and most importantly, it has a crisp crust. It's a low labour medium between baking your own bread and buying bread almost every day, which is what I used to do. In fact I used buying bread as an excuse…

Interesting, I haven't noticed these sold but I haven't been looking. You buy at an ordinary grocery store? National brands? In the freezer section?

I'm not sure what the quality is like, but Target sells some "take and bake" breads (at least in my area): https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=take+and+bake

Trader Joe's also used to sell "half baked" breads, but I think those might have been discontinued?

Re: Does storing bread in the fridge make it last longer? (2019)

#74

Post by Benjamin_Dobell »

crazygringo wrote: post #54
tzs wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless it is thickly sliced you might not even need to heat it up in the oven/toaster. Just letting it thaw on the counter might work. For the slightly thin wheat bread I use for sandwiches, putting a couple slices on the counter for 10 minutes or so does the trick. If I know I'm going to make a sandwich later, but am not sure when, I take the slices out in the morning and leave the on the counter covered with a towe…

I replied elsewhere, but thawing it isn't enough -- to "de-stale" it requires heating it to 140°F: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/8226-how-to-revive-...

From the source article:

> Incidentally, however, putting bread in the freezer halts the staling process altogether, so it is true that to keep bread for a long period of time, you can put it in the freezer, then take it out and let it thaw at room temperature.

Re: Does storing bread in the fridge make it last longer? (2019)

#75

Post by eitland »

hinkley wrote: post #49
Pick-A-Hill2019 wrote: post #2

Ah the things I learn from clicking random HN links - Sliced bread was once illegal in the United States! https://culinarylore.com/food-history:sliced-bread-was-once-...

TL;DR: banned during rationing in WWII, which is less sensational. Lots of things got weird during rationing.

Around here peeling potatoes b before boiling was illegal during rationing in WWII.

Re: Does storing bread in the fridge make it last longer? (2019)

#77

Post by Dalrymple »

Could someone explain why the thin flatbread known as the tortilla seems to last much longer in a sealed bag? Ordinary bread molds on me in 4-5 days. I have kept a bag of tortillas around for a couple weeks without any mold. They do get stale if one forgets to seal the zip-type bag.

Re: Does storing bread in the fridge make it last longer? (2019)

#78

Post by Karunamon »

mumblemumble wrote: post #15

So, there's been a lot of reacting to this article on the level of bread preservation, and that's definitely some useful life knowledge, but don't miss the subtext: This article is using a debate about bread as the object of a lesson in the importance of precise communication. I've seen this argument happen before. It was once a source of much debate within my extended family. And, like the article describes, the bas…

Wouldn't it be better in the last case to use a different term that's less likely to be misunderstood/misinterpreted, especially in technical contexts that lack much of the cultural baggage that would prevent such a solution offline?

So much miscommunication, wasted time, hurt feelings, etc could have been avoided if, say, GNU decided not to muddy the term "free".

Re: Does storing bread in the fridge make it last longer? (2019)

#79

Post by Moru »

washadjeffmad wrote: post #38
egypturnash wrote: post #23

I live in a hot, humid, tropical city. If you leave bread out it will become a mold colony once you've opened the bag. Fresh, room-temperature bread is a luxury only available for sandwiches made immediately after opening the bag. Bread lives in the fridge after that. If you want to revivify your bread when it comes out of the fridge, sprinkle a little water on the underside and put it in the oven on a low temperatur…

You've caught an important detail- that it molds once you've opened the bag- but only if you leave it there in after. Bread boxes are one of those relics that faded into obscurity after the mid-century in the US, often becoming homes to all the other things you didn't know what to do with on your counters, but they used to serve an important role in keeping bread fresh and protected. When we switched from formed doug…

In case you don't have a bread box: After bringing home the bread in a paper bag, put it on a cutting board with the cut side down. Pull over the paper bag. This is offcourse for real bakery bread, not the industry rubber bread that comes presliced.

Re: Does storing bread in the fridge make it last longer? (2019)

#80

Post by ycombinete »

crazygringo wrote: post #24

The article's facts are right, but its conclusion is kinda wrong. Don't put your bread in the fridge -- slice it and put it in the freezer! Because in either case you need to heat it up in the oven/toaster anyways, so you might as well put it somewhere where it will keep for months, rather than weeks.

This is exactly the right thing to do. I make bread every week, and this is how we store it.
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