The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

question about storing bread

kgreg's picture
kgreg

question about storing bread

Greetings, I have a question about storing bread.  My time is sooooo limited and I love baking bread but find I do not have the time.  When I finally get a chance to bake, I end up with to much for 2 people.  Can I freeze the dough or freeze the bread after its baked? Its such a shame to go through all that work and then throw it away after a day.

Darkstar's picture
Darkstar

Hiya KGreg,

 

I've found by reading and searching the forum postings that lots of people on this site have the same dellima as you mention. Most of them bake two loaves and use one to eat now and freeze one loaf to consume later. The freezing doesn't hurt the loaf at all. I always freeze store bought bread; the one loaf my wife and I use gets stored in the refrigerator as we find it gets moldy far to quickly at the rate we consume it.

 

Additionally there is the method I use.  Bake two loaves, eat one and give the other to my friends/co-workers/neighbors.  I find that everyone I tell that I make bread the more people want to try my bread.  It works out great as I get to eat my own and then try other recipes without waste. 

 

I can't speak to freezing dough however. Anyone?

gothicgirl's picture
gothicgirl

I can't speak to freezing dough however. Anyone?

I have had luck freezing dough after the fermentation but before the make up and panning.  I freeze it and when I am ready for it I pull it out and let it defrost either at room temp or in the fridge.  Once it is defrosted it is ready to be panned and proofed.

We also do this at school and have a lot of success.

Drifty Baker's picture
Drifty Baker

I too freeze one of the two loaves I make every weekend.  I very tightly wrap the loaf in aluminum foil and then place that in a plastic bag.  I find there is less freezer burn (a hardening of the crust usually on the bottom) this way.

When we want a fresh loaf for a meal during the week, I take the loaf out of the plastic bag and place the foil covered loaf in a 350 F oven for about 15-20 minutes.

sphealey's picture
sphealey

Once I got my weekly sandwich loaf (mostly rye, usually) good and crusty, and started making the sandwiches +1 to +3 hours after removing the loaf from the oven, I was _amazed_ at how well the crust in particular survived the freezing. And the crumb isn't bad considering I generally microwave the sandwich.

 

sPh