Hi everyone. My brother and I are exploring the possibility of selling packaged bread at supermarkets but we're not sure if it would be prudent to make use of some sort of bread preservative to increase shelf life and maintain softness. The bread we will produce will be rather sweet (about 17 - 19% sugar), one with no eggs and another with quite a bit of egg yolks (about 17%). I would like to ask for some advice / ideas on this matter. I've read about calcium propionate as being a common bread preservative. Does anyone have experience using this and what are your thoughts on its effectiveness and effect on the bread's overall taste and texture? Are there other better alternatives? Also, has anyone used dough conditioners for sweet breads and breads with plenty of fat, and if so could you recommend something that might be good to increase volume and spring, and maintain softness? I am quite lost on this topic so any suggestions / advice / ideas etc. would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I currently have a home-based specialty bakery based off my grandmother's bread recipe. I use a liquid starter and the result is a soft sweet bread with a thin crust on the top but the bottom is fairly soft. I'm working on a business plan to start a wholesale bakery (not in my home).

I had my bread tested and it has a water activity level between .92 and .94.  I understand that bread with water activity above .85 has to be sold refrigerated or with preservatives. Everything I've read says the standard water activity level for bread is .95. If this is so, how do bakeries or anyone sell fresh preservative-free, non-refrigerated bread? I am going to try to bake my bread at a lower temp for longer time to see if this lowers the water activity level. I don't want to use preservatives or refrigerate it because refrigeration causes staling. Can anyone PLEASE help???