October 16, 2020 - 8:09am
Bread Wrapper
I was curious how folks stored/wrapped their fresh bread out of the oven after cooling?
https://shop.kingarthurbaking.com/items/bees-wrap-bread-wrapper
I ran across this item at KA that sounded pretty nice, but kind of pricey if it's only meant for enough to do one loaf. Anyone use this item?
It sounded as though it was breathable. I have some plastic bread bags, but believe if the bread loaves are not completely cooled, once placed in the bag and tie-wrapped, they generate moisture which leads to early mold.
Always looking for ideas to keep my fresh baked bread fresh the longest.
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Hi Ricko! I have tried several methods, but have settled on large paper (parchment) storage bags. They seem to work the best as far as breathability and providing some protection of the loaf. The two brands I've used include the If You Care non-stick roasting bags and Paper Chef culinary parchment cooking bags. They are kind of pricey on Amazon--I've had better luck sourcing them locally. If you bake a lot, you could likely find a cheaper option with a higher quantity count. The bags I mentioned work fine for my 1-2 loaves per week. I've also used natural cotton storage bags that have a drawstring (like what you would use for produce), but had some instances of mold when we didn't finish the loaf quickly enough, so I prefer the parchment bags at the moment. The parchment bags are nice to use when gifting a loaf too. Hope that helps!
I ensure the loaf is completely cooled/cold (with a piece of silicone paper then a dry tea towel draped over the top). Maybe an hour or two. Then the bread goes into recycled plastic bag that we bought mandarins in (or garlic or some other dry vegetable) from the vegie shop. The bags are quite sturdy, free and the right size for a loaf. The bread then goes into a bread bin on the kitchen counter.
In 20 years of bread baking, I have never had mould on the bread. The only difference I have found to the length of time for freshness, was how long before the bread was baked the poolish was made...
Having grown up in the outback (NT) and had my sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper, I can tell you from experience that wax paper totally SUCKS at keeping bread fresh. Biggest con ever, but it gives me a great laugh every time I see 'classes' for making waxed bread wrap...
Hello! I use special boxes for storing bread. It is very convenient and the bread keeps well. You only need to put the bread when it has cooled down. And do not store the box in the sun. In my blog, I made a selection from my personal experience https://mykitchenadvisor.com/best-bread-box/. I hope my experience will help someone!
crusty so no air tight containers for me, plastic bags seem even worse at killing the crust. If we have the appropriate size paper bag I use that, if not I leave it on the counter with the cut side down. To me I think using a bread box would encourage mold to develop faster because you providing a spot with concentration of mold spores.