November 23, 2010 - 11:02pm
Freeze or hold at room temp? NEED ANSWER SOON
I just finished baking two nice boules of ciabatta that I'm taking to a Thanksgiving dinner due to start about .... 39 hours from now (now being approximately 9 PM Honolulu time).
If I leave bread out (stored in plastic bags) too long, it molds in the humid air here. I was planning on freezing the loaves, but started worrying that they would lose their freshness if frozen and reheated.
Freeze or don't freeze? You tell me.
I'm baking another two boules tomorrow. I figure I don't need to freeze those at all.
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Hi there
Hope this isn't too late for you. If I were you I'd freeze your bread as it will retain freshness, just take care to thaw it while wrapped so moisture isn't lost. If you plan to use your hosts oven for a last minute reheat of the thawed bread, it might pay to call ahead and check oven scheduling.
Take a look through the comments on the link below, a recent thread with ideas about thawing/reheating:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/20336/pain-au-levain-hazelnuts-and-currents
Enjoy your dinner!
Robyn
...our bread. There's only the two of us, but we both like to bake two or three loaves at a time. We freeze the bread in plastic bags, immediately after it's cooled to room temp.
To reheat we place the thawed bread in a pre-heated 375°F oven: 6 minutes for a 750g boule or batard of sourdough, 5 minutes for a 350g baguette. This refreshes the bread to almost just-baked taste and texture.
We sometimes pop still frozen bagguettes into the heated oven--for the 5 minutes--and let them finish thawing after reheating. Results seem just as good.
Happy Thanksgiving!
David G
Make sure your bread is well wrapped (I wrap in one layer of foil and then plastic). Remove from the freezer about 8 hours before needed and LEAVE IT WRAPPED to thaw, so that any condensed moisture goes back in the bread where it belongs.
To get that "just baked" taste, keep the bread loosely wrapped in foil and then toss in a moderate oven (325 to 350) for about 10 minutes.
And now for some real heresy:
I make 4 challahs every month and we always forget to take them out of the freezer on Friday mornings. My husband has figured out how to microwave them just enough to thaw quickly but not affect the flavor or texture at all--he kept experimenting with the time until he got it just right. My challahs taste freshly baked every time.
and then the plastic bag that Jankintz recommended.
Pam
I left the bread out overnight (not being sure what to do) but put it into the freezer this morning. I will take those to the dinner 27 hours from now. Just finished baking the other two loaves, which I will not freeze.They go to the noon potluck tomorrow.
I'm going to bake a spice cake using leftover egg whites and then I'm done with Thanksgiving. Thank goodness for potlucks.
I routinely freeze loaves if they are not to be cut that day or even tomorrow. 39 hours would be in my freeze range. I wrap tightly in commercial STICKY plastic wrap and don't use foil but I also rarely freeze for more than a week, occasionally two. For longer than that a second wrapping in foil is beneficial.
Good Luck!
Jay