Excellent Cooling Racks
Soooooooo grateful for this Fresh Loaf community. I stumbled onto y'all about a year ago from Peter Reinhart's reference in the Bread Baker's Apprentice. Now after countless hours of reading, a few hundred bucks invested, you have immersed me into a world that I have never known before. THANK YOU!!!!
A few weeks ago I visited my local farmer's market and was impressed to see someone selling her artisan breads. My brain hilt tilt considering how long it would take to produce so much through my home oven. Regardless of how she does it, she is a courageous and--no doubt--hard-working to even attempt it.
But. . . her works of art had moisture in the bags! Likely, she didn't have enough time to cool them before rushing out the door. So, just in case she's reading, I wish to share my latest conquest:
Half sheet cooling racks for $3.09 - http://www.lionsdeal.com/wi-pgw-1216.html
They came shiny AND sturdy. Though made in China, all were perfectly straight and sat on the counter without wobbling. The cool part is that they fit inside my sheet pans without touching the bottoms of the pans (so no scratches). UPS shipping--their cheapest option--ran $11 and some some change. With shipping, it averaged $5.05/rack on the six that I bought. Order arrived in 4-5 days.
After a session of making breads the one thing that i always hate to see is the bread being put into plastic bags.
paper or cotton or hessian are the only things to use, the plastic bag will show how much moisture is still leaving the loaf even after cooling. After going to the trouble of making a really nice loaf it can be spoilt by in sufficient time to allow to cool properly.
regards Derek
A plastic bag is exactly what Forkish recommends for keeping his breads.
It works too. I can keep bread fresh on the countertop for 4 or 5 days, more if it is refrigerated.