February 11, 2024 - 7:38am
Gifting Sourdough Boules - How many days can you wait?
Hi there...this may be a dumb question, but I want to give some sourdough boules as Valentine's Day gifts. I am baking some early Monday morning. Is it too long to wait to give them away on Wednesday? Would love ideas on how others gift fresh bread. How do you store it until you give it away? How do you package it? ANY advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank You!
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The next day is the latest I'm willing to go. My goal is to preserve both crust and moisture as much as possible. I usually leave the loaves uncovered until presenting them the next day. If your loaves are especially dry and airy, though, even the next day might be too late for best quality.
If you can find them (probably not by the big date), plastic bread bags that have micro-perforations are nearly ideal. Any solid plastic bag will ruin the crust. Of course it will partly come back with some rebaking, so asking the recipients to reheat the loaf before using could work.
Otherwise once the loaves have completely cooled down, paper bags for delivery are not bad, especially if they are left open at the top. Wrapping them in a thin lint-free hand towel is good if you have enough of them. If the towels are decorative they can be part of the gift.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! This is exactly the type of information I needed. I thought waiting two days would be too long. Will give them out early or bake more. LOL!