How to prevent bread from getting hard
Once the bread baked, after a few days, it begins to age. This happens because starch molecules lose moisture and degrade. Although, the process of deterioration of bread is irreversible and natural (although it is packaged in a vacuum, without air exposure), it is also true that certain conditions accelerate its degradation and others delay it. For this reason, the following tips will be very interesting and useful for you to save the bread:- Keep bread outside the refrigerator. Keeping bread in the fridge causes a chemical process called starch retrograde, consequently, acquires a gumous or soft texture, loses flavor and freshness. In the specific case of mold bread, he resists a bit in the fridge, however, their flavor and texture also change because they lose freshness.
– Save the bread a fabric or panera bag. Both forms represent classic ways of conserving bread (as well as kraft paper bags, wooden boxes or a cloth), thus avoiding their direct and continuous exposure to the environment. In this way, bread does not produce mold or dry (it is protected from air but breathes), so it is better and for longer. Therefore, this is the best way to conserve bread overnight.
– Wait until the bread cools. Whether you prepare bread at home or buy it, as long as the bread is hot, let it cool. You can place the bread piece on a rack, preferably, until it cools and then introduce it immediately into the bag (if it is a paper bag) or keep it in an adequate wrap or container.
– Avoid cutting slices of extra bread. The ideal is to keep the bread bar and only cut what is necessary, since the bread bark fulfills the function of protecting the crumb, retaining its freshness and softness for longer. So, when you keep bread, place the cut part (where it shows the crumb) down, thus minimizes your contact with the air.
– Freeze bread. Why not refrigerated and frozen yes? Because starch retrogradation occurs at temperatures below 8 ºC, not in lower -8 ºC. However, when freezing the bread do not forget to wrap it in a plastic bag, film or aluminum foil (you should not freeze it directly).
– Bake or toast the bread. If for any circumstance you cannot apply any of the above options to keep the bread fresh or for some reason do not work, you always have the option to heat the bread or use it as an ingredient (grated, chopped or sliced) for some recipe .
How to freeze bread
Even if you do not believe it, freezing bread can be an interesting option if you do not want to give food or do not have the time to go shopping. In addition, you will invest very little time in this procedure and the steps are very simple, here you can check it:- Choose a good quality bread. If you want an optimal result when freezing bread, you prefer a good quality. A good bread, during its elaboration, goes through a long period of fermentation, a fact that makes it healthier (lower its glycemic index), digestible and prolongs its freshness. This type of bread benefits from freezing because it not only extends its life, but also enhances these benefits. Therefore, in addition to knowing how to keep bread at home, we encourage you to prepare your own bread following these recipes: how to make homemade bread.
– Cut it in slices. This step is optional in the case of bread bars and highly recommended in mold or round bread. What is the advantage of freezing slices and not the whole piece? 1. You don need to defrost the full piece, just what you want to consume. 2. The bread defrosts faster because it is a slice. In addition, you can even directly toast the bread without defrosting.
Now, lets see how to freeze the bread:- Wrap the piece in paper towels and then on student paper. Thus the bread is isolated from the smells of the fridge and moisture, it also does not burn with the cold. Make sure the aluminum foil is very well closed when wrapping the bread. This procedure serves both for bread bars and mold bread (in this case you must wrap each slice).
– Enter it in a plastic bag that is tightly closed. This step reinforces the previous one and assures you that the bread will remain completely isolated from abroad.
– Label the bag. It is important to specify the type of bread and the date you frozen it, so you will know the top day to consume it.
– Use bread during one month or 15 days. Although some ensure that frozen bread can last up to three months, the common is a month or less (depending on the type of bread).
How long the frozen bread lasts
The only inconvenience of this method is that smaller pieces must last less frozen time, a maximum of 15 days, as they lose quality. On the other hand, a slice of large bread and with a thick bark can last up to one month in the freezer. A summary mode, the duration of frozen bread by types is as follows:- Payés bread, paneclos, bars and other similar ones: 15 days.
– Mold bread: 1 month.
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