Since before the Middle Ages, bread has been an important part of our culinary regimen. It is known that the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians were the first to refine wheat. Initially, they chewed it for sustenance until they figured out that they could add water to the wheat. Adding water to it and heating up the paste would allow them to make a flatbread that could be preserved for up to a few days. The idea to ferment the bread came from a mishap that led to the addition of yeast into the batter.
Throughout history, there has been no other staple that humans have counted more on than bread. It has ignited revolutions and pushed countries to wage battles against each other over who gets to control it.
To this present day, we all still love the fresh smell of bread coming from a bakery in the morning. The moment it comes out of the oven, it reaches its peak when it comes to softness. Unfortunately, after that period the bread slowly becomes to harden. Therein lies the problem. How do we keep bread fresh without having to bake it ourselves at home?
Extending the Life of Bread
Whether it was made at home or purchased in the supermarket, it can be difficult to preserve its softness, but I do have a few tips. If you buy store bought bread, it can retain its texture for up to a week as long as you store it properly. By baking your fresh bread at home, the shelf life will be half of that. For those that need more time to consume their bread, you could put it in your freezer, and it will be safe to eat for up to 6 months. The one piece of advice you need to remember is that packaging and arrangement are the key factors to freshness.
Two things you need to be aware of that will be the opponents of freshness are rust and staleness.
Rusty Mold
Mold is everywhere around us although we may not always be able to see or smell it. They reside in everything from our clothing to follicles of hair. For mold spores to thrive, they need dampness and heat. With these two elements, there is no limit to how far they can spread. To prevent the mold from spreading all over your bread, you need to deny it of the elements that help it survive.
Most people think that by putting their bread in a plastic bag that their bread will be safe, but they are wrong. Mold will still be able to multiply by using the food, moisture, and warm temperature that every kitchen provides.
Staleness
Another issue you have to face when it comes to keeping your bread fresh is staleness. Your stale bread will feel just as soft as fresh bread, but there is a difference. Instead of making your favorite treat taste delicious, it will have a bland flavor to it. How does staleness occur? The answer is simple. Your bread becomes stale when the water in the starch moves around the interstitial gaps. This process causes the starch to degelatinize, and this is called the recrystallization process. Your bread will still be edible after this occurs, but it will never have the same flavor it used to when it wasn’t stale.
Reviving Stale Bread
Are there any actions you could take to make stale bread fresh again instead of having to trash it?
The best advice I can give you is cut up some slices of apple and throw it inside the plastic bag. The moisture from the apples transfers over to the bread. If you don’t have a knife for this task, you should check out http://www.finestknife.com for bread knife reviews.
Lastly, another tactic you can use is to put the slices of stale bread on a moist paper towel. After doing this, you put the paper towel in a microwave and voila. You should be at least a little less stale after this. Check out finestknife.com to learn in order to learn how to slice these revived slices of bread with ease.
Conclusion
Please don’t forget the tips above when you get in the mood to buy or bake some bread in the future. Eating stale expired bread is one of the worst experiences to have and could lead to you getting sick. So, for the sake of your health and your taste buds, follow our advice, and you will be eating the same great tasting bread for days without having to purchase a new loaf.
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