If you recently bought bread, and after a couple of days it began to become moldy or stale, you may have stored it incorrectly. Even such an ordinary product must be stored in suitable conditions so that it does not lose its appearance and taste. There are several ways to store bread correctly; they are easy to remember and easy to use. To prevent your bread from becoming moldy or stale, use the methods we have suggested, and the problem will be solved.
Bread box, traditional storage method
Storing bread is accompanied by a natural physical phenomenon - evaporation of water. Of course, it is impossible to completely stop the drying process of the bread product. It can be slowed down by placing the bread in a closed space, for example, in a bread box, a bag of paper, cloth, polyethylene, or a pan with a lid.
Important: The material in which the bread is wrapped, so that it does not go stale, must allow air to pass through well. Otherwise the product will become moldy. This especially applies to plastic bags. In factory bags, holes are specially made for air exchange. If the bag is intact, you don’t need to close it tightly; it’s better to make a few holes yourself for ventilation. It happens that polyethylene fits tightly to the surface of the bread. You should clear the space between the bread crust and the bag.
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Secrets of long-term storage
The shelf life of bread depends on many factors:
- room temperature;
- air humidity;
- flour quality;
- compliance with standards during the baking process.
Mold develops most quickly if there are already fungal spores in the neighborhood (poorly washed bread bin, old crumbs, previously used plastic bag), temperature 25 - 30 °C, humidity 65 - 80%. To maintain a normal microclimate, you should regularly ventilate the kitchen and turn on the hood while preparing food.
It happens that flour from grains affected by mold is used for baking. During cooking, it is not killed completely (the product is underbaked), so regardless of storage conditions, existing spores quickly germinate. If this repeats regularly with products from the same manufacturer, it is better to simply try buying products from another bakery.
Eating moldy bread is dangerous to your health. If mold is visually detected in one place, the entire loaf is actually affected. You cannot trim the edge and use the crumb.
Black and white, together or apart
One of the questions that people decide for themselves is how best to store bread if their family buys different types. It is better to store products made from wheat and rye flour separately. You can put it in 1 bread bin, but preferably in different bags and compartments. Each product has its own environment, its own smell and percentage of water. Black has a longer shelf life, since it initially contains more moisture, which means it does not go stale longer. A more acidic environment results in greater resistance to fungus. White is saturated with the aroma of black, if they lie next to each other, it becomes stale faster.
What kind of mold is there?
Penicillin is the first antibiotic created from the fungus penicillium chrysogenum, and this discovery belongs to Alexander Fleming, a great scientist.
It is found in noble blue cheeses and is very beneficial for the body. But not all mold is beneficial. It comes in different colors. Black most often covers old bread. Greenish-blue - cheese. Green fuzz usually develops on oranges that have been left in a humid environment for too long. Mushrooms are a great boon to humanity. Without yeast there would be no bread or beer. Mushrooms are used to make antibiotics, soy sauce, miso, sake, tofu, and many other products.
On the other hand, many plant diseases that result in their death are caused by mold. The Irish famine was caused by potato late blight. Most of America's great chestnut forests have been destroyed in 50 years by a fungus brought to the United States on a tree planted in a botanical garden. Fungi are responsible for trillions of dollars in food spoilage damage each year worldwide.
Methods for storing bread
All methods are aimed at reducing moisture evaporation, and most importantly, preventing the formation of mold. This means that the bread needs to be insulated using breathable materials. Hide it in a bread bin, wrap it in a cloth, a bag. If you use low temperatures, as in a freezer, this will stop all the vital processes of microorganisms, and the shelf life increases many times over.
Storing in a bread bin
Traditionally, bread bins are used to reduce drying of bread. The best products are made from natural materials - wood, metal (stainless steel). Plastic is also suitable if it is of good quality and intended for food products. To prevent the bread bin from becoming a source of fungal spores, it must be kept clean. Remove bread crumbs regularly and leave the door open for ventilation once a day.
You can place the loaf in a saucepan with a lid on. Stainless steel or an enamel coated product will work well. The container itself where bread is stored should be wiped with a sponge moistened with a weak vinegar solution or alcohol at least once a week.
It is useful to wash all bread bins, except wooden ones, with soap or dishwashing detergent. It is enough to wipe a wooden product with a dry cloth or paper napkin. After cleaning, the bread box should be dried thoroughly, preferably in the sun. After this, put the bread in it.
It is also important to allow time for baked goods to cool completely before storing them. Otherwise, due to intense evaporation of liquid, there will be increased humidity inside the bread box, and this is a favorable environment for the development of fungus. To allow air to pass under the bread, it is placed on a wooden board or plastic grid.
It is not recommended to place the bread box itself in direct sunlight, on a refrigerator, near a radiator or stove, or in a draft. It is also better to select a place away from sources of strong odors (raw vegetables, tea, coffee). If you pour a little salt into the bread bin, it will absorb excess moisture and protect the bread product from fungus. A raw peeled apple, on the contrary, will slow down the drying of the bun.
Linen bags
Good storage conditions for bread are created by wrapping the loaf in cloth. Linen and cotton are natural materials that easily allow air to pass through. You can wrap the bread in a clean towel, or sew a fabric bag. It must be washed, ventilated, and dried in the sun regularly. When washing, avoid powders with a strong smell so that the bread does not have a chemical smell. Correct storage conditions for bread and bakery products allow you to use white bread for up to 2 days, black bread for 3-4 days.
A little trick: if the fabric is rinsed in salt water (2 tablespoons per liter of water), the bread retains freshness better.
You can purchase ready-made bags for storing bread products. They consist of 2 layers of fabric and a perforated plastic layer between them. This package combines the advantages of fabric and polyethylene products and is devoid of their disadvantages. Therefore, bread rolls are stored in them longer, up to 4 - 5 days. It is better to have a couple of such bags and alternate them, giving the opportunity for ventilation. A similar effect can be achieved if you put the bread first in a cloth bag and then in a plastic bag, without closing it tightly.
Freezer storage
Freshly baked bread tastes best, but sometimes there is a need to preserve it for a long time. A freezer comes in handy here, because the product can be stored frozen for up to six months without spoiling. After taking it out of the freezer, leave it at room temperature. And again the bread is tasty and soft, as if from the store.
Right before use, you can sprinkle it with water and heat it in the oven or microwave. Then the crust will become crispy again. The product is placed in the microwave for 1 – 5 minutes, after being wrapped in a damp towel. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 150-180 degrees. Warmed bread should be eaten immediately, because it quickly becomes stale. Therefore, it is better to freeze bread that has already been cut into slices, rather than a whole loaf. To prevent the product from losing moisture during storage, it must be placed in a plastic container or wrapped in film or foil.
Sliced loaves retain freshness longer. This is due to the fact that shelf-stable bread is treated with special preservatives; iodized salt, acids, and whey are added to the dough. They prevent the growth and reproduction of mold fungi.
Lavash snacks with filling: for holidays and for every day
Lavash with filling is a worthy rival to traditional sandwiches and a competitor to pies. Advantages over a sandwich - the filling is not placed on top, but wrapped up. The difference from pies is that you don’t need to prepare the dough and bake.
Simple and versatile
A lavash snack with filling is rolled in two ways:
Almost any product that does not require heat treatment can be used as a filling:
To keep the filling in place and not crumble, it is mixed with mayonnaise, sour cream, and so on. A very convenient way to put into use small leftovers of products that you can’t really put anywhere and you can’t get enough of them alone.
By the way, when they talk about a lavash snack with filling, they mean not round and fluffy lavash, but a thin sheet of lavash.
You can wrap boiled sausage or sausage in a piece of such pita bread - and this is a breakfast that you can take to work. A few fillings - and these pita breads, folded into a basket, are perfect for a picnic. Red fish and caviar - lavash for the festive table.
Most often, lavash is made into rolls, which can be cut into round slices before serving, or eaten just like that.
Lavash rolls: eat rolled up!
Making lavash rolls is very simple: a lavash sheet is laid out on the table and the filling is either laid out or spread on it, depending on how you prepare it, after which it is rolled into a roll. Do not make the filling layer too thick. This is especially true for wet, juicy fillings: thin, dry dough will quickly soften, not to say soggy. Cutting it into pieces will be very problematic; you won’t even be able to hold it in your hands. Also, do not spread the edges of the pita bread, make a small indentation.
After this, the pita roll can be:
- put in the refrigerator so that it soaks for a couple of hours, then remove, cut and serve;
- put in the oven or microwave, or simply fry in a frying pan (this is mainly used for pita bread with cheese, so that the cheese melts);
- eat immediately (mostly this is done if pita bread is made with a filling that quickly saturates the dough).
If the pita bread appetizer is intended for a holiday table, for an appropriate ceremonial look, trim the edges without filling.
What you absolutely cannot do is freeze rolled pita bread with filling, because in the freezer the dough will not be soaked, and the moisture in the filling will freeze, just like water freezes. When thawed, this water will simply turn your pita bread into a spreading blotter.
Typically, thin pita bread is sold in the form of large sheets, folded in half or in quarters. It is more convenient to cut it in half to make rolls, or into four parts. You can even cut the lavash into ribbons - whatever is more convenient for you for spreading and rolling, and depending on what filling you make.
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Let's try to roll pita bread with meat.
Chicken is not a bird, but a filling for lavash
For this simple and quick snack you will need:
- lavash sheet;
- 200 cheese (hard varieties);
- boiled chicken breast;
- two eggs;
- garlic;
- mayonnaise.
The chicken fillet needs to be cooled and cut into thin slices, and these, in turn, into cubes. Boil the eggs hard and then put them in cold water for a while: after this they will be easier to clean.
Chop the peeled eggs: you can cut them into cubes, mash them with a fork, or you can simply grate them on a coarse grater. Grate the cheese using the same grater. Mix. Squeeze the garlic and add mayonnaise, mix. Spread the pita bread with this mixture and place the chicken on top. Roll it up and put it in the refrigerator.
Can bread be stored in the refrigerator?
Long-term storage bread (unleavened, custard) does not spoil for 5 – 7 days. If stored in the refrigerator, it will also be good for about a week. It does not mold, but it does become stale and loses its original taste faster than at room temperature. It has been proven that at 0 – 10 degrees the evaporation rate of bread products is maximum.
In addition, even with regular cleaning, the refrigerator has a special smell. It is not very pleasant to eat a loaf when it has absorbed foreign odors. There is another danger: if one of the products spoils in the refrigerator, the process can spread to the food lying next door.
Dried bread can still be used in food as crackers, croutons, and breadcrumbs. Before use, you can steam it on the stove in a water bath or in a double boiler. Simply warm up a piece of bread in the microwave by sprinkling it with water or placing a small container of water nearby.
Why does baked goods go stale?
Firstly, it loses moisture.
The process begins as soon as the finished product is removed from the oven. If you've made cookies or bread at home, you've probably noticed that they are softest when you first take them out of the oven. Subsequently, the moisture gradually evaporates. Secondly, at the same time, the starch contained in the flour begins to change structure and harden. It is these two processes that underlie the Mechanism and Theory of Staling of Bread and Baked Goods, and Associated Changes in Textural Properties.
How to properly store bread?
So, the main points on how to properly store bread at home:
- Maintain temperature conditions up to 25°C and humidity up to 65 percent.
- Do not seal tightly in polyethylene, leave holes for free passage of air.
- Keep the bread bin clean, use new bags made of paper, polyethylene, or clean and dried fabric ones.
- Try not to buy a lot of bread unnecessarily, because it tastes best when it’s fresh.
- The most reliable remedy for mold is freezing the product.
If a bread product is baked at home, its shelf life can be influenced already at the manufacturing stage. Dough components such as butter, milk, cream, eggs slow down the drying process of the bun. The finished product must be taken out of the bread machine immediately to achieve a crunchy crust. Cover with a clean cloth until cooled completely, place on a wire rack, and remove from drafts.
To keep the bread soft, you can cut it not from the edge, but from the middle. The crust loses less moisture than the crumb. By cutting the slices in the middle, the remaining 2 halves of the loaf are combined, reducing water loss.
Let the bread on the table always be fresh, tasty, appetizing, and then the house will become even more comfortable and hospitable.
Useful tips
Take note of a few more practical tips to extend the shelf life of baked goods:
- When buying bread, buy only as much as you eat. Never stock up for future use; there is a high probability that half the loaf will remain uneaten;
- Cut potatoes can extend the shelf life of the product. Place part of the potato in a bread bin or paper bag;
- To prevent mold from growing in the bread box, make a small envelope out of fabric and pour mustard inside it. Place the envelope with mustard powder in the bread bin;
- After purchasing, remove the bread from the bag and keep it at room temperature for about 30-40 minutes, then put it away for storage. This way you can get rid of excess moisture and prevent the formation of mold on the crust and in the crumb.
Delicious toasted bread is always useful for lunch or family dinner. Try baking your own bread, it's not that difficult. A homemade loaf will last longer than a store-bought product by 2-3 days, and its composition is natural. Store homemade bread or from the store using any of the proposed methods, and you will not have to throw away the product due to spoilage.
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