As I had mentioned in a past post, our local bread outlet doubled their prices, due to the rising gas prices. My girlfriend had suggested hitting our local Kroger, which can be a goldmine of deals at the end of the day, for my bread needs. Recently they announced though, that they are now shutting down our Kroger because they were not getting the business that they needed. This not only stinks because of the bread factor, but also because it was the quick place I could run into and get a gallon of milk or the once missing ingredient for our dinners. Kroger- you will be missed on our side of town!
I love to make homemade bread in my bread machine though so I am trying to do this more often. As we speak, I am trying a new recipe for Light Oatmeal Bread and I will let you all know how it turns out. I am testing recipes to find the perfect sandwich bread and this sounded like a yummy alternative to the traditional recipes.
My main problem with homemade bread though is the stale factor. Without the preservatives to sustain the bread, as in our store-bought varieties, how can you keep your bread fresher longer?
I looked to the experts at Cook’s Illustrated for the answers to these questions. One of my main questions was, does bread last longer in the refrigerator or by just leaving it at room temperature? My other question was, what is the most effective way to store your homemade bread?
Cook’s Illustrated ran a test to see which bread loaves lasted the longest, testing temperatures & storage devices. I was very interested to see what the results would be, in particular, if a storage device really preserves the shelf life of the bread longer.
It became quickly evident in their research, that the refrigerator is actually the least effective way to store bread. Retrogradation occurred six times faster in the bread stored in the refrigerator versus the bread stored at room temperature. Although this was not included in their findings, I do believe that room temperature may be worse in some cases depending upon your climate conditions. Those who live in humid conditions may find that bread molds much quicker if left out on the counter, rather than their refrigerator storage methods.
For homemade bread, they did find the most successful way to store the bread was in a twill bag they found on Golda’s Kitchen. This twill bag is both machine & dishwasher safe. The bag is $20, but can be used over and over again. I am thinking that I might try the fabric totes that came with my reuseable grocery bags first, and see if these fabric bags might be the ticket for effective storage.
Homemade bread is much more cost effective than buying store bought bread. Pretty much all of the ingredients needed to make your bread can be purchased in bulk at your local wholesale club. Here are some examples of the pricing on ingredients at our local store (Prices listed are for Sam’s Club in Mishawaka, IN):
Yeast (2 pounds)- $3.87
Bread Flour (25 pounds)- $5.54
All-Purpose Flour (25 pounds)- $5.26
If you buy your flour in bulk, you can store the flour in a large Rubbermaid tote with a lid to keep it fresher longer. I keep my yeast in a Mason jar in our refrigerator door. It has worked really well for me and is always there when I need it.
These are just some of my ideas for making and storing your homemade bread and bread ingredients.
Sound Off: How do you store your homemade bread? Any bread making tips that you have found help with making amazing loaves of bread?
Freezing bread is the best way to preserve the quality. You can reheat in the microwave or toast it. I always put my storebought loaves in the freezer when I get back from the store and then take out slices as I need them. My in-laws always freeze the whole wheat loaves they buy at the bakery in the freezer and reheat them for 30 seconds or so in the microwave. The bread tastes great. I look forward to your bread machine recipes- I have one that I use maybe once or twice every 2 years.
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We don’t eat much bread, so I freeze each loaf when it’s half-eaten (the day after baking).
It’s easy to slice frozen bread for French toast, or to pack pre-chilled sandwiches for a picnic.
I have now graduated to two bread machines for kneading dough, so I can bake a double batch of cinnamon rolls for my husband’s office in one oven.
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I’m looking forward to hearing more about your search for the best bread machine sandwich bread recipes. That oat bread recipe looks really good.
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The recipe looks really good and easy, let us know how it turns out
We put store-bought bread in a breadbox on our counter, but we don’t use it much so it usually gets stale about 1/2way through a loaf. Homemade bread only lasts a few days here cuz I love snacking on it, so I just put it in a gallon size ziploc bag on the counter.
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Thanks for your blog — I read it a lot but have never commented. Someone once told me that storing bread in a cereal bag keeps it fresher longer. It’s not quite big enough for our homemade bread loaves, but if you do some creative cutting it usually works. If you can remember to save those bags from the Cheerios!
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I freeze my bread sliced and just take out what we need if we are not going to be eating a whole loaf within a couple of days. I also add 4 tsp.Vital Wheat Gluten(Hodgson Mill) per loaf to each batch of bread. It helps to make softer bread that rises better and also stays fresh a little longer. That one little ingredient makes a big difference, IMO! it works really well in bread machines too. My Wal-mart carries it as well as a couple other nicer grocery stores.Hope this helps!
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I use the Ziploc method for my homemade bread, and I do put it in the refrigerator. We are super-humid here in NW Missouri in the summer, and I have notice my bread getting moldy quite quickly if I don’t put it in the fridge.
I have found that freezing bread works very well if you don’t eat it often. I used to freeze the second loaf of my batch, but my daughter likes cinnamon toast so much that it isn’t really necessary any more.
I haven’t ever really gotten into bread machines. Maybe they’ve improved, but the bread used to taste funny to me compared to my handmade stuff.
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The Hillbilly Housewife has a wonderful oatmeal bread recipe in the bread machine recipe section. I make it weekly. It makes a two pound loaf, and I cut it in half and freeze half of it. I double bag it in zip lock bags, and it freezes very well.
The recipe is similar to yours, but you can substitute honey for the brown sugar. That is how I make it.
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I bake almost all of our bread. I can’t see paying $1.07 for one loaf of cheap sandwich styro-bread at Walmart when I can bake 4 loaves for my family that have no nasty preservatives in it. I bake 4 loaf batches so that I’m not constantly using the oven. To store them, I just cut them about a third of the way and put 2/3 of a loaf in a freezer bag and into the freezer they go. This is for the large loaf pan size. The loaves thaw and are still good and soft. The freezer bags seal for counter use, and you can reuse them for frugality.
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I store my homemade bread in the freezer. A vacuum sealer with a soft setting works best although regular zip lock bags are pretty good too. Just try to squeeze most of the air out before zipping.
Be sure to check out “Rustic European Breads from Your Bread Machine” by Linda West Eckhardt. I’ve followed her instructions to use the bread machine to make the dough, but then cook the bread on a pizza stone in the oven. They come out great!
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I stumbled onto your site, and I would like to thank you for the great suggestions!
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Hi! I just got into making my own bread. Wow, what an supreme olfactory and taste bud experience fresh homemade bread is. I was looking for ways to store it and came across your site. Just wanted to thank you for the suggestions. I live in Florida, so prolly the fridge is the best place and freezer for loaves to save for longer than a week. Thanks!
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I am curious to know how the fabric bags you spoke of in your blog to store the bread, turned out?
Did it work?
Angie
http://www.helpmeettosam.blogspot.com
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I have bought the big bags of flour from Sams Club too…especially the bread flour.
I am thinking of investing in some food grade large containers though for storage. Recently I've had it on my mind that perhaps it needs to be stored properly, especially since such a large amount lasts for awhile and sits in storage for awhile. Any thoughts?
Our bread never lasts long enough to store it! But I would like to find something good for sandwiches. Have you looked on Tammy's recipes? She adds some extra ingredients to her breads to soften them and make them better for sandwiches. I haven't tried it yet but would like too!
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Jamie-
I do buy my flour and sugar in bulk and I bought those under-the-bed storage containers to store the ingredients in. They stack nicely and they slide under my wire pantry unit perfectly.
I love Tammy's recipes, but I haven't looked at her bread recipes lately. I will definitely check that out!! Thank you for sharing!
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Hi.
I’m a student in the UK and would like to use your photo of bread in a college presentation.
Would that be OK?
Thanks for your time.
Best wishes
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King Authur whole wheat flour has a great no kneed bread recipe on the bag. I make it weekly and it is great. Only problem is that just two of us and it gets stale before it is all eaten. Just looking to see if there is a natural ingredient or way to keep it fresh without freezing or refridgerating.
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I make a whole lot of homemade bread (the simple/easy kind) – not only for myself, but for others. Probably because they’re too lazy to make it themselves, but I have to admit, it is very good, and better for anyone than ‘store’ bread.
Anyway; what i do when i’m sending a loaf out of this place is; let it cool on a rack – lay out a piece of aluminum foil, cover that with paper-towels, and wrap it up. most people keep it in that and tell me it lasts them for well over a week.
Around here i keep it in a plastic bag, but take it out at least once a day and ‘air’ it on a rack. Doing it that way will make it last for around two weeks. I never refrigerate bread because I have found it tends to go bad faster that way. If I intend to keep it for a very long time, i freeze it. but there’s never really a reason to do that when it’s so simple to make. Plus the fact that if you freeze it, you still have to wait a long time for it to thaw before you can eat it, so it’s just as well to make it on a ‘needed’ basis.
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Hi Amy,
We make home made all our bread all the time. We got a kitchen Aid and bake it in the oven after several bread machine wore out. We even wore out a few kitchen aid stand mixers before we got a good one with enough horse power.
Saving the wonderful bread we make is the catch of this whole venture. No preservatives means good health to you. The simple fact is that fresh bread is fresh and no one can beat it. What I do is let the bread cool out at room temp for enough time to complete all the cooling. Then wrap the uncut loaf in a cling wrap really good and the other stuff eat fresh. This Lets it last about a week. Remember let it get to normal room temp first
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Hi there,
I’ve just ventured into making my own bread but, storage IS an issue. Humid summers and chilly winters. How’d that bread bag work out? I’m tempted to get a bread box but am sooo curious about your bag now??
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