storing homemade bread

valk_scot

gillian62 wrote: »

I have bought a few cheap teatowels from Ikea (19p each) to use for covering loaf once cooked. I may make them into bags, or just keep it covered in the towel.
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That's a good idea. I use the cheap Ikea teatowels for all sorts of things (steaming puddings, straining jelly etc) but I hadn't though of them for bags.

jcr16

i've got an electric knife, and i still make wedges, ha ha. nothing better than a ham and chutney sandwich and the bread is all 2 inches thick one side and barely half an inch the other.

but then i guess if i really wanted perfect slices i'd buy bread. i love the rusticness of wonky bread.

Primrose

We freeze our home-made bread in polythene bags as soon as the loaves have cooled and then store them in the same polythene bag in the fridge, just cutting off slices as we need them. This way it keeps for up to a week. Probably the air temperature in the breadbin in your kitchen is too high.

Living_proof

I mainly use the Wrights/Tescos mixes to save time and we have found the best method is to use two-thirds of a bag and make a smaller loaf which will typically do two days of sandwiches for two, and a big serving of toast for one. Then it all starts again. I do use the Lakeland bags, but re-use so one will usually last about six months! I try and buy in bulk the Wrights mixes with free delivery and they work out at 55p a bag so around 36p a loaf plus electricity for the breadmaker. I occasionally freeze half a loaf it we are going out or away and it is very fresh when defrosted. If you live in the country, it is the only way to get tasty fresh bread more than once a week! If you have time and can bake in the oven, so much the better.

stiltwalker

Lakeland also do a reusable bread bag that is a fabric outside and some sort of liner that my parents swear by it for all bread - homemade and bakery bought. Unfortunately bread doesn't last long enough to worry about saving it in our house so got no personal experience.

Kirri

kittie wrote: »

I have the lakeland bags with the holes and I don`t rate them at all. The bread in the bag went dry just as quickly. I looked at the stay fresh bags on the net and they work out at 10-20p per bag so too expensive for what they are. I now make a small denser loaf (less yeast) cool overnight, slice with my electric slicer and put that into 2 very cheap bags that I got years ago, the bags are like those used for fruit and veg and that works pretty well. I would agree though that freezing or tupperware/lock n lock is best

I tried the Lakeland bags with the holes and didn't think much of them either.

I now leave the loaf out the first day as I like the slight crust, then after that give in and wrap in foil and put up with the crust going soft.

Kirri

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

I'm amazed that people's bread goes over so quickly, ours really does last 4 - 5 days kept in an airtight (cheap Asda) box.

Is it a difference in recipe? We use the Panny recipe but substitute oil for butter and honey for sugar. Is it the recipes that use milk powder and butter that go over sooner?

I've stopped using milk powder, it made no difference to the look/taste but I wonder if that made it go mouldier, never thought of that? (I didn't like the smell of it). I use oil.

With the honey replacing the sugar, how much honey do you use for say 1 tsp of sugar? I quite fancy trying that.

Pitlanepiglet

Kirri wrote: »

I've stopped using milk powder, it made no difference to the look/taste but I wonder if that made it go mouldier, never thought of that? (I didn't like the smell of it). I use oil.

With the honey replacing the sugar, how much honey do you use for say 1 tsp of sugar? I quite fancy trying that.

There isn't much science to it in our house - it's usually "a blob"! Notionally I replace a tablespoon of sugar with a tablespoon of honey (but I don't always measure it!). So I'd probably do the same with a tea spoon and perhaps a bit extra for luck...

I do similar for oil, for an ounce of butter I use a tablespoon of oil. In the fruit loaf I make it's 3 oz butter so I use 1.5 oz of butter and 1.5 (ish) tablespoons of oil.

Kirri

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

There isn't much science to it in our house - it's usually "a blob"! Notionally I replace a tablespoon of sugar with a tablespoon of honey (but I don't always measure it!). So I'd probably do the same with a tea spoon and perhaps a bit extra for luck...

I do similar for oil, for an ounce of butter I use a tablespoon of oil. In the fruit loaf I make it's 3 oz butter so I use 1.5 oz of butter and 1.5 (ish) tablespoons of oil.

Lol, I shall give it a go for my next loaf! Thanks

vesper

hi can someone give me an approximate cost on how much it costs to make a loaf of bread these days, its a long long time since I made my own bread as a child, but am thinking of borrowing my FIL's breadmaker (its a dust collector) and trying it out after seeing the horrid prices of loafs of bread in the shops now!