This is the Proper Way of Storing Sourdough Bread at Home
If you properly store traditional sourdough bread, it can last up to five days. Since the creation of a sourdough pizza base, Bridget Hugo, the founder of BreadBread Bakery in Brixton, has always been dealing with slow fermentation. She, however, reveals some expert tips when it comes to storing sourdough bread and also keeping it fresh for longer.
Sourdough bread has natural acidity that tends to inhibit bacteria and therefore takes longer to develop molds compared to yeast bread. Every product from BreadBread is slow. They are treated well and allowed enough time to develop into tasty and digestible bread typically. The slow-made sourdough is usually stable, meaning it can last longer.
Different Ways to Store Bread
It’s always ideal for storing your loaves in cotton bread bags or wrapping them in a tea towel to allow airflow. You can leave the bread in a reasonably cool place as it helps maintain the moisture level. Besides, it’s not advisable to store your loaf in the fridge. Since the refrigerator is a dry environment, it tends to harden the bread quite fast.
A plastic bag is equally not ideal for storing bread since the bag can cause sweating, especially in a warm place. Warmth and moisture do encourage bacteria. If you want to store many loaves, use a clingfilm to wrap them then place somewhere cool. If you want your bread to last longer, put them in the freezer after wrapping.
Re-baking Bread
It’s almost impossible to keep bread fresh for too long. The tastiest bread is the one eaten about 2-6 hours right from the oven after cooling. After which the crust will become flakey and soft, dull and tough, brittle, and dry depending on the age and type of the bread.
Not all of us are lucky enough to access a bakery for fresh loaves every day. But, from the comfort of your home, you can replicate that experience by merely re-baking the bread in the oven. However, you will have to plan a little, although it’s quite easy to execute.
Re-baking bread takes the same length of time as baking raw dough bread but at a lower temperature. Plus, you will have to wait for the bread to cool down. Hot bread is usually not as good as people wish it should be. When you heat starch, it tends to revert to its actual state, which makes it hard to digest. Therefore, you should let it cool for about an hour or so, meaning you will have to start preparing your bread earlier than you need.
Re-baking bread helps you refresh and gives you several alternatives of how to present or even use it. Besides, there are ways you can put stale bread to use, and you will see some of our recommendations below.
Re-baking Sourdough Bread
Pre-heat the oven up to 200◦C for loaves that are some days old. Sprinkle the crust with water then use the middle rack to re-bake for about 30-50 minutes depending on the bread size. For frozen whole or bread slices, defrost first since there’s no need to spray on them water. Wrap your bread firmly in tin foil if it’s already sliced before baking. To improve crustiness, you can open the top for 10 minutes before removing it.
How to Use Stale Bread
Before baking, you can smear the bread slices sides with butter and wrap them in foil. The obvious option is to go for fresh garlic butter but can use parsley herb butter, oregano, or creamed nut butter as well. You can also slather the bread slices with pesto as a substitute to butter.
You can make your pesto with herbs and olive oil or get a ready-made one from the stores. Anything filling will work perfectly well as long as it’s oily and not wet. Try baking the slices instead of toasting if you want a toast with toppings.
Making the Most of Your Bread
a) Organic White Sourdough
Organic White Sourdough is an all-round everyday loaf made of organic flour and is both versatile and light. It’s ideal for sandwich snacks, breakfast, and cheesy toasties. Flavors do perfect pair well with cooked ham, curd cheeses, and cured meats.
b) Organic Pagnotta Sourdough
It’s a country bread made with organic wheat that is stone-milled in Dorset. Its texture is soft and spongy yet strong to make a thin-cut nutty flavor sandwich.
c) Bukowski Rustic Wood Fired Sourdough
The flour in this bread has enough bran and wheat germ giving it a full meal flavor but doesn’t compromise its chewy curb structure attained by long fermentation. It does re-bake quite well and equally complements cheese and eggs. Besides, it’s a tasty base for any sweet treat.
d) Country Stick
Country Stick is made with rustic wood-fired sourdough. The sticks are ideal for eating only once when they are still fresh and right after re-baking. Thinly slice them and use olive oil for baking for 15minutes at 220◦ C.
e) Levain Baguette
Levain Baguette uses organic flour from England. Reheat at 220◦C for about 20 minutes.
f) Panouzzo
It’s an open structured pita sourdough bread ideal for serving as either a rip and dip complement to mezze meal or re-baking—Re-bake at 220◦C for about 15minutes.
g) German Rye
German Rye is typically packed with natural sweetness, crunch, and goodness and pairs perfectly with mild flavors that are either nutty, creamy, or sweet, such as soft cheese, eggs, and vegetable soup.
h) Seeded Tin
When mixed into the base sourdough, it’s a unique mix of linseeds, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds that increase the nutrients in the loaf. The flavor typically pairs quite well with home-made jam and nut butter, cheeses, or cooked meat.
Toast slices of seed loaf, crumble, then combine with currants to fill baked fennel. You can also fry them in a pan with tuna and white onions. Serve with pasta for a warm salad.
