November 18, 2021 - 10:36am
Wrapping bread
I just want to know if anyone has had the experience of wrapping sourdough bread to be used in two days. Generally, when I am home, I just put my loaves in ziplocks after they have cooled and slice them the next day and then put them in the freezer. I then can take out my bread and toast it. This way, we enjoy the bread when fresh and crusty on the first day and thereafter we eat it as toast. I am about to travel and will be bringing my sourdough raisin bread with me that I just baked this morning. My question is whether it would be better to put the cooled loaves in ziplocks or something more “breathable” like paper bags, aluminum foil or parchment paper?
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How you wrap determines the quality of the crust as time passes/as the loaf ages. Moisture will migrate out of the crumb into the crust over a pretty short time: 2-3 days+/-. If it is wrapped tightly in plasticrap/zip-lock/foil then the moisture will remain in the crust and the crust will go softer as moisture builds up in it. If you want the crust to stay more crisp over the life of the loaf, use the "breathable" wrapping method. That allows the moisture to escape the crust instead of building up, and helps retain better crust quality.
I now slice and freeze my loaves as you do, but for many years I kept sourdough on the counter in paper grocery bags with the top rolled down and clipped to keep it from opening. It maintained a crisper crust for longer, (but not a crisp crust forever) when I did so. In my kitchen environment that meant about 3-4 days of life for a sourdough loaf. Even so, the last day or so always exhibited a softer crust than the first couple of days though.
Just one baker's opinion! :)
Best of luck
OldWoodenSpoon
and get very cold at night, it would be like putting them in the fridge. So treat them like refrigerated bread popping slices into the toaster at their destination. I would cut now while you have the equipment and bag tightly for travel.
Happy Thankgiving!