Is it possible to store bread in the refrigerator, rules and shelf life

Can I store freshly baked bread in the fridge? This question is relevant in the heat, when the purchased product dries quickly and sometimes molds. In the refrigerator, food is stored at a temperature of -2 ... -5 degrees below zero. The development of mold in such conditions is suspended, but drying continues. It is advisable to store baked goods in a bread box at room temperature.

Why does the product expire quickly

Every housewife wants the bread bought in the supermarket to stay fresh as long as possible, not rancid or moldy. Alas, it is impossible.After all, this food product is cooked from flour and contains starch. In the oven, at high temperature, this substance binds with water, softens, making the crumb elastic and the crust dry.

In cooled bread, after some time, the starch becomes crystalline again. During this process, moisture is released. Air spaces and cracks appear in the crumb. The bread becomes hard, that is, it becomes stale, and the crust, on the contrary, softens. The water evaporates or is absorbed into the crumb.

In a humid environment, fungi can grow, causing mold to grow on the bread. True, there are no fungal spores in the product taken out of the oven, they die at a temperature of 250 degrees. Fungi can get on the product during transportation, in a bakery, at home - through contact with a knife, a table, dirty hands.

General storage rules

In the past, freshly baked bread was wrapped in dry linen. Wrapped in this way, it did not dry out for long and did not mold. Nowadays, bread bins or ordinary plastic bags are usually used to store flour products.

Purity

The main thing is that the bread is stored in a clean place. It is advisable to regularly wipe down wooden or plastic bread bins with baking soda and a damp cloth to eliminate unpleasant odors and prevent mold growth. Cellophane bags are not used more than once.

Dry air

It is advisable to store bread at a relative humidity of 75 percent. If the air is very hot and dry, the bread will lose moisture faster and dry out.

Temperature

Bread consumption characteristics remain well at room temperature (21-25 degrees Celsius).Stale bakery products at temperatures from -2 to +20 degrees.

The optimal shelf life is 1-3 days. True, if you store baked goods in the freezer, at a temperature of 10 degrees below zero, they will not deteriorate anytime soon. Drying stops at temperatures from 10 to 30 degrees below zero. True, hardly anyone bothers to freeze bread.

Baked goods spoil less at temperatures of 61 to 91 degrees Celsius. In the oven, where the thermometer shows 195 degrees above zero, hardening stops completely. Rye product contains more moisture than wheat dough, so it stays fresh longer.

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Storage periods

The shelf life of bread is calculated from the time it comes out of the oven or oven. This product is classified as a perishable product. The shelf life depends on the flour used for baking and various additives.

white

This bread is baked from wheat flour and stays fresh for 24 hours. Buns perish even faster - after 4 p.m. Food retains its freshness longer if it is wrapped in perforated cellophane bags or paper.

True, it is not recommended to store wheat flour products for a long time. Better to buy small portions of fresh bread and eat right away. Homemade baked goods can last longer. After all, vegetable and animal fats, milk, eggs are used for its production. All of these additives increase the shelf life of wheat flour products.

Black

Rye flour bread has a longer shelf life than wheat baked goods. The storage period for such a product is 2-3 days.If rye bread is stored properly, for example in a plastic bag, bread basket or paper wrapper, it will not go stale for 4-5 days.

Without yeast

Sourdough baked goods without yeast have the longest shelf life. Such bread will not go stale for 4-6 days. If vegetable oil was used in the recipe, the shelf life is almost 1 week.

How to choose the right place in the kitchen

It is customary to keep bread in the kitchen. Coming out of the store, any hostess puts food on the table. Then he puts it in cupboards, drawers or containers. It is better to put the bread in a bread basket, you can put it in a birch bark or a wicker basket. These items should rest on the surface of the table or lower kitchen cabinet. The ground distance should be 1.2-1.5 meters.

It is undesirable to put baked goods on the upper shelf of the wall cabinet - dry hot air accumulates under the ceiling.

It is not recommended to store food purchased in the store on the windowsill in direct sunlight. In this place, they deteriorate rapidly. You can put baked goods in the refrigerator, on the middle shelf. First, the bread should be placed in a plastic or paper bag.

Optimal material for the bread basket

Traditionally, bread is kept in a bread box. This container is specially designed for storing baked flour products. The bread boxes are hermetically sealed, they are easy to wash, they protect food from drying out and external aggressions.

TREE

Many housewives prefer wooden bread bins, especially those made from hardwood species (oak, linden).Baking is kept in it for a long time and does not deteriorate. True, the tree absorbs all sorts of odors, it often molds. Wooden containers should be washed often with a soda solution, carefully dried and sometimes disinfected with alcohol.

On sale you can find bread boxes consisting of a wooden board for slicing bread and a plastic lid. These combined products combine 2 functions: storage and slicing.

Plastic

Plastic bread bins are inexpensive and easy to wash and clean. Their top is usually transparent, which allows the hostess to see the state of baked flour products. Such containers may have an unpleasant chemical odor. It is advisable to purchase food grade plastic bread pans.

Metal

Stainless steel bread boxes are durable and easy to use. They do not absorb any odor and rarely mold. These items belong to household appliances. They harmoniously fit into the design of modern kitchens.

Sometimes housewives put bread in an enamel pan. Caring for such dishes is very simple: you need to wash and wipe dry.

Glass

Glass bread bins are moisture and airtight. They are easy to wash and stay perfectly clean. Bread in such containers does not dry out for a long time and does not mold.

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Ceramic

Ceramic bread pans are rare in the kitchen. They are glazed and unglazed. Unglazed ceramic is breathable and does not retain moisture. Bread in such a container does not mold. Glazed ceramic has the same properties as glass.

Birch bark

Birchbark caskets, that is, the top layer of birch bark, have long been used to store bread.Birchbark bins have antifungal and antibacterial properties. They do not spoil baked goods for a long time.

How to bring freshness home

Stale or dried out bread can be "revived". To do this, it is heated to a temperature of 62-162 degrees Celsius. Admittedly, the product retains its newfound freshness for only a few hours. It is advisable to eat the bread immediately after heating.

In the microwave

If you put a stale loaf or loaf in the microwave for a few seconds, the freshness of such products will quickly recover. Before heating, the product must be sprinkled with water, wrapped in paper or a linen napkin. Can be packed in a plastic bag.

In the oven

Stale pastries can be "revived" if heated in the oven to a temperature of 62-162 degrees. After this procedure, the wheat product remains fresh for 5 hours, rye - 9 hours. Before heating, the bread is sprinkled with water or soaked in water and wrapped in a towel.

In a multicooker

You can soften dried baked goods in a double boiler or multicooker. The softening method is simple: the product is placed in a multicooker, water is poured into a special tank and the "steam" mode is set. It only takes 2-3 minutes to restore steamed bread.

in the package

Dried bread scraps can be placed in a clean, sealed plastic bag. Then place it on a windowsill in the sun or in a warm place. Can be put in the fridge. The bread will soften in 6-9 hours. The reconstituted bakery products thus retain their freshness longer.

Additional Methods and Ideas to Extend Shelf Life

At home, bread is often stored in a bread box, but this method does not seem to be entirely efficient for many.After a few days, the product often dries out and molds. You can try to prolong the freshness of a loaf or loaf using folk methods.

Linen or canvas napkin

In the past, baked bread was wrapped in linen. The fabric absorbs moisture and protects baked goods from drying out. This method can be used today. True, the towel should be made from natural raw materials (cotton or linen). You can pre-rinse it in a soda solution and dry it well.

Bread wrapped in a clean cloth will stay fresh for 3-4 days.

plastic bags

Bread in a perforated plastic bag stays fresh for 3-5 days. Polyethylene does not let moisture through and protects the product from drying out. True, you cannot use the same package more than once.

Special bags

You can buy a special bag in the store for storing flour products. Its top is fabric, the middle is perforated cellophane or linen (cotton). In such a bag, the bread will not go stale for about 2-4 days.

Slice through the middle

The bread will stay fresh for a long time if you cut it not from the end, but from the middle. After each cut, press the two halves well together and wrap them in cellophane.

Freezer

Modern bakeries produce semi-baked products. Before the sale, the required number of products is baked, which is why bread always arrives fresh on store shelves. You can put the purchased product in the freezer at home, and at the right time remove it from the chamber and put it in a preheated oven for a few minutes. True, you need to eat the reconstituted bread immediately.

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raw apple

A fresh apple will prevent the baked product from drying out.You have to put it in a bread basket or in a saucepan. True, mold can soon become active on bread. It is best to put a saucer of boiled water near the bread.

Piece of sugar

A sugar cube placed in a bread bin will absorb excess moisture and reduce the risk of mold. In addition, it will eliminate an unpleasant smell, and a loaf or loaf will only benefit from such neighborhood - they will retain their freshness longer.

Peeled potato

Raw, peeled potatoes will help maintain the right humidity in the bread basket. It should be placed near bread or bread. True, this method is fraught with dangers - in the heat, fungal spores on the surface of a raw vegetable can be activated.

handful of salt

Regular table salt will protect the bread from mold. A little of this product should be poured into the bottom of the bread basket. The salt should be changed periodically, and the surface should be washed with water and soda.

After cooking

Hot bread should be refrigerated before storing. You can wrap it in a towel so that the moisture does not evaporate too much and is absorbed by the fabric. The chilled product is sent in a bread basket or placed in a plastic bag.

Enamel dishes

In Soviet times, many housewives kept loaves and loaves in an enamel pan with a lid. Large bowls were used for storage. The bread they contained was covered with a large towel or a piece of cloth. This method can be used in the country or at home, in the absence of a bread box.

About the Black and White Baked Goods District

It is undesirable to store rye and wheat pastries in the same container. These products have a different water content, moreover, their own specific aroma.Some types of bacteria and fungi do not die even after high temperature treatment. Then they are activated in a favorable environment.

So that the bread does not disappear, it is better to keep it in a paper bag, and each variety separately.

How to store in the refrigerator

Bread, like other foods, can be refrigerated. True, at a temperature of 0 ... -2 degrees of frost, the product loses moisture much faster than in room conditions. But this method has its advantages: bakery products will not mold, the risk of developing germs will decrease.

Before putting the product in the refrigerator, it is advisable to wrap it in cellophane with holes for ventilation. If they are not there, you can pierce the polyethylene yourself in several places. The bread will stay fresh in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

They only put baked goods in the freezer if you have to leave the house for a while. The product is pre-cut into slices and packaged in portions in aluminum foil or cellophane. The bread will stay in the freezer for a month.

It is forbidden to put in the refrigerator bakery products that have already begun to deteriorate. Mold can spread to other foods. In addition, eating moldy bread is dangerous for your health.

Do not put hot, hot baked goods in the freezer. The chamber will become covered with condensation, which can damage the compressor.

Bread basket maintenance rules

Baked goods must be kept clean or they will spoil quickly. The bread box should be washed once a week with soapy water and wiped down with baking soda. Do not use vinegar. In an acidic environment, fungi and bacteria grow rapidly.Bread will keep its freshness longer if it is “sprinkled” with salt before putting it in the bread basket.