The proper care and storage of bread

The third "official" batch has been baked so I thought I would share some tips on the proper care and storage my bread.

It is said that the optimum time to eat fresh bread is at the moment that its center cools down to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. However, it is hard to dismiss the fact there is something romantic about eating warm bread just out of the oven so that it melts the butter and tastes comforting in the mouth. In any case, the harsh reality is that the “freshness” clock starts ticking when the bread comes out of the oven…

The bâtards that I bake are made with only four ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast; the simple truth is that I don’t use any preservatives. The good thing about this is that the bread is healthier, more natural, and better tasting; the bad thing about this is that we are unable to slow the progress of the “freshness” clock. Well, there are a couple of things that we can do…

• Eat your bâtard on the same day that it is baked. This directly conflicts with the “buy enough for a month” philosophy popularized by Costco, but if you eat it you won’t have to worry about storing it.
• If you want to preserve the crustiness of the bâtard, you should store it in paper. This helps, but it will still become stale within a day or so.
• If you want to preserve the bâtard for more than a day, “cater wrap” it in plastic wrap. This means that you wrap the loaf in plastic wrap completely in both directions to prevent any air from getting to it. Then, either freeze or place it in a cool, dark place. Pull the loaf from the freezer at least 2 hours before you need to use it. Do not try to accelerate the thawing by putting it into the oven or microwave because this will only dry it out. To restore a crackly crust to the bread, put it in a 450 F oven for 2 minutes.

Another little trick to keep your bread as fresh as possible as you are enjoying it during the day is to place the bread "face" down on a cutting board; this will keep the exposed bread fresher and softer.

I should also mention a couple of things that you should never do:

• Do not store bread in the refrigerator. This dries out the bread, even if it is sealed in plastic.
• Do not store the bâtard in plastic bags or in plastic wrap unless you plan to re-crisp the crust in the oven.
• Do not store warm bread in plastic bags or plastic wrap. Please wait until it has completely cooled down.

Please realize that this only applies to taking care of my lean (unenriched) bread; storing enriched breads is a completely different game...

A special thanks to everyone who is helping out with our fundraiser for Emily's and Kelly's upcoming mission trip to Costa Rica; I really hope that you are enjoying the bread!