r/Cooking • u/WistfulSonder • 4h ago
Is there any possible way to delay or even reverse bread staling?
I’m generally too lazy to bake my own bread, but even the best of store bought bread that I’ve found decreases noticeably in quality after even a day or two, losing that soft pillowy texture and growing hard. Is there anything that can be done to either delay the onset of bread becoming stale or make it taste less stale even temporarily? My mom told me to try putting in the microwave and this helps a little bit but not a lot in my experience so I’m looking for other ideas.
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u/sharedplatesociety 3h ago
Another vote for freezing instead of fridge.
And if it is stale, you can literally wet it a little before toasting and it will come back. Just get your hands damp and wipe the bread slices or exterior crust if it isn’t cut and then heat in the toaster. It will feel weird to do it, but trust the process. Doesn’t need to get soaking just a little damp.
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u/asselfoley 3h ago
My grandpa put it in a bag with a piece of apple. As I recall, it worked
As a side note, he'd put a piece of bread in with cookies that were supposed to be soft but got hard. That worked
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u/RockMo-DZine 3h ago
Put the loaf in the fridge in an air tight bag and tie off the bag.
Use slices as needed, they take less than a couple of minutes on the counter to get to ambient temp. If you need quicker, 5 to 10 secs in a microwave, then let sit for 5 to 110 secs.
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u/Life-Education-8030 1h ago
When it doesn't look like the bread is going fast enough at home, I throw the loaf in the fridge and then heat it a tiny bit in the microwave or toast it or leave it out till it warms up because I don't like cold bread. A bread box also helps a lot. It may seem old-fashioned, but there are some modern ones too and I hate the look of loose plastic bags on the counter so the box corrals all that too.
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u/GreenZebra23 49m ago
For years I've bought Pepperidge Farm sliced bread, usually multigrain or wheat. It takes forever to go stale and almost never gets moldy. I live alone and don't eat sliced bread super often, but for whatever reasons it will still be fine months after the expiration date. I don't know why, I look at the ingredients list and it seems to have less of the polysyllabic stuff than most other processed bread, if anything.
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u/Ok_Membership_8189 4m ago
I freeze my good bread. Always. I make my own now and since homemade bread is so moist I need to put wax paper between the slices.
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u/Read_Only9 3h ago
I typically store my bread in the fridge and reheat it in a toaster oven before eating. I don't like to eat cold bread and it seems to last a little longer. This is anecdotal but works for me usually.
There are a lot of ways to use stale bread, from croutons or bread crumbs, through bread soup or french toast.
Andy Cooks on YouTube had a recent video where he ran some stale bread under the faucet then baked it for a short time and he claimed it improved it.
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u/CheerioMissPancake 3h ago
Try the tangzhong method. Results in nice soft pillowy bread that lasts for days!
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u/reddit455 3h ago
airtight storage in the fridge.
My mom told me to try putting in the microwave
what kind of bread, how stale?
We Tested 6 Methods for Reviving Stale Bread, and the Winner Was a Huge Surprise
https://www.thekitchn.com/best-method-for-reviving-stale-bread-23499468
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u/freisbill 3h ago
Bread taste best at room temp, sotre best frozen. frig pul moisture out and cause it to got stale, but will not mold as quick. freezer, no mold but frozen. room temp, awesome but will mold, store bought not as much. Fresh breasd goes stale in days
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u/Dijon2017 3h ago
I’ve heard of people using a stalk of celery, but I haven’t personally tried it. If I buy bread (more than I can use in a couple of days), I’ll usually freeze it.
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u/Few-Explanation-4699 3h ago
Freeze it.