Crusty breads and airtight plastic bags

[Hassouni]

Why do so many craft bakers do this: handmade, crusty, fresh loaves, immediately thrust into sealed airtight plastic bags. Within minutes, the crustiness is lost and the bread soon turns soft and unappetising. The only solution is to bake it for about 10 minutes when I get home, but I feel this changes the flavor and internal texture and isn't a perfect solution. One bakery chain in the area has perforated bags that alleviate the problem, allowing some air contact. Why don't more places do this? Is this a problem in your area too?

/rant

[FrogPrincesse]

Paper bags are the way to go. My favorite bakeries use paper. I love crusty bread and it would be a shame to see it ruined by improper packaging. You should talk to your baker!

[janeer]

Never heard of such a thing. Most bakeries leave the bread out in the air, then only put it into paper when you buy.

[DianaM]

They use paper bags here at the local bakery.

[andiesenji]

The best way to fix a loaf that once was crusty - and it will not alter the interior of the bread at all.

Heat your oven to 400° F. When the oven is hot, run cold water over the entire outside of the loaf and quickly stick it in the oven, directly on the shelf.

Time it - 12 minutes for a standard baguette. add two minutes for the larger "Italian" loaves, reduce to 9 minutes for the smaller or thinner.

[Hassouni]

What does the water do?

Also, no place here uses paper bags. Some leave them out until you buy, then into plastic - by the time you get them home, they've taken a turn for the worse.

[ChrisTaylor]

Why not supply for own bag? As in hand them a cloth bag or something and ask them to put the loaf in that.

[haresfur]

My local sour-dough bakery uses paper bags when you buy their bread at the bakery but when they deliver to other stores they use plastic bags that appear to have small pores so they can breathe.

[LindaK]

The best way to fix a loaf that once was crusty - and it will not alter the interior of the bread at all.

Heat your oven to 400° F. When the oven is hot, run cold water over the entire outside of the loaf and quickly stick it in the oven, directly on the shelf.

Time it - 12 minutes for a standard baguette. add two minutes for the larger "Italian" loaves, reduce to 9 minutes for the smaller or thinner.

Long ago I learned an inverse trick for resuscitating stale bread: soak then squeeze dry a paper bag. Insert bread, place in medium temp oven for 5-10 minutes, depending on loaf size.

Pity that any baker would ruin a crusty loaf by putting it in plastic.

[andiesenji]

What does the water do?

Also, no place here uses paper bags. Some leave them out until you buy, then into plastic - by the time you get them home, they've taken a turn for the worse.

This is an old baker's "trick" for refreshing day-old bread for people who would come in to buy it at half price. We did it in my mom's bakery where I worked back in the mid-'50s. I would stand at the oven opening with a tub of ice water, dipping the loaves into the water and shoving them onto the shelf and as I got to the end of the shelf it would be time to take the first ones off.

(Big oven, long opening)

That's me in the shorts, my mom in the background next to the oven - a 16-shelf Peterson revolving (like a Ferris wheel)

Edited October 31, 2012 by andiesenji (log)

[pastrygirl]

I just saw these for sale at Acme Bread in San Francisco: http://www.bamboo-bag.com/breadbags.html

[naguere]

What does the water do?

Also, no place here uses paper bags. Some leave them out until you buy, then into plastic - by the time you get them home, they've taken a turn for the worse.

This is an old baker's "trick" for refreshing day-old bread for people who would come in to buy it at half price. We did it in my mom's bakery where I worked back in the mid-'50s. I would stand at the oven opening with a tub of ice water, dipping the loaves into the water and shoving them onto the shelf and as I got to the end of the shelf it would be time to take the first ones off.

(Big oven, long opening)

That's me in the shorts, my mom in the background next to the oven - a 16-shelf Peterson revolving (like a Ferris wheel)

Nice Loaves