To refrigerate or not to refrigerate?

[rhiannonstone]

This may seem trivial, but where do you stand on chilled baked goods? It's a major point of contention in my household--my boyfriend prefers cakes, brownies, muffins, and pastries straight out of the refrigerator, while I can't stand to have my baked sweets at anything less than room temerature, and in fact I prefer them warm if at all possible. Does keeping baked goods refrigerated have any merit? Are there some types that do better with refrigeration and some that do better at room temp?

[James MacGuire]

As long as you promise not to say "I told you so!" to your husband, I'll agree with you. Breads and other fermented things actually stale more quickly in the refrigerator, but on the other hand, be careful of letting pastries with cream fillings and other potentially dangerous ingredients sit out.

I'm not a fan of the microwave, but i"ve been told that one can take the chill off too cold stuff ( without actually warming it) fairly easily