Storing foods correctly – especially fresh and easily perishable ones – is essential to reduce waste in the kitchen and to ensure food safety. Among the most often thrown foods in Italian homes there is fresh bread, the basic food of the Mediterranean diet but also one of the most delicate to manage.
But what is the best way to preserve it, so that it lasts longer and keeps its characteristics without becoming stale or molding?
The advice of the “king of bread” Paul Hollywood
The British baker Paul Hollywood, famous judge of the program The Great British Bake Off, in a video that has become viral on Tiktok has revealed his favorite method: never put the bread in the refrigerator.
“If you put the bread in the fridge, it will become stale three times faster because you are extracting all the humidity from the loaf,” explains Hollywood.
The cold of the fridge, in fact, accelerates the drunk retrograde process, a phenomenon that leads bread to lose its softness and become hard in a short time.
His advice, however, is that of Store bread at room temperatureon the kitchen table or in the pantry, Within a food paper bag.
@theofficialpaulhollywood Did You Know This About Putting Bread In The Fridge? #bread #paulhollywood #baking #Tips
♬ Original sound – Paul Hollywood
Store the bread at room temperature helps to maintain a constant temperature and to protect bread from thermal changes, which can cause the stabilization.
But why in the paper bag?
The choice of paper is not accidental, since it is A protective and breathable material at the same time.
The bread, even after cooking, continues to release carbon dioxide and water vapor. If preserved in a plastic bag, these gases remain inside and cause condensation, which favors the growth of dangerous molds.
The paper bag, on the other hand, allows the escape of these gases, avoiding condensation and keeping the crunchiness of the crust.
At the same time, the paper bag protects the bread from dust, dirt and insects, which could contaminate it and accelerate its deterioration.
As an alternative to the paper bag, especially if the bread is very soft, You can wrap the product in a clean cotton canvas to preserve its freshness.
What scientific sources say
This theory is supported by numerous scientific research. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and an article published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the ideal temperature to preserve bread is between 20 ° C and 25 ° C, that is, the ambient temperature.
The starch retrograde process is maximum between 0 ° C and 5 ° C – exactly the temperature of the domestic refrigerator.
In summary: the refrigerator makes the bread aging more quickly.
The correct method to keep it at home
According to Hollywood – and in accordance with experts in the sector such as the National Consortium of Bakers – the best solution is to keep bread:
Why avoid plastic?
The plastic bags, albeit common, create a humid microambiente that favors the formation of mold. The bread naturally releases water vapor after cooking and, if retained, this steam condenses and accelerates deterioration.
“Humidity is the number one enemy of the crust: in a plastic bag, the bread loses its crunchiness and risks rotting quickly,” explains the expert French bakery Éric Kayser in his book The bread is life.
What to do with advanced bread
Despite the precautions, it may happen that the bread is not consumed everything in the day. In this case, here are some useful solutions:
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