appetizers

10 Tips How to Keep French Bread Soft Longer - Thursday Two Questions Meme #134

by Self Sagacity at 7:16 AM
I love French bread, especially when it's just bought. There are so many different varieties that my family and I buy on a regular basis like Dutch French bread –the same kind you get at Togo's, butter baguettes, sourdough, and regular sweet French bread for po’boys.

But the biggest problem with French bread is that it doesn’t stay soft long! The French bread has to be consumed within a day or two, and that makes it difficult to keep a supply of bread on hand. The maximum length of time that I've been able to keep French bread soft is a couple of days.



   

So I searched on the internet to see what others have done to keep the French bread from going hard. Here is what I got from random.

What others have done to keep French bread from going hard.

  1.  Put the French bread in the refrigerator.
  2.  Cut the French bread up and put it in a Ziploc bag.
  3.  Keep the French bread in the original paper bag and place it in a grocery bag and wrap it tightly.
  4.  Wrap the French bread in aluminum foil. Put it in a sealed plastic bag and place it in the Freezer. Before use, defrost it at room temperature or wrap it in aluminum foil and stick it in a pre-heated oven for 5 minutes.

Ehow on bread in general: http://www.ehow.com/how_8201701_keep-bread-soft.html:

5. Put bread in a linen bread bag and store it at room temperature. The linen allows the bread inside to breathe, unlike plastic bags. It's also a recyclable choice. You can purchase a linen bread bag or you can make one yourself.
From Ehow on Baguette http://www.ehow.com/how_8261897_keep-baguette-soft.html:

6. Wrap any baguette that you did not consume with a stalk of celery. Use plastic cling wrap to wrap the baguette tightly. The celery, which has a high moisture content, will help keep the baguette moist without becoming soggy.



What I've done keep my French bread soft and make it last longer: 

7. Spray water on the French bread and put it in the microwave for (x) seconds, depending on how big the piece of bread is.

8.  Bake my own French Bread!

9. Wrap the French bread in a cotton towel.

10. I don't believe this tip applies to French bread, but it is a tip for when you buy bread in general.

Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie.
Monday = Blue, Tuesday = Green, Thursday = Red, Friday = White and Saturday = Yellow.

So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue - Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday, even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. They don't deliver on W or Su... so buy bread from Tuesday or Saturday to get the freshest available.
Link to the original forum post: http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-84028.html

 Here are Self Sagacity's Thursday Two Questions #134
1) How long can you keep your French bread from going hard?
2) What have you done to help keep your French bread soft?

I am hoping to find a new tip from one of your comments so that I can post it on my French Bread Recipe and share with the world of Food blogs. Also I would like to post it on next week's Thursday Two Questions #135!

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Before you link-up, 1) make sure you read the Thursday Two Questions Details Page, 2) you have Two Questions of your own that you posted, or use the Thursday Two Questions from Self Sagacity 3) visit at least two participants and answer their questions - that is how you will create a bond and friendship. Links are monitored & spam will be removed. Thanks for joining us today.

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20 Comments

  1. AndreaApril 17, 2013 at 5:10 PM

    Hi, those strategies for the French bread might be useful in the temperate climates, but in the tropics with high humidity, i don't know what will. In my case, i just use the left-over bread as garlic bread with butter, toasted and served hot! No choice! haha

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    Replies
    1. Self SagacityApril 17, 2013 at 9:13 PM

      I supposed the heat would makes things a bit more challenging for you. I never tried to toast the hard bread...thinking it would be even harder, but it's worth a try with butter. Thanks for the tip.

      Delete
  2. SamanthaApril 17, 2013 at 6:03 PM

    we eat it all. that really helps :) lol

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    Replies
    1. Self SagacityApril 17, 2013 at 9:14 PM

      that's an excellent way to take care of the problem, smiles. We usually do to, but sometimes...it sits with no taker.

      Delete
  3. AnnApril 17, 2013 at 6:18 PM

    Maybe that's why I eat Italian bread! LOL! Great post. I talk to the bread man at Kroger all the time--I will ask him about the color coding.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Self SagacityApril 17, 2013 at 9:15 PM

      Does the Italian bread stay longer? I wish...Yes. We wanted to find out tonight too about the color coding and bread delivery system.

      Delete
  4. JimApril 17, 2013 at 7:20 PM

    Nice topic, Amanda ~~ We eat a lot of Whole Wheat French Bread in double sized baguettes from our bakery. I like to get them at the end of their expiration date so that they are half-priced.

    To keep them soft I: (Mrs. Jim does some of this later when they are not so soft, I do it when I bring it home)
    1. Put the loaf in a regular commercial bread wrapper sack that I save for thing like this. Some of the longer loaves I need to cut in half.
    2. They keep good for a couple of weeks like this and by this time we generally have finished eating the loaf. If there is some left I put a piece of cake or pastry in the sack with the bread and that gets it soft again.
    3. I save the bread hardened for the ducks in the pond here. The water softens it for them.
    4. If hard AND old I slice and toast it to cut it up into crotons for the dog.
    ..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Self SagacityApril 17, 2013 at 9:18 PM

      Wow, I don't know what a regular commercial bread wrapper sack is. I might have to look that up.
      A couple of weeks? What a dream...I must know about this commercial sack.
      I don't have any pets, and the hard bread gets thrown out most of the time. Thanks for the tip.

      Delete
    2. JimApril 18, 2013 at 7:51 AM

      My 'comercial bread wrapper sack' is one off a loaf of commercially baked, mass produced, sandwich bread. They are made of tougher stuff than the cellophane looking stuff the bakery uses and aren't prone to getting holes in them.
      ..

      Delete
  5. Theresa MahoneyApril 17, 2013 at 7:33 PM

    Ahahaha about the Viagra! I love bread! It is a weakness of mine. I can never say no it it. Great tips on keeping it fresh and soft!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Self SagacityApril 17, 2013 at 9:20 PM

      Thanks Theresa, it is quite a challenge to keep the french bread soft. But we love bread so, and I have made my own for the first time. Yay!

      Delete
  6. UnknownApril 17, 2013 at 9:22 PM

    I have been known to sprinkle some water on it and stick it in the microwave for a few seconds, or wrap with a heel of bread. I am not crazy about French bread, but love garlic bread, rye or croissants. I would probably just put butter and garlic on it and toast it in my broiler oven. Yum.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Icy BCApril 18, 2013 at 1:00 AM

    I didn't know how to keep it soft longer, so I usually buy smaller loaf, and I keep it the refrigerator to avoid it from becoming moldy!

    Good to know there are ways to keep it soft longer.

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  8. Beck Valley BooksApril 18, 2013 at 1:48 AM

    We tried the fridge technique but it only made the french bread go harder quicker. Love some of your tips and the viagra !!

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  9. ArtiApril 18, 2013 at 7:09 AM

    The bread that we get here in India stays soft for just a couple of days after which it starts to harden. I will try some of these methods to see if they work here too! Have a lovely week ahead Amanda :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Colette SApril 18, 2013 at 9:19 AM

    I eat other people's french bread. I've not yet been brave enough to purchase my own even though I visit the french bread isle every single time I go and read the labels :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Katherines CornerApril 18, 2013 at 7:42 PM

    bread, bread, oh how I love you bread...Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things hop xo

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hobbies on a BudgetDecember 6, 2013 at 5:24 PM

    Great ideas! We love french bread, but I definitely don't like it when it gets hard!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Masshole MommyDecember 18, 2013 at 12:08 PM

    This is GREAT! I don't buy a lot of nice bread like this because it usually ends up going bad!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. MinaAugust 28, 2014 at 7:41 AM

    I soak it in the bucket of the water and come tomorrow hehehe =p~ ???
    No. Joke!
    I usually just put my bread and beagles into a plastic wrap.

    ReplyDelete

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