Homemade Bread Keeping and Cutting Tips

Oh bread - how I love thee?  I love thee lots and lots.  I spent a good year trying to find a good bread recipe which meant I made a lot of bad bread recipes.

I finally found the perfect bread recipe.  It turns out great every time.

Marilyn Moll's Famous Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

You have to check it out.  It gives you three methods to make the bread.  I use the bread machine because I'm lazy.

Another tip is to make up a bunch of bread kits like I did  here - this makes it so easy!

It looks like this when it is done in the bread maker:

Once your bread is done baking wait a few minutes and then take it out of the pan and allow it to cool completely.  This is very important - you do not want to put your bread in a bag while it is still warm or the moisture could make it mushy and yecky.

Once it has cooled completely store your bread in a cloth bread sack with a drawstring close.  You could buy one or make your own.  Store the loaf in this bag for 1 day - 24 hours and then . . .

You want to store your bread in a plastic bread bag for the rest of the time you have your bread.  It gets too hard if you leave it in the cloth bread bag for more than one day.

You can buy the bread bags here.

Now, whenever you are ready to slice your bread you can just go right ahead and do that or you can use this handy dandy gadget which makes your slices even because if you are like me - you can't draw a straight line let alone cut one (a straight line that is).

Bread Slicers

I don't cut my bread until I am ready to use it that instant.  I don't want it to get dried out at all.  Also, very important, use a serrated knife to cut your bread and go in a sawing motion so you don't smoosh the bread.

And if you have it around long enough for it to get a little hard - throw it in the freezer until you can make croutons or bread crumbs out of it.

Oh my - was that too much?  I just hate for you to take the time to make homemade bread and then it gets too hard or worse - mushy.  I like to use this bread for sandwiches which is why I try to store and cut it the best way I know how.

A few other notes - I store my bread on the counter.  Do not store it in the fridge or the crust will get really hard.  You can also wrap your bread in plastic wrap and/or foil and freeze it.  I have done this lots of times.  I just let it thaw on the counter or reheat it in the oven at 350.

Any other tips you all have that I might have forgotten?