The bread that we buy in the supermarket, in the kiosk downstairs from the house, in the bakery or the one that they leave us at the door, if we are not careful, it becomes hard. That is a universal truth and it has an explanation. Today we are going to find out why bread becomes stale from one day to the next, or in a few hours if it is a low-quality bread.
If we buy bread, either a mold or a loaf (in any of its variants), it is most likely that its fluffiness will be lost after hours and when 24 hours pass it could be used to open chestnuts, as they say in Cádiz.
The bread does not get stale because it expires or becomes bad, in fact, stale bread or “yesterday’s bread” is used to make the famous French toast. Stale bread is also a custom to give to horses, rabbits and dogs, although it is not entirely healthy.
Throughout this text we are going to understand the process by which bread becomes stale within a few hours, and we are also going to learn how to prevent that from happening or, at least, delay it as much as possible. As we already said, it will end up getting hard, so there is no miracle method either.
The humidity, she is the cause
No, we are not referring to the fact that in areas with high humidity in the environment the bread becomes stale, which is something that also influences, but in this case we are referring to the humidity of the bread itself.
Among the components of the bun, there is humidity and a good bread has a high level of humidity, therefore, when it is in contact with the air, it becomes hard. The higher the quality of the bread, the longer it will take to get stale. Loaves last longer than narrow loaves because they have little hydration and lose moisture very quickly.
To keep the bread in good condition for as long as possible, you have to start by choosing a good bread or making it yourself in an artisanal way. Avoid light-colored and white-crumb breads, and choose large, honeycombed breads (which have gaps in their crumbs). The more crumb there is, the longer it will take to get hard.
How to preserve bread
Now the final trick remains, and that is that to preserve it we have to keep it in a tightly closed plastic or paper bag and without air inside. Do not put it in the refrigerator , or put it in the sun, or near a window.
Another option is to wrap the bar in a clean cloth or linen cloth, that way it can breathe, if it is still warm, but does not get hard. This trick only works for the first few hours or in the case in which the bread is of very good quality and lasts only about 3 or 4 days.
We can choose to freeze it, and the best option is only to defrost the part that we are going to eat. To defrost, it is best to leave it on a cloth and then give it a heat stroke with the toaster and the oven.
