do
Store your bread at room
temperature in the packaging
it came in.
don’t
Store your bread in the
refrigerator (see below for
freezing instructions).
do
Slice your bread with a bread
knife or any serrated knife (the
ones with “teeth”).
don’t
Slice your bread with a
chefs knife or any knife with
a straight edge.
freezing bread
You can freeze bread to extend its life and with little damage if you follow these tips:
- Slice the bread before you freeze it. This makes it easy to take out only as many slices as you need.
- Store the bread, wrapped in a paper towel, in an airtight freezer bag. The paper towel helps to reduce freezer burn.
- When you take a slice out, put it directly into the toaster using the “frozen” setting. Letting it thaw on the counter may result in it getting mushy.
reviving baguette
It is common for baguette to get hard, or stale, in as little as a few hours, but even if it’s been sitting for four or five days, try this trick to revive it back to it’s original crunchy-chewiness:
- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Run the entire baguette, top and bottom, under your kitchen faucet, being sure to lightly dampen every surface (do not use so much water as to make it soggy).
- Set the baguette directly on your middle oven rack and let bake for 10-15 minutes (checking every few minutes).