Unfortunately, bakery products do not stay soft, warm and tasty for a long time. It inevitably turns stale and moldy. Each housewife tries in her own way to prevent spoilage by storing it in suitable containers - bread bins. In hot, humid weather, when it is impossible to replenish the stock every day, many will have a question: is it possible to store bread in the refrigerator?
Why lower the storage temperature?
The period when yeast baked goods are suitable for consumption is established by sanitary standards. The term of sale of a food product weighing more than 500 g differs from the type of raw materials used. Baked goods made from rye or rye-wheat flour should be eaten within 36 hours. Wheat bread is suitable for no more than one day. Small-piece bakery product (weight up to 200 g) is allowed for sale within 16 hours.
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The shelf life and shelf life of bakery products is determined from the time they leave the production oven. Products baked at home using household equipment in compliance with the technological process remain fresh as much.
To maximize the consumer characteristics of bread, we should achieve a room temperature of 20 to 25 ° C. The optimum humidity ranges from 75%. But can we always create such conditions in hot weather or the rainy season? Outside city apartments, away from shops, is it possible to store bread in the refrigerator? After all, logically, a decrease in temperature slows down the vital activity of pathogens that cause spoilage of the product. Let's approach the study of this issue objectively.
Can bread be stored in the main refrigerator compartment?
In order for a freshly baked yeast product to remain tasty and healthy, experienced people advise putting bread in the freezer. However, they do not recommend storing it in the refrigerator compartment. The fact is that there are many different odors in the refrigerator (even if the food is in bags or containers). And all this will be absorbed by your baked goods, if they are stored correctly - in paper or in a linen bag.
As an exception, short-term storage of bread in the refrigerator is allowed. We set the operating temperature of the device at around + 3 ° C. We take into account one more parameter: the humidity of the air inside the refrigeration equipment. It is lower than the humidity in the apartment. The content of water vapor in the air mass of the unit ranges from 50 to 90%. The same average percentage in fresh product is about 50. By balancing these values, you will get a slow evaporation of moisture and a longer storage period.
There is one more - the best and most expensive way. This is a recent novelty - a vacuum apparatus, a vacuum sealer or a special silicone bag with a valve for air evacuation (the option is slightly cheaper). There is no oxygen inside, which means that the product does not oxidize, pathogenic organisms do not multiply. White bread in the refrigerator can be up to a month, black - up to three. But, of course, no one buys such an expensive device just for the sake of storing bread.
Photo by ♔ Georgie R
Why isn't the refrigerator compartment suitable?
Taking out a stale, moldy bun from the refrigerator, we blame the bakers who allegedly sold us a low-quality product. However, the real reason is different: the refrigerating chamber is a technique that does not imply the preservation of the properties of yeast products. By slightly cooling the product, we get both benefit and harm.
Fast hardening
Freshly baked baked goods have an average moisture content of 40 to 50%. This indicator of the moisture content provides the product with elasticity of the crust, crumb density, and a small amount of crumbs. The specified temperature in the refrigerator compartment varies from 0 to + 5 ° C. In this temperature range, the internal moisture of the product evaporates quickly. The starch crystallizes, the loaf becomes stale in a day. Therefore, it is pointless to store baked goods in the refrigerator.
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Mold formation
When sending a product to a refrigerated chest, we put it in a tight plastic bag. This is a common mistake. Compressed yeast is used in bakery dough. This pure fungal culture has a high fermentation activity. By converting simple sugars into ethyl alcohol with the release of carbon dioxide, microorganisms loosen the dough and create pores in the finished bread. Yeast retains its ability in baked products for 24 hours.
We pack a loaf or a loaf in plastic wrap, which does not allow air to pass through. The interior space fills with carbon dioxide over time. Cellophane also prevents excess water from evaporating. This increases the moisture content inside the package. Such conditions are a favorable environment for the formation of molds. Poor ventilation maintains an increase in pathogens. Blue, green color of the peel informs about the presence of mold. Sometimes the fungus looks like a powdery coating.
How do we act? When placing the yeast product in the refrigerator compartment, put it in a paper "breathing" bag or wrap the loaf with a clean cloth. This will reduce the risk of developing mold and keep the food fresh for longer.
Reasons for spoiling bread in the refrigerator
The source of the appearance of mold is the penetration of mold fungi into the pores of the product. Infection does not occur during baking, but after the product leaves the oven, since fungal microorganisms become unviable at temperatures above 80 ° C. Mass varieties of bread made from wheat or rye flour are baked at temperatures ranging from 200 to 270 ° C.
The ingress of fungus is associated with the settling of spores on the surface during installation, cooling, transportation, and sale. Lack of adequate ventilation in the refrigeration unit leads to the growth and development of pathogens during storage. The replication rate of fungi depends on several factors:
- the formulation used;
- dough preparation method (with or without dough);
- acidity of the finished product;
- loaf masses;
- storage duration.
A quality product made from wheat flour will not mold within 4 days. The rye product is not subject to mold for at least 6 days.
Photo by Ibán
Why can bread be stored in the freezer?
The temperature in the freezer compartment of the household refrigerator is -18 ° C. In specialized chests, the temperature minimum reaches -32 ° C. Such values allow food to be stored for one year. If you freeze bread in a freezer for storage - will the taste and useful properties be lost?
Scientific research has shown that freezing bread in the refrigerator does not lead to a deterioration in taste. The presence of the product in the freezer compartment ensures the preservation of vitamins A, K, K, group B. These useful elements do not disappear, but reduce their concentration. Due to a decrease in moisture in a yeast product, its calorie content slightly increases. Freezing lowers the glycemic index, making the product available to diabetics.
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Why is a freezer better?
A suitable method for freezing is "shock" technology. The rapid achievement of the low temperature setting increases the shelf life of food products. Having decided to freeze the bread in the freezer for storage, we carry out three step-by-step steps:
- cooling - bring the temperature of the product to 0 degrees, placing it in the "freshness zone" for 15 minutes;
- freezing - set the temperature at around -5 ° C, which allows the loaf to lose 70% of its moisture;
- freezing - we reach a storage temperature of -18 ° С.
Freezing in three stages has a number of advantages. It prevents the development of bacterial and fungal microflora. The intermediate phase - freezing, avoids the formation of ice crystals, which destroy the structure of the product, which negatively affects its taste.
Storage rules
Learn tips on how to store bread in the freezer:
- The shelf life of defrosted baked goods does not exceed one day. Therefore, before freezing, we divide the loaf into portioned slices (so you do not have to defrost the entire product in the microwave several times). We put in a bag in the amount consumed per meal.
- We send for storage only fresh cooled product. Hot water will cause condensation and excess moisture. And the increased temperature inside will not benefit household appliances.
- We take into account that baked goods quickly absorb foreign odors. We place the product separately from fish and meat products.
- Health safety issues require keeping food in clean rooms. Keep your freezer clean.
Storage duration
The freezer is a good place if you can't get fresh bread every day. At a temperature of -18 ° C, yeast products can be stored for up to 3 weeks. If the temperature is lowered to -23 ° C, the bread will be ready for consumption after 5 weeks of being frozen.
Longer storage of bread is possible in professional freezers.
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