Wednesday, January 10, 2007

A Bread Storage Tip

Its week two of my "back to homemade bread" resolution. Last night I made another six loaves. I've found a unique way of cutting the cooling time while avoiding soggy bread due to condensation inside the container.

After taking it out of the oven, I let the bread cool for about five minutes before popping the loaves out of their pans. I let the loaves cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. Then, I take my large stockpot or roasting pan and line the bottom with a clean dish towel. Next I place the loaves into it, not touching the sides of the pot/pan. I place another clean dish towel over the top of the loaves before placing the cover on the pot/pan. In the morning the towels are wet, the sides of the pot/pan are drippy but the bread isn't soggy. Since I seem to be baking my bread in the evening, this system allows me to get into bed without having to wait for the bread to cool first.

In freezer news, there seems to be a great deal of chopped fennel in my freezer. I used some last night in a lentil casserole last night and it was quite good. I might try sneaking some into the chickpeas I plan to make tonight. Also on tonight's agenda, making some breakfast muffins using some of the multitude of apple butter that is in the freezer.

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