Homemade bread question

The ingredient list on store bought sandwich bread makes it a no-go for me, so I've been trying our different bread recipes. Day 1 is great, but after day 2, it gets dry. Does anyone have tips to keep it fresher longer, or is that just the name of the game when baking "real" ?

Show your support

Have you tried putting it in a bag or container while it’s still warm to keep a bit of the moisture locked in (without it being sweaty or soggy kinda thing)?

I haven't. I usually let it cool completely to room temperature, and then I preslice it and put it in a bag. I'll try to put it away while still warm and see if that helps. Thank you! Should I not pre-slice it either? It just makes it so much easier to grab if it is.

Pre-slicing will wreck it, definitely stop doing that haha

You're radically increasing the area from which it can lose moisture by doing that, your loaf looks beautiful tho!x

Slice as you go and have you looked into granary varieties of store bought? I don't know what it's like in the US but in the UK some of the granary breads aren't much different to homemade bread in terms of ingredients

We run our loaf under some purified water for a second and throw it in the oven on low for a few minutes! Good as new!

UK probably has much higher standards for ingredients. Ingredients here usually have soybean oil, corn syrup, and sugar just to name a few. I run across bioengineered ingredients often, too. I like to use unenriched flour. I have yet to find store bread that is unenriched over here in the U.S.

Put an apple slice in the bag with it. We do this for cakes and cookies too.

I usually put it in the fridge on day 2. Should I leave it out and not refrigerate it?

@Jess that's a neat idea! I'll have to try that

I add butter or a good coconut oil to my loaves, and it helps it stay moist longer.

Have you tried wrapping it in beeswax wrap? I don’t own plastic bags or containers and use beeswax wrap for everything. I never have any issues and bake from scratch almost daily. My bread loaves stay moist for 5+ days.

@Tay I haven't tried beeswax wrap. I'll look into that. Thank you! Do you leave yours out on the counter for those 5+days or do you put it in the fridge?

@Tierney I leave it on my countertop. If it’s really warm in my home during the day or if I’m cooking, sometimes I’ll temporarily store it in the fridge.