Caring for Artisan Bread

Artisan bread care

You’ve just purchased a beautiful handcrafted loaf of True Grain bread. Because we add no sugar, fat or preservatives to our loaves, our bread doesn’t have a long shelf life. To get the most enjoyment from your bread, here are our recommendations on how best to care for your favourite loaf:

For greatest foodie satisfaction, take your bread unsliced. We bake our bread fresh everyday, and one of the delights in a fresh loaf of bread is the robust, chewy texture of crust. Treat yourself to a quality bread knife and get in touch with your food.

One day

If you’re heading to a potluck and the bread will be devoured by the end of the evening, or if you’re kids will make short work of that French White loaf you brought home, simply place the bread cut-side down on your cutting board. If there’s still a chunk left the left morning, the crust will still be crunchy and the inside crumb will still be soft.

Two-three days

If it takes you a few days to finish your bread, you’ll need to pick a priority of crust vs. crumb.  If you store your bread in plastic, the inside crumb will stay moist, but the crust will go soft. Storing your bread in a cool dark place like a bread box or in a cotton bag or tea towel will ensure airflow and help retain the texture of the crust, however the crumb will slowly get firmer as it loses moisture.

Three+ days

Freezing your bread is a great way to store it if you aren’t going to use it up within a few days. Freezing in a resealable plastic bag is fine if you’re only keeping it for a short time. For longer storage, you can wrap the loaf in plastic wrap and then a plastic bag, or if you’re looking to avoid plastic, search online for freezer-friendly reusable bread bags and never use another plastic bread bag again.

Other bread care tips

DO NOT store your bread in the fridge! Storing bread in the fridge will make the starches crystalize and it become stale faster.

Refreshing stale bread

All artisan bread will go stale in a few days as it loses moisture and the gluten recrystallizes. To revive a full loaf of bread, spray the crust with water and pop it in a 350 F oven for about 10 minutes. You can also do this with bread from your freezer – just thaw it out first.

Tips for using stale bread

Bread that is a few days old still makes great toast. But if you’ve missed your change and your bread is somewhat stale, use the opportunity to cut up the loaf for croutons, or to blitz into bread crumbs. You can also use it as an excuse to make a good old-fashioned bread pudding. Get some ice cream, invite some friends over for tea and an afternoon feast.

A note about baguettes

We make our French Baguettes as they are made in France, with just five ingredients (Organic BC flour, water, yeast, malt and a touch of sea salt). Baguettes are best eaten on the same day they are baked, so buy a good cheese and just go for it. If you’re not able to finish it, baguettes can be turned into great croutons and bread crumbs.

The final slice

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” ― James Beard

Congratulations on investing in good bread. We’re proud to bake using 100 % BC-farmed and BC-milled organic flour. When you enjoy a slice of a True Grain loaf, you’re taking part in something more than an awesome sandwich. From the farmer, to the miller, to the baker, to you…together we create a sustainable food system that nourishes our bodies, our communities, and the environment. Now that’s something worthy of a toast.