Chef Devashree Muni has eight simple tips to follow to increase the shelf life of your loaf of bread 

It can be hard to finish off an entire loaf of bread within four to five days, especially if it’s homemade and has no preservatives added to the dough. And it sure can hurt to see it hit by a gross mould infestation or as dry as a bone – unfit to consume either way. If you want to keep your bread fresh for longer, the bottom line is that you need to keep it in a dry and cool environment.

Chef Devashree Muni, founder of Cocoa Cellar, delves deep into the art of prolonging the life of loaf bread and shares some tips and tricks, especially if you’re a baker:

Keep It Tight-Lipped Freshly-baked goods don’t do well when left out in the open air. Storing them in an air-tight or tightly-sealed container is a must. Invest in a breadbox if you’re someone who loves their bread.

Clean And Sanitise Implement good cleaning and sanitising practices on critical surfaces that come in contact with the bread and other baked goods. For example, pay attention to the mixer, divider, conveyors and cooler (if applicable). Mould spores cannot survive the baking process, so sanitation is key to controlling mould growth or product recontamination after baking.

Wrap In Plastic If you know you’re not going to be consuming a portion of the bread anytime soon, wrap it up securely in plastic and store it in a cool and dry place. If it comes in a plastic bag, don’t leave space for any air to seep in.

Freeze! Freezing temperatures pretty much stop all chemical reactions and molecular motion. So, this prevents starch from recrystallising after baking. You can freeze the entire batch or, if the bread is too big, slice it up and then freeze. It will be as good as new upon thawing.

Preserve Using Honey And Cinnamon Some baked goods recipes use only sugar as a sweetener. However, subbing about 20% of the sugar with honey can result in natural sweetness as well as a longer-lasting loaf. Similarly, adding cinnamon to your list of ingredients can prolong the shelf life of bread while keeping it smelling fresh like a bakery.

Add More Fat While Baking Simply adding more fat and water to the dough can help in keeping the bread fresh for longer, as they add moisture and don’t let the baked bread dry out. This would result in a softer texture rather than a crispy one, thus extending its life.

Use Salted Butter While we’re at adding fats, may we mention that salt is one of the oldest preservatives in culinary history? Switching to salted butter takes advantage of salt’s natural preserving properties without overly altering the taste or texture of baked goods.

Choose Sourdough Bread This type of bread has a longer shelf life than traditionally baked yeast bread because of the difference in the fermentation process. Sourdough is more acidic than your regular supermarket bread. It is also considered healthier and tastier.

Repurpose If, despite all these strategies, you find on Day 5 that your bread loaf is not very moist, use it to make breadcrumbs, breadsticks, croutons, crackers and, of course, bread pudding.

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