Practical guide
How to keep your bread.
Real bread has no preservative in it, which changes how you store it completely. This guide answers the most common artisan-bakery complaint: “it went hard the next day”.
The recommendations below are general artisan-baking practice, not Kompaan’s own instructions. Oven temperature, reheating time and shelf life all vary with the dough and with each bakery’s oven. [CONFIRM Kompaan’s real recommendations, including temperature, time and shelf life per product]
- For the first 24 hours, cut it and stand it on its faceA thick-crusted loaf keeps itself on day one. Cut it in half and stand it cut-side down on the board. No bag, no plastic, no fridge.
- Never the fridgeThe fridge sits in exactly the temperature band where starch retrogrades fastest. Bread in the fridge goes stale faster than bread on the counter. It is the most common mistake and the easiest to fix.
- From day two, cloth or paperA cotton cloth or paper lets the crust breathe. A plastic bag softens the crust and speeds up mould. If the shop hands you a paper bag, that bag is already the right packaging.
- Freeze it sliced, on the same daySlice and freeze in a sealed bag on baking day, while the bread is at its peak. A frozen slice goes straight into the toaster with no defrosting.
- Reheating brings the crust backWhole or half loaf: oven at [CONFIRM temperature] for [CONFIRM time]. Lightly wetting the crust first lets steam revive the crackle.
- Mould means bin it, not cut round itArtisan bread carries no preservative. A visible spot of mould means the fungus has already run through the crumb. Discard the whole loaf.