Linen…It’s this season’s wearable fashion staple. We love it for keeping us fresh in summer and warm as the weather cools.
It also looks very on-trend sitting on our kitchen benches, filled with delicious fresh bread.
And this is not the end of the linen magic. As a natural fibre that breathes, linen bread bags are said to keep your bread fresher for longer and mould free.
But do they actually work? Are they worth your hard earned money to buy?
The linen bread bag test.
In a recent test (carried out just last year) three common storage methods for bread were tested to see which delivered the best results in keeping your bread fresh longer.
What methods were tested?
- Storing your loaf under a glass cloche on both wood and marble cutting boards, with and without ventilation.
- Storing your loaf in a drawer or in a bread box.
- Storing your loaf in a linen bag.
The results of the test...
The Glass Cloche.
While it looks lovely on the bench, using a glass cloche with no ventilation, on a wood or marble cutting board, was an epic fail in keeping bread fresh. The bread was not able to breathe and went mouldy within three days.
It was noticed that the crust went soft very shortly after the bread was stored under the cloche. Too much moisture was trapped, and the result was mould, rendering your lovely loaf inedible.
The next step was to add some ventilation under the cloche to keep the moisture under control. However, while adding ventilation helped with the mould when the loaf was sitting on its side, the bread that was exposed to the air dried out very quickly and became stale. And when the bread was resting on its cut end? The cut end went mouldy. Both results were a fail.
The drawer or the bread box.
Two loaves were tested in a bread box, one with the cut end open to the air, the other with the cut end pushed against the side of the drawer or box with a linen towel protecting it (keep this in mind for later).
Where the cut was protected, the loaf in the drawer or box stayed pretty close to its original, fresh texture and feel – soft on the inside and crusty on the outside for three days. A success!
Where the cut end was open to the air, the middle of the bread dried out and became hard within a few hours. A stale fail.
The linen bread bag.
Hands down the best results, but for a shorter time period on the bench. For two days the linen bread bag kept the bread fresh and soft, with a crusty crust and zero mould.
Following that time, the crust started to harden, and the hardness moved quickly into the soft centre. Within four days the bread was hard enough to be a weapon. However, we call two days of freshness from a linen bread bag a success.
Our recommendation?
Think back for a minute, remember the results from the bread box? The cut loaf was protected by linen and remained fresh for three days.
So, optimal results in the short term are a linen bread bag. For longer lasting fresh bread, you will get optimal results from the combination of an Australian made Aussie Linen Bread Bag, in a bread box. The longest lasting results are to freeze your freshly bought bread once it's cooled from cooking and only thaw what you need when you need it in an Aussie Bread Bag to allow it to breathe and not become soggy.
Visit our online store today to buy your Australian made linen bread bag.
Inspiration: https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/how-to-store-bread/