Bread expiration dates

 

Generally, how long is bread editable after the expiration date on the
loaf's cellophane?

I realize if there is green or odor then avoid it but I wonder if
there is any general rule in setting the date.

 

Questor wrote:

Did you want to edit it or eat it? Surely someone will point out that
money comes in bundles not loafs - but there, I've given away the punch
line...


That may depend on how much preservatives there are in the bread. You
could ask your friendly neighborhood grocers this question.

 

Questor wrote:


There is no nice tidy number, it depends on how
much preservative there is in the bread, and how
you store it, in the fridge or freezer etc.


It generally goes visibly mouldy before the odour is affected.


Nope, and there cant be, because it depends on how you store it.

 

Questor wrote:

No.  Depends on how you store it.  If it's hot and humid, mold will
start quicker than if it's cool and dry, refrigerator is better yet,
freezer best of all.  Breadboxes are designed for storing unsliced
bread NOT in cellophane.  (The plastic/cellophane holding in moisture
makes conditions for mold to grow.)  If you take it out of the
plastic/cellophane it will stay edible pretty much forever, at least
in a non-humid climate, though it will get stale.  If it gets a little
stale, sprinkling a few drops of water on it and nuking it in the
microwave will freshen it up.

If you're storing it at room temperature in plastic, the appearance of
moisture inside the plastic is a sign that mold is going to be visible
soon.  Sometimes taking the bread out of the plastic and letting it
air for an afternoon helps delay the onset.

If it's not sliced, even a little mold won't hurt, you can just trim
it off.  (Sliced, there's a lot more surface area and mold gets out of
hand faster.)

Dave

 



    Where I live the dated "fresh" period is eight days. Bread stores
quite nicely in its plastic wrap, particularly at warmer temperatures,
for up to two additional weeks. As a general rule, baked goods of any
kind should not be refrigerated. Refrigeration is why off-the-shelf
grocery store "bakery" cakes always are stale. There is a reason that
restaurant bread-keepers are electrically warmed and have water
reservoirs: Low temperatures and low humidity accelerate the starch
conversion ("retrogradation") that makes bread "stale". Baked goods,
including bread, may be frozen successfully provided the freezer's
temperature is sufficiently low to make the process relatively fast
(-10°F or lower). Frozen bread should be thawed very slowly at a fairly
warm room temperature while still wrapped. Stale bread may be made to
seem less so (but not actually to be less so) by warming it slowly in
the presence of water in a conventional oven. Microwaving bread makes it
tough. Microwaving tends to ruin most foods but that is another issue.

Some bread storage tips here:

http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--1101/bread-storage-guide.asp

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/12/31/does_bread_go_stale_faster_when_kept_in_the_fridge_or_when_stored_at_room_temperature/

More information at the "Cook's Illustrated" site but it is a
subscription site and I don't recommend those in mcfl.

Modernday grocery store breads hardly qualify; many are not even "baked"
in the conventional sense of the word. The presence of additives and
dough conditioners (dairy whey and HFCS) change the equation. The HFCS
and other sugars (neither of which is an appropriate ingredient for
bread) hasten fermentation or "spoiling" as well as mold growth. There
are no significant nutritional differences between "white" and "whole
wheat" breads, despite the health food hyperbole. For most off-the-shelf
grocery store breads the dairy whey and added vitamins are the only
nutritive value. Despite the "staff of life" myth, human beings eat
wheat bread because we like it and not for its nutritional content.
Aside from that, wheat bread is a wondrous conveyance for fresh tomato
slices to the alimentary canal. As far as I can determine (by
periodically reading every contents label of every retail product in
every grocery store in which I regularly shop), only certain breads that
are offered under the "Nature's Own" and the "Arnold's" brands may be
had without HFCS and/or sugar. Even "health food" or "natural" breads
may contain HFCS and/or sugar; they are, after all, natural. Of the two
commercial products available to me ("Nature's Own Whitewheat Healthy
White" and "Arnold's Whole Grain White"), I much prefer the Arnold's
product because, while a bit too soft, its flavor and texture most
closely resemble actual food. Neither holds a candle to the generic
white baked by my wife or by my sister.
--
Running on single malt in U.S.A.
USDA zone 9b