Schedult
How to keep your sourdough fresh (and when to freeze it)
426 words, about 2 minutes to read
You bought a beautiful sourdough on Saturday morning. By Monday, it's hard enough to knock on a door with. It doesn't have to be that way. A real sourdough, made slowly with a natural starter, keeps far longer than supermarket bread, as long as you store it right.
Skip the fridge
This is the big one. The fridge is the worst place for bread. Cold air makes the starch in the crumb firm up faster, so your loaf goes stale in half the time. Keep it at room temperature instead, away from the oven and out of direct sun.
Cut side down, in paper or cloth
Once you've cut into a loaf, stand it cut side down on a wooden board. The crust protects the rest of the loaf like a lid. For the first day or two, a paper bag or a clean tea towel is all it needs. Plastic bags trap moisture, which softens the crust and can lead to mold.
- Day 1–2: paper bag or tea towel, cut side down
- Day 3: wrap it loosely in a cloth or a bread bag
- Day 4 and on: slice it and freeze it, or toast it
Freeze it in slices
If you won't finish the loaf in three days, freeze it. Slice it first, then put the slices in a freezer bag with as much air pressed out as you can. That way you can take out exactly what you need. Sourdough keeps well in the freezer for about a month, and the slices go straight into the toaster from frozen.
Bring a tired loaf back to life
Got a loaf that's a day or two past its best? Run the crust under the tap for a second, just enough to dampen it. Then put the whole loaf in a hot oven at 200°C (400°F) for five to eight minutes. The water turns to steam, the inside softens and the crust crisps up again. Eat it while it's warm, because this trick only works once.
What about the heel?
The end piece is the best part, and we won't hear otherwise. If it does get too hard, cube it, toss it in olive oil and salt, and bake it into croutons. Or blitz it into breadcrumbs and keep them in a jar.
Fresh every morning
Of course, the easiest way to have fresh sourdough is to come and get it. Our first loaves come out of the oven at 7 every morning, and on Saturdays they tend to go fast. See you at the counter.