Tired of searching for that tiny twist-tie that supposedly keeps your bread tasting fresh?
Well, there's a recent TikTok hack that just might be your kitchen savior. According to
the website Taste of Home, it's time we all start closing bread bags in a more efficient way. In the
TikTok video that concerns us, we can plainly see that the easiest way to close a bread bag
is by using the bag itself to seal it. Consider your mind blown. After twisting the bag closed,
simply fold the remaining plastic back over the loaf of bread. That's it. That's the hack.
And the magic doesn't end with bread bags, either: There's no reason you couldn't try
this sort of thing with a bag of chips or even a cereal bag, so feel free to experiment.
Thanks to this brilliantly innovative idea, people might be inspired to clean out their kitchen
drawers of all those clunky chip clips, thus carving out a ton of extra space for themselves.
But not so fast: Even though this TikTok trend has received tons of attention,
this concept isn't exactly new. Back in 2012, Life Hacker posted the exact same idea,
as have numerous vloggers and bloggers over the years. Meanwhile, there are a few other
intriguing methods for keeping your bread fresh, which we're going to discuss with you right now.
"I thought we weren't eating bread."
"Oh we are, I thought it might be nice to have some bread."
"Josh why are you doing this?"
"I just thought maybe bread isn't actually the enemy."
It's just a very good idea to keep your bread fresh, since bread is such an essential part
of so many delicious dishes – from sandwiches to French Toast to bread pudding…. Just on and on,
really! According to Food & Wine, there are plenty of clever ways to make sure your bread
is fresh and fluffy. A paper bag is evidently much better than a plastic bag when it comes
to retaining freshness, because a plastic bag can deteriorate bread faster. So even
if that TikTok bread bag hack works, it still might be better to use a paper bag in the end.
Unfortunately, paper bags have their downside, too. As Southern Living notes,
artisan bread is often sold in a paper bag. That's because a paper bag allows air to circulate, thus
keeping the crust crisp. However, air can make the bread lose its moisture and go stale quicker.
In a plastic bag, the moisture stays inside, but leads to the crust being less crisp.
And at the risk of sounding like we're talking about real estate,
keeping your bread fresh often boils down to one thing: location, location, location.
Don't put a loaf on top of the toaster oven or refrigerator — a cool, dry area is best.
According to Insider, storing bread on top of your refrigerator is actually a terrible plan,
because the warmth lets moisture get trapped in the bag. That moisture can
cause bread to mold, and nobody wants that added ingredient on or in their sandwich.
And not to be the bearer of bad news,
but putting your bread inside the fridge isn't a great idea, either. As Good Housekeeping reports,
the fridge is the actually the worst place for storing bread. That's because
"[The] starch molecules in bread recrystallize very quickly at cool temperatures."
Ultimately, your sandwich might not taste as delicious when it's served on refrigerated bread.
Okay, so hold the phone: if you can't put the bread in the refrigerator
or on the refrigerator, where can you put it?
Well, if you know what's good for you, you'll listen to your grandma.
As any gran worth her salt will tell you, the bread box is a bread box for a reason,
and it just might be the ultimate solution when it comes to keeping your bread fresher for longer.
Rest assured, a bread box is as functional as it is fashionable… and it allows air to circulate,
keeping bread from getting moldy. We love everything about this idea.
So what have we learned today? So, so much! Whether your bread is homemade or store-bought,
the goal should always be keeping that first slice as fresh and tasty as the last piece. And this is
a goal that's well within reach if you use every trick at your disposal – from smart bag hacks to
clever storage locations. The legendary chef and television personality James Beard once said,
"Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods."
And the key to having good bread is having fresh bread. Now who wants a sandwich?
"Mmm." "Oh." "Yeah." "Ow." "Yeah."
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