Homemade bread going stale

You have a clue in your OP.

There are no additives - some of which give commercial loaves their longer shelf life.

If you read Victorian cookery books and bread - they talk about day old bread being firmer and therefore better for sandwiches.

So new bread - day 1
Sandwiches - day 2 and toast day 3, I reckon breadcrumbs day 4😃😃.

I make my own bread and look to make a new loaf on day 3 or 4.

Commercially produced bread has additives to make it last longer.

If I recall rightly the locally baked bread from traditional bakers in my childhood didn't stay 'fresh' for long, but we didn't expect it to. We bought it daily.

I'm not a regular bread maker, but I made a lot of sourdough during lockdown. It was never as good on day 2.

I think you have to resign yourself to daily baking and find lots of recipes for stale bread..

Other, more experienced bakers may say differently, but I can't think of any way to extend its shelf life.

What about other types of bread, for example Irish soda bread, does that last longer do you know?

I make bread most every day. It does go stale fast (as does bread from Artisian Bakery), only tasty as toast, croutons, bread salad, Arme Ritter or in bread pudding type dishes, in my opinion.

I prepare breakfast and lunch for workers, always have use for bread.

I make a large loaf ( there are two of us) but especially in summer I was finding that it would show signs of going moldy before we had finished it, so now I cut the loaf in half as soon as it has cooled and freeze one half.
If I am going to be on my own for more than a couple of days, I slice up the fresh loaf and just keep out what I will need for the next two days, then after that get out as many frozen slices as I think I will need each day. It may not taste as fresh as it does the day it was baked, but perfectly OK for me and of course no risk of it going either stale or moldy.

Breadpudding love it warm or bread and butter pud. I make my bread in a food processor as I have trouble with my hands it usually lasts me 4 days the only thing I add is yeast and salt

I freeze what I’m not going to eat the day I make it, it tastes fresh still when it’s defrosted. I tend to slice it, put it in plastic boxes ready sliced and get them out in the morning for that day. This works well for us, as I am gluten free, my son isn’t so we have two types of bread requirements.

My mum made bread pud with stale bread.
Lovely!!

Have you tried substituting oil for the butter... butter acts as a shortening, oil more an emulsifier.
Otherwise, portion up and freeze as required.

If you add more fluids, the bread is likely to turn mouldy rather than stale.

Factory made bread stays fresh longer because it is crammed full of additives.

Instead of baking a whole loaf, bake half when the bread has risen fully, and freeze the other half.

Dough made with yeast must be fully proved before freezing, as freezing kills the yeast cells. So don't put it in the freezer before proving it.

Or if you prefer, bake the whole loaf, and when it has cooled cut it in half and put the one half in the freezer.

My favourite easy recipe is for Irish brown soda bread. It’s a large loaf and I freeze half of it on day 1. It’s perfectly fresh when defrosted.

Have you ever made a tang zhong roux. It's a bit like a starter but it produces the most wonderful soft loaf that keeps better and longer. It's a bit of a faff, but worth the effort.
[[https://oventales.com/tangzhong/ Here is a link][ with instructions for making it.

oventales.com/tangzhong/
Sorry here's the link. Give it a go.

Make breadcrumbs p, or wet and mix with mince meat and an egg to bind to make lovely meatballs

I’m surprised you have any left for the next day!

Whethertomorrow

I’m surprised you have any left for the next day!

That's the problem with home-made bread!

My bread maker stopped working a couple of years ago and so far we haven't bought another one, trying to cut down on bread. However, I'm tempted to buy one after reading this thread.

Which make would you all recommend?

Panasonic is the one that usually gets most votes. Homemade bread has only the one drawback - it doesn't contain the additives that stop factory bread from drying out quickly. I make a large loaf in my Panasonic, cut it into quarters and freeze three of them in a ziplock bag. The fourth I keep in a smaller ziplock bag in between using slices of it. I take out the froaen quarters as and when I need them. The crust is never qute as crisp after it has been in the bag as when it is just out of the machine, when it is crusty but not tough.

Mine was a Panasonic, it worked really well for about four years, then just stopped.

Haven’t made bread in bread maker for a long time. Might inspire me to get it out
If I remember correctly I used to add some cranberry juice and it helped keep it moist for a little longer
Can’t remember where I got the suggestion from or the amount
Care should be taken with the sugar in the recipe

Callistemon Look first in charity shops for a slightly used machine. People buy them and use them once but then discover that you still need to measure the ingredients for the bread, and can't be bothered, so they don't get used again. They also need to buy strong bread flour and dried yeast made specially for machines (Allisons) Some people just use softer flour or yeast that is intended for hand made bread, and are put off when they don't get encouraging results.

I make all my own bread but by hand.
I use 750gm of wholemeal flour, 40gm olive oil,15gm salt and water, it lasts about a week.

Packet mixes turn out well in bread makers.

Sago

I make all my own bread but by hand.
I use 750gm of wholemeal flour, 40gm olive oil,15gm salt and water, it lasts about a week.

Yes, think olive oil works well in home-made bread.

We (mainly my husband now) make pretty much all our own bread.
Rye based breads seem to keep very well. Not sure why.