Homemade bread going stale

I make mine by hand into rolls then freeze but that’s tricky for toast.

Thanks for tips, lots of useful ideas!

Even bagging a whole loaf once you have sliced it makes a difference. You can take out as many slices as you can use up soon, and reseal the bag. If the slices have suck together, a spatula or knife inserted between them separates them. A bought sliced loaf in the freezer can be useful, too, if you have space.

Frozen bread makes very good toast.

I understand your problem about the bread going stale very quickly. I have a bread maker and had the same problem. However, I found that slicing it and bagging it up into portions of 2 or 3 slices, then freezing, prolongs it’s freshness.

Just looking up Arme Ritter ......

My OH makes bread and stores it in a bread bag in the bread bin to make it last longer.

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.

I do as well, different flour to you - by hand with olive oil.

I'm not fond of my bread more than a day, apart from frozen or used cooked into something other food (Arme Ritter, Bread pudding, Bread salad, Croutons, Crumbs, Bread Soup, Toast, etc).

I also use olive oil in my hand made bread and it a loaf keeps us going for 4 lunches. We use it fresh on day 1, then I slice it up on day 2 and freeze what we don't use that day.

DD had a bread maker which made brilliant bread but was a disaster for all our waistlines! She did give it to a charity shop so I'm sure they are worth trying if you are on the lookout for one.

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

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.

Packet mixes turn out well in bread makers.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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?

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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