Comments on: Monday Q&A | Leftovers, Bread Freezing, and Make-Ahead Bread Dough

By: Kristen

Kristen — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:15:39 +0000

Nope, I expect he’ll be fine! The heat of the oven will kill anything noxious that grew in the bread dough, though I doubt there was anything dangerous even in the raw dough. I would think the bread would taste really yeasty, but I highly doubt that it’ll make him sick.

Do report back! lol

By: Sara

Sara — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:38:40 +0000

my husband left dough out on the counter for a day and 1/2 and then baked it…. i cant get myself to touch it, but he says it tastes fine…. should i try it, or should i expect he’ll get really really sick over the evening?

By: robbiekay

robbiekay — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:25:07 +0000

I loved your day in the life posts and was just awed at how you are able to accomplish so much in so little time. I’d love to see a third one–a typical Sunday for you. We have a hard enough time making it to church on time and it’s just my husband and me. I can’t imagine getting four little ones out the door and having to bake bread, too!

I’m going to be recommending your blog to a cousin of mine. Your photographic styles are very similar, among other things.

By: BarbS

BarbS — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:59:26 +0000

Thought I’d pipe in here. I sometimes use a system much like Kristen’s “overnight cinnamon twists” for bread as well.

Basically, this means that I make the dough, let it rise, then punch it down and shape it, and then put it in the fridge for up to 12 hours. (It might work for longer that that, but the longest I’ve tried is overnight.) When I take it out of the fridge, I let it sit on the counter for about 15 minutes to warm up (while the oven is pre-heating) and then I bake it as per usual.

You do have to experiment a bit, but I have had good luck with this method. Just like the cinnamon twists, it allows me to make the dough entirely in the evening, and then in the morning before work I just have to bake it. Nothing like fresh-baked bread for breakfast or packed in lunches

By: Foodista Blog - Sustainable Found Food Artist

Foodista Blog - Sustainable Found Food Artist — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:19:11 +0000

[...] little bit more inspirtation for you: The Frugal Girl – Gives you pointers on leftovers. CheapEats.ie- Gives advice on fishcakes using leftovers. [...]

By: Sheila

Sheila — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:42:28 +0000

For what it’s worth, I subscribe to the America’s Test Kitchen emails and just recently, they had a taste test of identical doughs left to raise at 3 different temps (of course, the cooler it is the longer it takes to rise) and they said that the cooler temps/longer rising left better tasting bread. Specifically, they said rising for 24 hrs in the fridge was best in their test.

I haven’t tried it though…I’ve never had much sucess making bread anyway!

By: Janknitz

Janknitz — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:23:07 +0000

Great post, Kristen! A few other ideas:

If you do an internet search for “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” or the new “Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day” you will find recipes for a “master” dough that you can leave in the fridge for up to two weeks. When you want to bake, just pull off a piece, shape it, preheat your oven, and bake. It lets people who work out of the house still have freshly baked bread in time for dinner, every day if you wish. (The books have many more recipes, but they are pricey. Try the library!)

I use shower caps you can buy 12 to a pack at the Dollar store instead of cling wrap to cover my rising dough in a bowl or other container. These can be reused many times, making them very frugal and environmentally friendly.

If you freeze bread, thaw it wrapped up as Kristen suggests, then throw it in the oven at 325 or 350, wrapped in foil for 10 minutes to fully restore that fresh-baked aroma and flavor. The bread will be warm, but not too hot to eat.

For homemade bread to be truly frugal you need to buy yeast in bulk. Check your local Costco, Smart and Final, Sam’s Club, or other “big box store” for a 2 pound bag of yeast. It’ll cost about the same as two packs of yeast in envelopes at the grocery store and last an entire year if store in the fridge or the freezer. Even if you hate big box stores, this is worth a trip because it’s hundreds of times cheaper than the envelopes. How often can you say that????

By: Kalee

Kalee — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:02:45 +0000

I actually had a question….how do you freeze dough? Oftentimes when I make bread or pizza we have too much dough, but I wasn’t sure at what stage to freeze it or how. Any help?

By: Sharon

Sharon — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:50:15 +0000

I was just wondering if I could refrigerate dough – so now I know!
I was also thinking about part baking bread, particularly french sticks, then freezing them. Then defrosting them and popping in the oven to finish. Do you think that would work? You can get part baked french bread vacuum packed in the supermarket.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:24:39 +0000

Lara, since the yeast growth slows down so much in the refrigerator, your dough shouldn’t overflow and make a mess. Just make sure to put it into a bowl that allows some room for the dough to expand, and cover it with cling wrap.