Refreshing Bread

Photo: flickr user Wootang01

Preparation

Re; refreshing bread, I freeze bread tightly wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in a plastic bag with other wrapped loaves. To refresh frozen bread, remove from plastic but leave loaf wrapped in foil, thaw in 350 F oven or toaster oven for 20 minutes (baguettes), 25 or more if thicker. The crust is usually fine but if it is a little soft, unwrap the foil, turn off the oven and leave the loaf in the oven for 2 minutes more.

To refresh unfrozen bread, 5 minutes in a 350 F oven (turned off) will usually do it but the crust might get brittle and "crumbly". ["Werner Gansz" (dwgansz@prodigy.net)]

To refresh bread: My mother used to put bagel, or anything else with a good crust, in a brown paper bag with the end folded over & stapled, then sprinkled with water. That went into a 300 F oven for about 10 minutes...longer if frozen... [Epwerth15@aol.com]

In reading recent postings regarding ways to refresh bread, I was reminded of something I recently read in my Rival Crockpot Cooking cookbook that dealt with reviving stale potato chips and crackers. Use your crockpot instead of one of those expensive crispers you see in catalogs and on the net. Place them in the crockpot but DO NOT cover. Heat on the Low setting for 2 to 4 hours, and you have crisp, warm crackers or chips (not to mention a wonderful smelling kitchen!). [Corinaesq@aol.com]