I love French bread, especially when it's just bought. There are so many different varieties that my family and I buy on a regular basis like Dutch French bread –the same kind you get at Togo's, butter baguettes, sourdough, and regular sweet French bread for po’boys.

But the biggest problem with French bread is that it doesn’t stay soft long! The French bread has to be consumed within a day or two, and that makes it difficult to keep a supply of bread on hand. The maximum length of time that I've been able to keep French bread soft is a couple of days.



   

So I searched on the internet to see what others have done to keep the French bread from going hard. Here is what I got from random.

What others have done to keep French bread from going hard.

  1.  Put the French bread in the refrigerator.
  2.  Cut the French bread up and put it in a Ziploc bag.
  3.  Keep the French bread in the original paper bag and place it in a grocery bag and wrap it tightly.
  4.  Wrap the French bread in aluminum foil. Put it in a sealed plastic bag and place it in the Freezer. Before use, defrost it at room temperature or wrap it in aluminum foil and stick it in a pre-heated oven for 5 minutes.

Ehow on bread in general: http://www.ehow.com/how_8201701_keep-bread-soft.html:

5. Put bread in a linen bread bag and store it at room temperature. The linen allows the bread inside to breathe, unlike plastic bags. It's also a recyclable choice. You can purchase a linen bread bag or you can make one yourself.
From Ehow on Baguette http://www.ehow.com/how_8261897_keep-baguette-soft.html:

6. Wrap any baguette that you did not consume with a stalk of celery. Use plastic cling wrap to wrap the baguette tightly. The celery, which has a high moisture content, will help keep the baguette moist without becoming soggy.



What I've done keep my French bread soft and make it last longer: 

7. Spray water on the French bread and put it in the microwave for (x) seconds, depending on how big the piece of bread is.

8.  Bake my own French Bread!

9. Wrap the French bread in a cotton towel.

10. I don't believe this tip applies to French bread, but it is a tip for when you buy bread in general.

Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie.
Monday = Blue, Tuesday = Green, Thursday = Red, Friday = White and Saturday = Yellow.

So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue - Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday, even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. They don't deliver on W or Su... so buy bread from Tuesday or Saturday to get the freshest available.
Link to the original forum post: http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-84028.html

 Here are Self Sagacity's Thursday Two Questions #134
1) How long can you keep your French bread from going hard?
2) What have you done to help keep your French bread soft?

I am hoping to find a new tip from one of your comments so that I can post it on my French Bread Recipe and share with the world of Food blogs. Also I would like to post it on next week's Thursday Two Questions #135!

copy all codes in code box 

Before you link-up, 1) make sure you read the Thursday Two Questions Details Page, 2) you have Two Questions of your own that you posted, or use the Thursday Two Questions from Self Sagacity 3) visit at least two participants and answer their questions - that is how you will create a bond and friendship. Links are monitored & spam will be removed. Thanks for joining us today.