The Really Good Life: Baking things that’ll last
Hey guys, sorry I haven’t got time to write a full Recycle This post today – but can I point you to the latest article on my new blog The Really Good Life?
It’s about how to reduce food waste and having to rely on supermarket supplies by getting the most out of each home baking session – how to make baked goods that’ll last.
Do you have any tricks to stop bread, biscuits, cakes etc from quickly going stale?
Do you freeze dough or part-baked/fully baked items? Any tricks or tips?
Any special ingredients to include or avoid to make things last that little bit longer?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I add a sprig of bay leaves to my flour container (and other dried goods) which prevents those nasty tiny critters from invading. Refresh every 3 – odd months.
As for keeping biscuigts dry – whenever I purchase vitamins they come with a small sachet of silica crystals. I keep them when the vitamins are finished, and add them to the biscuit jar. Incidentally, my son’s mobile phone got water in it, and we opened it all up, popped it into a sealable container with the silica sachets and the next morning (I kid you not) it was dry and working again!
I make more biscuit dough than I’ll need using a recipe from a freezer cookbook. I bake one batch and freeze the rest in long sausages wrapped in foil. When the biscuit tin gets low, I get some dough out and slice as many biscuits as we’ll need off it and bake them. This might be a good use for your oven space as discussed in a recent post.
The more oil you add to bread dough, the longer it stays fresh, I know that.
If you make scones use up any slightly gone-off milk – it makes them better.
I bake gluten/dairy free and usually freeze them immediately so that they don’t dry out. It works quite well with just about any baked items. I’ve frozen cupcakes with icing and they thaw out just fine.
I’ve also noticed adding a large spoon of honey to cookie/muffin recipes makes them stay moist longer.
I’ve frozen muffin batter in little tins and baked them at a later date. Worked fine, although it must bake a little longer.
My mother taught me this.
I don’t know why this works, but it does. If you have stale cake-or other baked goods, I suppose-slice an apple into 4 or 6 pieces, and close them up with it overnight. By morning, it’s fresh again. This also works to soften brown sugar that’s gone rock hard.
Oh, and storing baked goods in an airtight container-a tin with a snug fitting lid, perhaps?
And since baking every day is difficult, and there is only so much freezer space for dough or baked goods-perhaps a shortcut to make more frequent baking quicker? Mix all the dry ingredients for a recipe (Flour, spices, sugar, baking powder, ect) and store them in a labeled plastic tub or jar. Even if it doesn’t lead to more frequent baking, some days you may need the bit of extra time it gives you!
And there’s always bread pudding and such for stale bread, or making dressing/stuffing. Not to mention making croutons, and a handy jar of dried bread crumbs. For when you do end up with the occasional stale goods.
Hi guys! Thanks for all your great comments – lots of very interesting tips & hints. I’ve added them all to the Really Good Life post and written full replies to each of you over there :)
-louisa :)