1. Fresh bread should be soft in the first place. Wrap a plastic bag or tissue paper over your hand and simply press down on the baked goods.
2. The quality of the bread can be determined by its appearance. Traditional types of bread: sliced loaf, Darnytsia and our country bread should have a thin, not burnt crust. On the cut, the bread should be uniformly porous, and the cut itself should be smooth, that is, the bread should not crumble.
3. Bread without packaging, produced in the traditional sponge way, – perishable product. For example, a sliced loaf is stored for only 24 hours, in a package up to 72 hours. Unpacked black bread – 36 hours, and packed up to 48 hours. When preservatives are added, the shelf life is increased, for example, a sliced loaf in a package can be stored for up to 96 hours, and rye-wheat bread – up to 120 hours.
4. Remember that packaging affects the quality of the bread. Oddly enough, bread packed in polyethylene was originally an initiative of manufacturers: it was believed that such packaging preserves the freshness of bread. But in fact, in such a package, bread damp and molds faster. At home, bread is best stored in a vinegar-treated natural wood bread bin.
5. Bread made in a non-steamed or accelerated way, stale faster than bread made in a traditional, sponge method.