BREADUCATION: Sourdough bread made the old-world artisan way is a robust food with a shelf life of a week or more when stored as directed on our Tip Card we give all of our customers. It's naturally mold-resistant.
I've had Breadness in the bag on our counter for 2 weeks before I noticed any mold beginning to form. MOLD: this is the M word. Why am I writing about mold? Because one of our long-time customers sent me the above photo and told me this was happening to his loaf after a couple of days. Notice the white specks all over the crust. That's not normal.
A few days later, another customer told me the same thing happened to her loaf. Now, when this type of thing happens to one person, it's hard to determine what the cause might be. But when it happens to two people, within a week of each other, now I can find what both people have in common that would cause this.
In our house, the bread lasts as long as it should (at least 7 days). So what's the difference between our house and the homes of these 2 customers? I asked the 2nd customer what the temperature was in her house. It's been very hot and humid lately so it seemed like a good place to start. She told me she has the thermostat set to 78 degrees so as to keep her electric bill manageable. I then asked the 1st customer what the temp was in his place and he said 78 degrees. For comparison, we have the temp in our house at about 75 degrees during the summer.
Three degrees is significant when it comes to conditions in which mold can thrive. In addition to the level of warmth, the cooler one's home, the less humidity as well, since the air conditioning unit pulls moisture out of the air. It takes a certain temperature and level of humidity for our bread to attract mold. Mold also thrives in darkness. So if bread is stored in a cupboard and not out on a counter with ambient light, mold can form as well.
So, although we recommend keeping our bread on the counter sealed in the bag, if the temp in your home is above 75 degrees and the humidity is what it's like now in the summer months, it would be best to keep the bread in your refrigerator. It might get a bit dry in the bag because that's what refrigeration does, and it's dark in the fridge, but the lower temp should prevent mold from forming. Our bread will freshen up by toasting it lightly.
In the winter, if you heat your home to temps above 75, there shouldn't be any mold problem because the humidity is usually much lower. But in any event, if your Breadness is forming mold well before it should, try the fridge solution and see how that works for you.
