Preserving Home-Made Bread

[chakka35]

This request will come as sacrilege to many. The mildest will just go into a dark room with an ice-pack on their heads; others might start thinking of lynch mobs.
But I'm a brave man so here goes:

My bread machine makes superb bread with a lovely crust and soft interior, the sort of thing no supermarket bread comes near. But it does not stay fresh as long as inferior shop bread.

Does anyone know what preservative goes into shop bread and whether you can buy it?

[Mosaic]

Why not instead:
Cook loaf
Slice it all up
Put as many slices as you use in a day in a poly bag
Freeze the poly bags that are surplus
Then you got fresh bread that is splendid toasted straight from the freezer

personally I love the taste of stale bread....

[jomifl]

Do you put sunflower oul in the mix (1tspfull per large loaf)?

[jomifl]

How long does it have to last?

[pastafreak]

I used to bake my own bread...not with a bread machine,though...and it always stayed fresher longer than shop bought.
Are you considering putting preservatives in your bread?...that seems to defeat the purpose of making homemade in the first place.

[Ric.ror]

Oh which machine have you got?
I'm thinking of getting a Panasonic one.
To be honest the two others I had I was not all that impressed with

[ferlew]

I also bake my own bread, by hand.
I make two at a time, and freeze one.
I don't use a preservative, but I do use flour improver.

[sherrardk]

Ric.ror - I've got a Panasonic (the one with a bit that adds fruit, etc). Works fine but not quite big enough for us.

[Ric.ror]

Oh that should be fine for me - I eat a lot of bread but I'm the only one who does in though

[pips1]

chakka35 I do not know the answer to your question, sorry, but I would also love to know which bread maker you have.

[Clanad]

Here in the u.S., a friend, who is a baker by trade says he uses Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate. Others are known to use Lecithin.

Many of the preservatives are used to add sourness to the dough to retard aging and any mould development.

We do the same in all of our homemade bread stuffs, but we simply use a sourdough starter as the yeast. Sourdough is well known to "live" longer than other breads...

Seeing as it's Saturday I can't find my pitchfork to organize the lynch mob… but I'll keep trying!

[woofgang]

bread machine bread is so cheap to make that I just toss the stale stuff and make more.....

[nungate]

Can't see the point of breadmakers, what's wrong with simply using your hands? That's the way I do it.
The only way to preserve the bread is to do what was already suggested,
slice it and freeze it!

[sherrardk]

I haven't got the patience to knead any sort of dough, that's why I've got a bread maker.

[starone]

Do you mean to tell me there is any left? Mine disappears almost as soon as it leaves the oven.

[nungate]

I find it soothing, and it also helps me get some "anger" out of my system!
Though not when I make my Grandmother's Irish soda bread, I have to be more gentle

[askyourgran]

I'm thinking of buying a breadmaker, I love homebaked bread but I have a bit of arthritis in my right hand, which aches like mad after I've kneaded a couple of loaves.

[woofgang]

I haven't got the patience or the hands for kneading either.

[sherrardk]

Woof, I start off with good intentions and knead for about 2 minutes and then just think 'sod it, it'll be fine'.

[DaisyNonna]

I eat so little bread that making it is wasteful. Used to when the family was at home.

[woofgang]

sher, no knead bread!
http://www.simplysogood.com/2013/03/artisan-no-knead-bread.html