To enjoy your baked treats to the fullest and for the longest, you must find tips and tricks to extend their shelf life.
We are all fond of the enticing smell of freshly baked treats, drifting through the air, while we crave to sink our sweet tooth into a tender loaf of moist cake or bread—pure bliss! Sadly, baked items perish too soon.
If you are searching for ways to keep your baked products fresh for the longest, follow these tips and tricks to prevent your sweet treats from going bad and making you sick, without altering their flavour.
After preparing your cake, cookies, or cupcakes, you must wait until it has completely cooled and then store them in an airtight container. If you place your baked goods in a container before they have cooled—they might sweat—spoiling the texture and taste.
For storing baked treats that you have already sliced, like brownies—use baking paper to separate the layers. Next, you have to stack the slices one over the other and place them in a sealed freezer bag or an airtight jar.
Baked items perish when exposed to air. Therefore, storage plays a key role. If you want to eat the baked treats in a few days, you must store the goods in an airtight container. For bread, store it dry and cool in a quality bread box or breathable bag. For muffins, cakes, and cookies, store them in an airtight container.
To extend the shelf life of your baked items, keep oxygen at bay and to do that, you should use CO2 pads or oxygen absorber packets. Both products will help eliminate oxygen surrounding your sweet treats, to prevent dry textures and microbial growth.
Honey is a fantastic all-natural sweetener and preserver. Many bakers use honey for the preservation method—to try this, you should add honey to your baking recipe (typically about 2 tablespoons for one standard-sized bread loaf), or you may also replace sugar with this natural sweetener. You will get sweetly flavoured baked treats that will last longer.
For preserving baked goods, the refrigerator is your foe while the freezer is your friend—as the former can make baked goods and bread develop a strange texture and taste. However, cream-based items are an exception because they contain eggs and other dairy products—and require refrigeration to stay fresh. On the other hand, freezing is an incredible way of preserving bakery goods—especially for unfrosted muffins, cookies, and bread.
Do not store different baked items in the same jar or container—for instance, a cake and cookies. It is essential to store them separately if you don't want the flavour or taste of your baked goods to alter. Even different varieties of cookies should be stored in different jars.
You should always consider serving baked items at optimum temperature. Most baked items that have been stored in the freezer or fridge, will have to achieve the optimum room temperature before serving. You need to remember that the dessert’s inside might take more time to thaw completely.
Consumption of spoiled baked goods can expose you to dangerous bacteria and pathogens that can cause severe health hazards. These simple preservation hacks will hopefully help your home-baked items to stay fresher for longer.
