In The Kitchen with Laura McKenna: Bread Making Tips

FUN FACT (that I don’t find very fun at all): Don’t slice bread while it’s still warm, fresh out of the oven! 

Honestly, this goes against everything I live for because bread hot out of the oven tastes THE BEST! But cutting off the first slice right away might make the rest of the loaf suffer. 

Ugh, is it possible to learn too much from a book?

I bought my husband this bread making cookbook that is so great. It’s called THE BEST OF ARTISAN BREAD IN 5 MINUTES A DAY. It gives you recipes and tidbits and fun facts. One of those, however, is that slicing or eating loaves when they’re still warm causes the rest of the loaf to dry out quicker. Slicing when it’s right out of the oven can cause the bread to get gummy and allow slices to collapse. Homemade bread is at its peak flavor and texture approximately 2 hours after coming out of the oven (when it’s completely cool). 2 HOURS?!?!?! You have to wait 2 HOURS before you can cut it? Oh no….

These rules don’t apply to flatbreads, rolls, and skinny baguettes (which are fine to slice and eat while warm without jeopardizing the texture and flavor). 

Also, these rules will not apply to me. I don’t have that kind of willpower.

But if you’d like a few more cookbook (and other book) recommendations, follow along with the https://www.facebook.com/LauraMcKennaBookClub.

Want to contact Laura McKenna about some of your favorite kitchen tricks or recipes that you love? Anything else on your mind? Email anytime, she’d love to hear from you: [email protected]
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