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Quick Tip: Buy Baguettes to Freeze

2009-06-22-FreezeBaguettes.jpgLately, we've been getting in the habit of buying an extra baguette or two when we're at the store just to throw in the freezer for later. It's extremely handy to have bread ready to thaw and use when we need it - baguettes in particular! Here's why:

 
 

Because they're so skinny, baguettes thaw very quickly - which is a definite bonus when it's dinner time and we realize that we just ran out of bread! Their shape also means that it's easy to find room for them in our crowded freezer.

We usually cut baguettes into four sections before throwing them in a freezer bag or two and stowing them away. This makes them thaw even quicker, and it also means that we can use just what we need while saving the rest for another time. (You can also wrap them in plastic wrap or aluminum foil.)

What do we use this bread for? We make garlic bread to go with a pasta dinner, bruschetta, bread crumbs, panades for thickening soups, and bread pudding. Just to name a few! Oh, and we particularly like using baguettes to make sandwiches for picnics. Baguette won't get crushed or soggy as quickly as sandwiches made with regular bread, plus it makes a simple sandwich feel much more elegant.

Really, we just like knowing that there are a few loaves of bread in the back of our freezer if we need them!

Related: Food Science: What Is Freezer Burn?

(Image: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)

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Tips & Techniques, Baking Products, freezer, bread, freezer storage, baguette, quick tip

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Comments (18)

I totally do this. Sometimes you just want a nice piece of bread at the last minute w/dinner... I throw the frozen baguette into a hot (425) oven for about 5-10 minutes until it's crispy. Not thawing it keeps the interior soft and moist.

posted by keltrue on June 22nd 2009 at 12:58pm
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Thanks for the tip! Awesome idea...

posted by danze on June 22nd 2009 at 12:59pm
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Even better, ask at your local grocery or bakery for the "unbaked" baguettes. I don't mean the dough. At Kroger's and other grocery stores I've been to, they have baguettes that are just barely cooked that are frozen and ready to throw in their oven so that they'll be crispy and fresh for you. These are perfect for the freezer as they're often already frozen, "cooked enough" that you don't actually need to bake them through, and result in an even moister/crustier loaf than those that had been baked all the way through. My mom taught me this trick.

posted by lotusmoss on June 22nd 2009 at 1:43pm
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that is super smart, lotus!

I cant stand the taste of thawed out sandwich bread. I try not to even use it as toast... does freezing baguettes change their texture the same way freezing sandwich bread does?

posted by chusmabilly on June 22nd 2009 at 2:01pm
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Great to slice and fry in a little olive oil with slivers of garlic

posted by Kate (NC) on June 22nd 2009 at 2:54pm
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I'm with chusmabilly. I wonder what this does to the texture of the bread...

posted by lsk on June 22nd 2009 at 3:55pm
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I do this all the time! If I couldn't freeze bread, I'd be lost. I always slice my bread into manageable portions, then freeze. A slice will thaw extremely quickly on the back of a hot stove, and a chunk just needs a few minutes in a warm oven. I'll often just pop some bread under the broiler (turning it constantly) so I don't have to wait for the oven to heat up.

lsk and chusmabilly: Freezing quality bread should have little to no effect on the texture. Any flavor changes would be the result of freezerburn, or being stored in the same bag as, say, frozen fish. Wrap your frozen bread in aluminum foil and plastic for the best protection! The reason sandwich bread is affected is because of all the strange additives and dough conditioners used to make it. More reason to bake your own!

http://www.abreadaday.com

posted by eprewitt on June 22nd 2009 at 5:09pm
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I do this too, I slice the baguette and toast it straight from the freezer! It's great for avocado butter for breakfast or fluffer nutters for a snack :)

posted by shayna on June 22nd 2009 at 6:05pm
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I always have bread in the freezer because as much as I like to make no-knead bread, I don't always plan enough in advance to have bread on hand when I want some. My go-to freezer loaves are sweet and/or sour baguettes and pugliese. And the author of the post is right-because baguettes aren't as dense as some of the other loaves, they thaw out quickly and have the taste and texture that is very tasty. Granted, it's not fresh baked, but its close enough!

posted by rosebud on June 22nd 2009 at 9:48pm
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par-baked bread... noooooo...

it just doesn't compare in quality, espcially as it can be sitting aorund for 6 months before it's sold to you.

posted by bewarethebaobabs on June 22nd 2009 at 11:03pm
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Any type of bread with a crusty exterior heats up very well in the oven or toaster oven if you wrap it in foil. It's probably about 80% as good as fresh (as long as it hasn't been in your freezer forever). I often do this as well.

posted by Orchid64 on June 22nd 2009 at 11:38pm
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So how do you thaw them? Microwave? Oven? Just leave them out?

posted by thecynthesizer on June 23rd 2009 at 11:05am
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My takes take a baguette, slices it, slathers each slice with butter and grated parm, puts in back together and bakes it in tin foil. It's sooooo good. You can store it in the freezer all ready in the tin foil to pop in the oven for dinner.

posted by Emily G. on June 23rd 2009 at 11:05am
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(My dad takes)

posted by Emily G. on June 23rd 2009 at 11:06am
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love the idea.

posted by sweetiebox on June 23rd 2009 at 4:13pm
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Count me in as someone else who does this! :) It's about 90-95% as good as a "fresh" bread and when you are really craving good bread, the satisfaction is definitely there IMO.

posted by josue on June 23rd 2009 at 4:24pm
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I do this with my home-baked baguettes; I throw them into the oven still frozen and wrapped in a thick layer of foil, and guests often moan with delight when they bite into the bread.

Good bread well wrapped can survive the freezer with very little loss in quality.

posted by Elsa Macbebekin on June 26th 2009 at 6:00pm
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Sorry I never replied chusmabilly--I have had a hard time with a lot of frozen bread that has already been baked being frost bitten even after I toast it, but it might be because I don't wrap them well enough (i.e. putting leftover hamburger buns in their plastic bag directly in the freezer).
That's the nice thing about the "raw" or proofed baguettes--they bake up nice and crispy just like a store-bought fresh one would with no loss in quality.

posted by lotusmoss on July 14th 2009 at 3:38pm
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