Response to note from Terry Vlossak tvlossak@yahoo.com
Terry, I also freeze a lot of bread and I see the same thing. The
first thing your note tells us is that you must bake very good
artisan open-crumb breads. I see the most flaking of the crust from
frozen artisan breads when the crumb has larger holes. While
freezing, the crumb pulls back from the crust leaving larger regions
of crust unattached to the crumb. Sections of crust are suspended in
air with no access to moisture from the crumb and are more vulnerable
to drying out in the freezer. I freeze my breads a little
differently but nothing I know of will eliminate the problem.
I wrap the individual loaves tightly in aluminum foil first, then
place them in a freezer bag. This is to preserve moisture and
prevent freezer burn. It would also help if you could store the
breads in a non-frost-free freezer. You didn't say how you defrosted
the bread and that may have an effect also. Most of the time we
defrost bread hot and fast and still wrapped in its foil. Poke a
thermometer through the foil to check status since the defrost times
are heavily dependent on loaf size and shape.
With just my wife and I in the house nowadays, even one loaf is too
much for us to eat so I pre-slice the loaves, assemble 4 slices (for
two sandwiches) stacked no more than 2 high, and individually wrap
these groups of 4 tightly in aluminum foil. Then I place as many of
this packages as will fit in freezer bags. When we want bread for
sandwiches or dinner, a half hour before needed I remove one package
from the freezer bag, put it into our toaster-oven still wrapped in
Al foil, set to "toast" mode and run the toaster-oven for its maximum
time cycle. Then leave the bread, still wrapped, in the toaster for
10 or 15 more minutes. Occasionally, if the loaf was slightly
underbaked, the moist crumb may stick to the aluminum foil when you
remove it but that doesn't happen often.
Compared to fresh, the unfrozen slices have a cracklier crust but a
very similar crumb. Since you have pre-sliced the bread the crust is
less likely to break off from handling. I also freeze unused
sections of baguettes the same way. Cut them up into sections big
enough for one pasta night or one hero sandwich and store them
individually the same way. I also store homemade bagels, bialys, and
focaccia the same way. We have some very good artisan bakeries up
here in Vermont and I freeze store-bought breads the same way. Also,
don't throw away those pieces of crust that break off, they make
great croutons for soups or salads.
It might be useful to try an experiment. For your next batch, remove
the loaves that you intend to freeze when the internal temperature is
195 F and let the loaf intended for immediate use bake as usual. 195
deg F should be fully baked but with the crumb still looking and
feeling moist. The crusts will soften as the bread cools. Cover the
loaves with aluminum foil (maybe even before they are fully cooled)
and then place in a freezer bag when they reach room temperature and
freeze them. The additional moisture in the crumb may help keep the
crust from cracking as much and may even prevent some of the
pull-back of the crumb from the inside of the crust.
Another idea that might work but would probably alter the flavor of
the crust would be to brush the loaves to be stored with vegetable or
olive oil prior to baking. Oil will keep the crust softer throughout
the baking process. Even after freezing, the crust may be less crumbly.
Werner