I’m happy with how this loaf came out, and it tasted great last night, and this morning. But since I baked it later than ideal for dinner, I cut into it after only 30 minutes. I knew what would happen and it was fantastic with dinner, but this seemed a great moment to illustrate what happens. Basically hot bread is still in a “plasma” like state, and the bubbles collapse and can stick back together. There’s tons of opinions on the internet about whether hot fresh bread problematic or hard to digest, but to me the main question is whether I’m willing to sacrifice a bit of “tomorrows” structure for today’s dinner. The answer for me is often yes, but here is why you don’t want to cut a “presentation” loaf too soon.
As is clearly visible, the pressure of the cutting action along with perhaps some other naturally collapsing bubbles, causes a certain percentage of the crumb to collapse, which becomes less pronounced the further from the cut line.
I guess this might fit well into r/mildlyinteresting as well…
by benjaminfreyart
21 Comments
Thank you for this. Now I’m starting to understand what’s happening to my focaccia.
I had a very similar night. Shaped a loaf in the morning for dinner, was out later than expected, got the loaf in the oven right before starting to cook dinner (bread over proofed but nothing crazy). The slices this morning were more stale than they’d typically be but they made good toast. Alas, sometimes we must make sacrifices for warm bread.
I’ve honestly found that my bread cuts the best a few days after baking… of course no one wants to wait that long LOL
He looks so scared!
I dont think i ever made one that made it to the next day
I’m not sure this is solely because you cut in too early. It looks like it’s under proofed. Those lines of gumminess wouldn’t have come just from an early cut. The overall crumb will be a bit “gummy” but not to that extent, and so concentrated in those spots.
Did you temp the loaf then it came out? 204+?
I could be wrong… but I’ve cut into still warm loaves and though they’ve been a bit gummy, they were still good the next day
Perhaps it’s a combination of slightly under proofed AND early cutting.
Though I could be totally wrong on all accounts, I’m just speaking from my experience
It’s still baking for at least an hour or two after removing from the oven! A hard lesson to learn, but most people (🙋♀️) have to learn it the hard way…
The easiest way to think about it is that your bread is technically “baking” until it completely cools down. Moisture redistribution, structure stabilization etc are happening as well
So how long do we wait because I’ve heard one hours two hours three hours. I’ve waited a full day, but my structure is still fucked so it’s probably for another reason lol
Natural yeast scalded rye cut about 15 minutes out of the oven. It is HOW you cut it. Been cutting fresh bread out of the oven for decades.
[https://i.gyazo.com/6e9612f4e1df0ba81bb5d596eaa884a5.jpg](https://i.gyazo.com/6e9612f4e1df0ba81bb5d596eaa884a5.jpg)
Same as potatoes and rice, starches gelatinize and need to rest. Freshly made Calrose rice is terrible. But after fifteen minutes, perfect.
It’s tough to wait when you want to enjoy it with your meal! I usually wait three hours or more if I can. I usually add a little whole wheat flour to my loaves, and the whole wheat flour holds the heat longer than white.
Bakery owner here, using a commercial slicer. We wait 2ish hours for smaller loaves, up to four hours for larger/denser loaves. Otherwise it’s very gummy, and the bread stales more quickly because the crumb can’t reabsorb the moisture that would have been trapped in the loaf. If you’re just going to eat it right away and don’t mind a little bit if a messy cut job, have at it, but if you plan to keep it around for a couple of days, it’s worth waiting.
Nothing beats a freshly sharpened bread knife. Mine can cut my bread fresh out of the oven. One loaf is half gone almost immediately. It’s so soft we have to use a pastry brush to put the butter on, but the bread knife whispers through it magically. I have a local guy that sharpens blades, skates, saws,etc. and he does magic with blades.
> There’s tons of opinions on the internet about whether hot fresh bread problematic or hard to digest
I’ve never heard this opinion, but it sounds wrong on its face. As long as the internal temperature of the bread reached a hot enough temperature, the gluten proteins have already denatured, the starches have already cross linked, and any potential bacteria have been killed. Waiting 30 minutes might help the crumb set better, but it won’t significantly change anything about the chemistry of the bread.
I like to bake it the night before, let it cool down completely overnight and cut into the fresh loaf in the morning. I’ll be baking at midnight sometimes haha.
I’ve had restaurant “hot bread” and sometimes it literally turns back into hot dough.
Starch setting temperature (gelatinisation). Bread is a gel/mousse, and most of the gellants, starch included, have a hysteresis (search internet). Same for roux, etc.
My family can’t be held off cutting the bread as soon as it can be touched. It’s definitely more gelatinous but the bubbles don’t collapse. OPs bread is underproofed.
Ohhhh, no more knife then. I’ll bite straight into it.
Dawg I don’t think cutting too early is the culprit on this one