How to get the freshest bread at the supermarket

[jd_1138]

Breaking the Bread Code: How to Get the Freshest Loaf

I never knew this trick. If the twisty is blue it means it was baked on Monday, green means Tuesday, red means Thursday, white means Friday, and yellow means it was baked on Saturday.

You can remember it easily because the names of the colors of the twisties are in alphabetical order.

(b)lue -- (g)reen -- (r)ed -- (w)hite -- ellow

So if you do your shopping on a Friday, for example, you will want to get a loaf with a red or white twisty. I am curious if our fave brand of bread uses this system. I will check next time I go to the market.

 

[LizStreithorst]

Lucky you. I can't by a decent loaf of bread at any supermarket. I had to suck it up and order my bread on line. It costs a lot but it is worth it. I can have 5 loaves shipped for the same price as having one loaf shipped. When I found that out I took the plunge. It was worth it. https://www.zingermans.com/Product.aspx?ProductID=B-CAR

 

[Farmer Jon]

I go to the day old bread store. We go through enough it don't matter.

 

[jennyema]

Making your own is pretty easy, too

 

[sparrowgrass]

Most bread I see has a little plastic tag with the date on it.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I haven't purchased supermarket bread in years, ever since I discovered Panera. Everything at Panera is fresh baked every day, and whatever is left at the end of the day goes to the Food Bank.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I used to buy Panera bread regularly and often, too, SLoB. Lately, though, the loaves seem smaller and more dense. I questioned one of the assistant managers about it a few months back. She said they had a new baker in training trying to form and raise the loaves just right. I also found out that, at least in the case of my location, the bread isn't "made" at that site, it is mixed and assembled at a large, prep-only center that serves the southern part of our county. The bread comes ready to bake on-site. I suddenly became less interested in buying it there.

Right now, Jim Lahey's 5-minute bread book is waiting for me at the library. I'll be picking it up tomorrow and immersing myself in it tomorrow night. Have to do something with my time since I won't have a baseball game to pay attention to tomorrow.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I ha ve the exact opposite problem. The loaves are so big that I have them slice it and split it into 2 bags, and I freeze one. I also have to make sandwiches with one slice of bread cut in half.

 

[LizStreithorst]

I liked the Panera bread that I tried. The sour dough wheat was very sour and very good. The loaf of rye was huge. Unfortunately the closest Panera is 90 miles from me.

 

[CharlieD]

Supermarket bread should not even be considered bread. Sorry.

 

[LizStreithorst]

The Earth Grains rye was good enough but it is no longer available in Mississippi. All they sell now is that soft stuff. That is not bread.

My supermarket has a display highlighting "Artisan Bread". It's artisan because it says so on the label It says that it's soft. It looks like you could wad it up smaller that a ping pong ball and use it to throw at your enemies if there wasn't a rock handy.