How To Love Your Loaf

As much as you want to eat our bread when it's still hot from the oven, it's really best to let it cool completely. Our breads all have a lot of whole grains in them, and whole grain bread is not done baking until it's cool. Rye bread really needs to sit overnight, some people would even say it should sit for a couple of days before it's ready to be devoured. 

Store your loaf cut-side down on your cutting board, slicing additional slices as needed. By leaving it cut side down, you're protecting the vulnerable insides from getting all dried out, while the crust maintains it's integrity. It should be fine for several days, just like this.

Some things we DON'T do with our bread:

• put it in a plastic bag
• put it in the refrigerator
• let it sit on the counter WITHOUT the cut side down
• eat it while still hot from the oven (we sometimes make exceptions for our black pepper parmesan bread, but shhh don't tell anybody)

If you'd like to make your loaf last for weeks/months - cut your loaf into slices and then wrap the whole thing in plastic and put it in a freezer so that it can be enjoyed one slice at a time over several months. This is what I sometimes do for my parents when i go home to visit them and find myself baking a few loaves that I want them to be able to eat once I've up and gone back to california.

And remember, even if you don't love your loaf, it will always love you.