BREAD WITHOUT PRESERVATIVES

bread without preservatives

It's important to us that our bread remains preservative-free. Below, we explain why.

We also share some tips for ways to make the most of your bread's shelf life.

At Krusty Loaf, we make real bread. That is, bread without preservatives.

Here's why...

In the interest of convenience, many processed foods (including the mass-produced bread found in supermarkets) contain the additive calcium propionate (or E282), to inhibit the growth of mould and make them last longer on the shelf. Whilst this enhanced product life is undeniably attractive, calcium propionate has also been linked to various health issues.

Whilst studies are in their infancy, nutritional experts worldwide are becoming ever more convinced of the negative effects of many artificial food additives. It is important to us that we minimise these potential effects wherever possible, so we choose not to use calcium propionate (also sometimes labelled as propionic acid, cultured wheat starch, cultured whey or E282) in any of our bread.

making the most of your bread

All of our traditional bread (white, wholemeal and malted grain) should remain soft enough for sandwiches for a few days after it is baked. Our multiseed bread will stay soft for even longer – up to five days. Towards the end of its life (i.e. close to its best before date), bread will still be good for toasting, or it can be refreshed to its former glory by wrapping it in foil and warming it in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Our sourdough will firm up sooner than our traditional loaves, but the oven-refresh method above works beautifully to bring it back to just-baked freshness - softening the inside and reinvigorating the crust. And if you just want to freshen a couple of slices, 30 second bursts in the microwave will work wonders.

Another option, particularly handy for smaller households, is to freeze sliced bread in its bag on the day of purchase and then defrost only the slices you need each day. Depending on the type of bread, the slices will only take an hour or two to defrost and, provided they have not been frozen for too long, should experience little-to-no deterioration in the process. Our multiseed bread is especially good for this. A re-usable zip-lock bag (or a used bread bag) is perfect for holding the slices while they defrost.

You can also combine freezing with the above methods, to refresh the bread after defrosting, if you wish. Note that we would only recommend freezing bread as a short-term solution – freezing for a prolonged period or in a frosted-up freezer could cause freezer-burn and dry out the bread.