What makes bread so deliciously good? Is it the care taken to knead the dough till it’s perfectly supple? Or the scorching heat of a damn good oven? Is it its pillowy inside that soaks up all that’s good? Or the crusty outside that whispers as it crackles? In truth, it’s all of it and more. There’s no one thing that makes good-ol’ fresh bread oh-so-wonderful. While bread might not always be the star of every dish, it surely can make or break your meal. And to succeed, every aspect of it must be just right. So let’s look at what it takes to achieve such perfect harmony in every loaf of Fresho Bread.
First and foremost, bigbasket’s Fresho bread has a shorter shelf life. Yes, we say that loud and proud because what it actually means is that Fresho bread is 100% preservative-free. Sliced bread from most popular brands last up to a week, but Fresho bread is best eaten within four days. This is because most breads contain added preservatives, for example, calcium propionate, potassium bromates, or iodides. However, Fresho chooses to not add any of these, which is why our bread has a shorter lifespan.
So without preservatives, how do we ensure that our bread does not spoil before its time? Well, two factors affect the shelf-life of bread. (1) The baking environment (2) Microbial cross-contamination. We ensure that our bread is made and processed in a controlled environment, where temperature, moisture, etc. is precisely regulated at every stage. We also follow stringent safety and hygiene practices.
Let’s look at Fresho bread at different stages:
Step 1: Knead the dough
If the dough isn’t kneaded well, we can never achieve the soft glutenous goodness that is Fresho bread. So the mantra is—knead, knead, knead for 30 minutes straight, till we have the softest, plumpest piece of dough. The trick is making sure that the dough is supple enough to bounce back when prodded. This is when the expert knows it’s time to move on.
Step 2: Dividing and rounding
At this stage, the dough is divided into different sizes and rounded into shape. The dough is measured and weighed into equal portions to attain uniformly sized loaves. These are rounded to form perfect dough balls that are easier to handle. This step takes two and a half hours and after it, our dough is ready to rest.
Step 3: Proofing
Proofing is an extremely important step wherein the dough is allowed to rest for 3 hours so that the leavening agent used, that is yeast, is given enough time to get activated. This is when the bread rises. How does it do that? Well, as it rests, the yeast in the bread begins to expel carbon dioxide which makes the dough expand. This expansion is what creates bubbles of air within the dough, later giving it its soft and fluffy interior.
Step 4: Baking
The dough is then baked at a temperature of 180° C for 30 minutes. The process of baking is done in a professional oven that provides uniform heat from all directions. This is why no portion of the bread is underdone or overdone. It is perfectly browned, creating a beautiful crust on top, while preventing its insides from losing moisture.
Step 5: Cooling
Now the bread is allowed to cool. One would think that this little step is not as important as the rest, but they’d be wrong. Cooling bread after it’s baked is essential in order to maintain its form and shape. When the bread is cooled, its water molecules move evenly to the surface. It is important to ensure proper circulation of air in all directions so that the bread doesn’t get soggy. Also, we need to make sure that the bread is properly cooled before cutting into it. Hence, it is cooled for 4 hours.
Step 6: Packed and delivered
Fresho bread is packed and delivered on the same day or the very next day. This is essential to ensure that you get the freshest bread while it is in its prime. While many other brands have their bread lying on shelves, Fresho bread boasts of a shorter shelf life simply because it never sits on the shelf. With same-day delivery, Fresho makes sure that you can enjoy the freshest bread while it is at its best, and this has the added benefit of needing zero preservatives.
That’s how Fresho bread is made.
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