Stale supermarket-baked bread?

[hubner]

I'm talking about the fresh in-store baked bread.

In Sainsburys the other day at about 4pm, I noticed all the fresh baked loaves had a "display until" date of that day's date, eg it was 27th and "display until" was 27th. "Best before" was 1 day after, ie 28th.

I am sure previously I have seen bread with the "display until" date one or two days after, eg if today is 1st,  "display until" date is 2nd or 3rd. Which I thought meant that bread can sit on the shelf for 2 days before it can't be sold anymore.

So I ask an assisant if they have newer baked bread inside, they said bread is baked in the morning and  "display until" date is the same day, a "1 day window". I could see that there were loads of bread on a huge trolley near the ovens. The shelves were emptying by 4pm, so why is the bread inside not on the shelves? Or is the bread inside going  on the shelves the next day?

I have also seen assistants taking bread off the shelves at about 7 or 8pm and taking them inside.


Other things like bagels and cakes etc do have a longer "display until" date.

[rafletcher]

I think it's always been the case that "fresh" (even if baked off in store from dough frozen a year before) bread can only be displayed in store for the day on which it was baked.

[Kim]

The dates are a bit academic really, as by 5pm it's either been sold, or is hard enough to clobber small animals to death with.

[T42]

Depends on the bread.  Baguette is like Kevlar two hours after baking.  Heavier breads last much longer.

[caerau]

Depends on the bread.  Baguette is like Kevlar two hours after baking. 

Where were you on my 80s holidays to Brittany en Camping? 


My jaws still haven't forgiven my parents for buying baguette in the morning and then serving it up at 5-7pm - and then NEVER learning from this. <snarl>

[T42]

Depends on the bread.  Baguette is like Kevlar two hours after baking. 

Where were you on my 80s holidays to Brittany en Camping? 

Probably in Domont, not far north of Paris. We had a baker in town who made excellent bread but was as surly as get out.

My jaws still haven't forgiven my parents for buying baguette in the morning and then serving it up at 5-7pm - and then NEVER learning from this. <snarl>

I've stayed in otherwise excellent hotels where they thought it was OK to do that.

You can shove baguette in a freezer bag, and then the crust will slowly go soft. It'll still be edible next day.

[Jakob W]

Or spray it with water and let it sit for a little while, then reheat it in an oven.

[dim]

I worked part time at an Upper Crust outlet. Baguettes were bought 1/2 cooked (frozen) then baked for 12 minutes, then ingredients added, time/date stamped and then taken to the kiosk

3 hrs later, if it was not sold, it was binned. They were very strict with this. Same applied to the cakes (croissants etc) ... sad, as many poor/homeless would be more than willing to eat an older baguette

[caerau]

Or spray it with water and let it sit for a little while, then reheat it in an oven.

That doesn't work very well (or at least it's tricky) when you're camping 

[Jakob W]

Pfff, find clay deposits, build mud oven, Bob's your uncle!

[caerau]

Pffft, this was in 1982ish when I was 12 or something.

[Jakob W]

Ok, resurrecting 30-year-old baguettes is probably a bit of a stretch 

[caerau]

Not sure I'd put it past my parents. 

[hubner]

I was in Sainsburys yesterday (23rd) at about 6pm, they close at 9pm.

The shelves for in-stored baked loaves were mostly empty except for a handful of loaves. Next to was a trolley with discounted bread and bakery stuff. Behind the counter next to the ovens was a trolley with lots of loaves.

I picked up a loaf with:
"display until 23rd (yesterday),
best before 25th",

and asked an assistant if it was going to be discounted, they said no, then I ask what happens if they are not sold that day, the said they get sliced and put back on sale with a new sticker the next day!

[dim]

I had a part time job in our local Co-Op as a baker. Bread is baked early (6am), and all loaves are frozen

pop into the ovens, bake, package/label, and take to the shelves.

The breads are only baked in the morning, and we had a list of what to bake .... this changed daily, as the night shift done aq stock take of what was left and filled in a sheet. (So if you baked 10 loaves of one type of bread, and 2 were not sold, the next day you only baked .... if you baked 10 loaves of one type of bread, and they all sold, you baked 12 loaves the next day etc etc

the bread was only on the shelves for the day .... what never sold is binned...

I also had a part time job at an Uppercrust outlet (the baguette shop that is found on many train stations) .... baguettes that are freshly made are only displayed for 4 hours .... if they don't sell within the 4 hours, they are binned

[hubner]

Thanks.

.... what never sold is binned...

I was in Sainsbury at about 8:30pm (they close at 11 or 12) and saw this:

(trolley with several bin liner bags of bread)

I asked if they were going to be thrown away, they said yes. When they finished bagging, there was another big bag on the trolley.