FAQs
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How Long will my bread stay fresh?
TL;DR: Slice and Freeze
The amount of water used in the recipes varies with the humidity trend in Austin. In the winter when it’s very dry, hydration can be extremely high and vice versa. Achieving the balance of not too dry and not too moist is the goal.
The more volume and hydration prepared in the bread, the longer it will retain moisture. In addition, the thicker the crust, the longer the freshness, as long as it’s not sliced. So baguettes, about 2 days. The Original Rustic, about 5 to 6 days. Sandwich bread, 3 to 4 days. You have two friends: the freezer and the toaster. Slice your bread after a couple of days and freeze it, then toast to reheat like it was just pulled from the oven.
The main thing to do: observe your bread each day. If, after just one day it starts to dry out, slice and freeze. If, after three days, it’s still very moist, slice and freeze (it may spore in the next day or so) or put it in the refrigerator for a day. Just remember that the refrigerator is very low humidity so it will dry your bread out quickly.
Keep your bread in a bread box (ideally), or in its paper wrap, so a little moisture can escape. You can keep your bread in a plastic bag as long as it’s wrapped in parchment - but don’t seal it if you’re not planning on toasting it as it can be gummy.
If you just don’t want to mess with all these variables, slice and freeze. If you really treasure your bread, wrap your one or two slices in plastic wrap, then put all of them in ziplock in the freezer. Pull out a serving and put it right into the microwave for 30 seconds with the wrap or take the wrap off and toast it.
What Do I Do With This Starter You Gave Me?
The starter I gave you will stay alive (easily revivable) in your cold fridge for about 2 weeks. When you plan on using it to mix, backplan two days then follow this schedule:
Day 1, morning. Take the starter out of the fridge and let it sit for 30-45 minutes. Then:
Mix 1:1:1. This means that you’ll mix equal amounts of starter, water, and flour. So I gave you about 20g; add 20g of flour and 20g of water and mix well. This should double in size after 4-6 hours.
Day 1, afternoon: Mix 1:2:2. Discard all but 20g (you could go as low as 5g to conserve), then add 40g of water and 40g of flour. This should take about 6 hours to double and take you into the evening.
Day 1, overnight: Mix 1:10:10. Discard all but 5g, then add 50g of water and 50g of flour. This should last you until the morning.
Day 2: Repeat - feel free to adjust the quantities - you should have a good estimate of the time the starter takes to mature after these 2 days—depending on when you plan to mix you can adjust the ratios and time of day.
Your kitchen temperature will affect how slow or fast the starter matures. In the winter, my kitchen is in the high 60s to low 70s, which can lengthen the maturing by 30-45 minutes from the summer temps of high 70s to low 80s.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
How Many Calories/Carbs in One Piece?
For one slice (40g), about 133 calories and 31 carbs. There is no added sugar, so the sugar content from the grains is less than 0.5g.
What’s Up With The Wrap?
The paper protects the bread during delivery as well as helping to keep it fresh after you get it. Last, you and I went through a lot to get this bread - we deserve to have it look smart to show how much we care about it.
Is it Sour…dough?
“Sourdough” refers to the starter, or levain, after it has matured and taken an acidic/vinegar taste and smell. So when dough is mixed with very mature starter, the dough is literally sour. But when the levain is used right before, or at, maturity (with enough strength to rise the dough), it’s very mild and can have little to no acidic taste. So the Original Rustic bread is mixed right after maturity to give it the characteristic sourdough flavor but the sandwich breads are used “young” for mild or no acid. Regardless, it will vary week to week - this is small batch bread and I think it adds interest.
Will you Deliver to Me?
Because Jinx falls under the Texas Cottage Food Law, your order should be delivered and you can use the Vinder portal to deliver within 10 miles of any Austin Farmers Market.