Few Brits truly value Real bread. We have got used to low supermarket prices of British bread, to bread lasting an unnaturally long time due to the high level of preservatives & bread additives in the mixes many bakery chains & in-store bakers use, and to throwing away old bread. So what does Rex the Baker recommend for home-made Rex bread?
6 ways to get great value from Rex bread
Apparently the British pay the lowest average price in Europe for their bread, and it’s the Number 1 food we throw away with about 1/3 of all bread sold ending up in the bin. Perhaps because so much bread is really cheap, even when times are hard we just buy too much of it, and then don’t eat it because frankly it doesn’t taste all that great. In short we don’t respect a lot of the bread we are sold.
Our 6 tips to really value Rex bread:
1) Choose your favourite loaf as a regular item.
Our intention is that every baked item we sell tastes delicious, better than you can buy elsewhere. Many Rex friends are adventurous every week and like to try the rotating Sourdoughs, the new products such as the Eating Loaf, or have adopted Focaccia or Olive Ciabatta. As bread geeks ourselves we are right with those Friends. But if you aren’t yet so sure, we recommend that you go with the loaf that inspires your best real bread memories. In our case this is probably an Organic White Bloomer, because it conjures up memories of the delicious loaf bought from the local village bakery at lunchtime from Sixth Form, devoured at home with friends well before the end of that blessed “free study period”.
2) Naturally longer lasting
We explained last week that Rex bread is all hand-made and you get nothing but the best in high quality ingredients, organic where possible, for the Rex price you pay. You also get nothing nasty added such as preservatives in your loaf, and real bread is for sure best when eaten soon after it was freshly made & baked. But some of our loaves naturally last longer – ciabattas & focaccias due to the very high water content in the dough, Multiseed due to the touch of honey and our Potato, Oat & Apple sourdoughs thanks to the fruit & vegetable content.
3) Can’t put a price on your health
The Rex bread price includes the love & labour that goes into making good food, slowly. Unfortunately the big bakery chains & supermarkets cut corners & avoid the traditional bread making techniques which take time & craft – because of their cheap industrial processes they can charge very little for loaves that you don’t then really enjoy or value.
In addition to being hand-made with no mixes, all Rex loaves take a minimum of 24 hours to prove, with sourdoughs taking up to 7 days. For anybody with bread intolerance concerns, we always recommend trying the Rex Sourdough first. Our traditional methods mean that the yeast & starters are properly fermented for ease of digestion, the right rise & texture is achieved naturally and no bread additives or accelerators (with worrying risks for your gut) are required to artificially create a loaf.
4) Freeze me!
We have blogged before about 7 ways to keep your bread fresh. Our favourite method at home is to freeze half or the whole loaf until required, always wrapped in plastic and not paper to prevent the bread moisture from evaporating in the freezing & defrosting process. All Rex baked items can be frozen & naturally defrosted – and all the savoury items can be warmed up before serving. Yum! If you do want to freeze your loaf already sliced, let us know in your order & we will provide it sliced & pre-wrapped.
5) Crumbs!
The Rex baker’s family loves its chicken pieces & meat escalopes, fishcakes, pasta bakes to be coated in breadcrumbs. Not only delicious, breadcrumb coating is an economic way to bulk out your meals. We have successfully used all the Rex breads, as a mix of loaf ends or singly, with crusts on or off. All varieties can be declared delicious 🙂 We therefore recommend any loaf ends are breadcrumbed in the food processor & simply frozen in bags until you are ready to use.
6) Pudding club
