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langfam
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| Joined: | Mon Dec 17th, 2007 |
| Location: | Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 30 |
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Posted: Sat Dec 22nd, 2007 07:32 pm |
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I have read that freshly milled flour loses its nutritional value fairly quickly. Keeping the flour in the freezer does not prevent oxidation of vitamins; in fact, 48% of it's nutritional value is lost in 24 hours and by 72 hours 90%. For this reason, it's recommended we always use freshly milled flour.
My question: If I use freshly milled flour then the freeze the bread, does it start to lose nutrients?
Thanks.
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KSherrill
Moderator
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Posted: Mon Dec 31st, 2007 09:16 pm |
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This was a really good question. I asked Sue, and here is what she had to say:
Once the bread is *baked* the nutritional loss is minimal. It is the flour inits "raw" state that is so vulnerable to oxidation. I would think that freezing the freshly milled
flour would stop some oxidation especially of the oils. We know that
freezing nuts certainly prevents them from going rancid so quickly and
it is the oxidation of the oils that causes then to be so susceptible to
rancidity. But on the other hand we know that apples or bananas still
turn dark when frozen which is also an oxidation process. And studies
also tell us that fresh vegetables and fruits stored in the refrigerator
lose nutrients daily due to oxidation. So my thinking is that freezing the freshly milled flour may prevent it from going rancid so quickly but I do not believe it will protect the nutrients.
However, once the bread is baked this process is stopped and the bread
retains its nutritional value. I liken it to blanching vegetables
before freezing them. This stops the enzyme process as well as oxidation.
Many people wonder about the loss of nutrients from cooking grains but
grains are considered a super food in this respect. When fruits and
vegetables are cooked the enzymes are destroyed as well as some of the
nutrients. Not so with grains. When cooked the enzymes are actually
activated and began to convert many of the nutrients to more accessible
forms. The nutrients, including the vitamin E as well as the B
vitamin, in grains are very heat stable.
So it is best to mill the flour just before using it. If you want to
make large batches at a time then certainly freezing the baked goods is
fine. But the baked bread should store unfrozen for 1 week at least
without molding and this is really the only issue with spoilage for bread.
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langfam
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| Joined: | Mon Dec 17th, 2007 |
| Location: | Georgia USA |
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Posted: Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 06:02 pm |
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Super . That's great news!
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casey
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| Joined: | Sun Jun 17th, 2007 |
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Posted: Thu Jan 24th, 2008 08:09 pm |
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| How long will bread keep in the freezer?
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KSherrill
Moderator
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Posted: Fri Jan 25th, 2008 02:30 am |
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| I've read that it keeps 2-3 weeks, but I notice a decrease in quality after the bread has been frozen over a week. It seems to get dry much more quickly once it is thawed than when it's only been frozen under a week.
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