Which Wood for Breadbox?

[Shawn Horley]

Greetings gentlefolks

I am looking to build a breadbox for my wife to replace the one her great-grandpa made that was swiped from her. I am wondering what the best wood choice would be? I don't know what wood her old one was because it had a painted finish on the exterior surfaces, and the interior was all carefully charred so the grain was not visible.

I know that I am more a fan of hardwoods than soft, but I'll use whatever is best for the longevity of the box as well as its contents.

I appreciate whatever wisdom you would care to share on this subject.

Cheers

Shawn

[Lee Schierer]

I would use maple or possibly yellow poplar. I wouldn't use any wood that has a strong odor such as pine, spruce, etc.

[James Jayko]

I think I read that they determined that a bread box is basically the worst way to store bread...

[Jim Morgan]

Beech is often used for treen because it does not impart any flavors to food - probably a good candidate here, too.

[Mel Fulks]

I think the real reason breadboxes were invented was rats. Without rats ….a clean cloth cover was fine for home cooks, since they
didn’t have plastic bags. However , those who like to show off fine kitchen linen will still use linen, even if they don’t have flies .

[Charlie Jones]

About 20 years ago I was filling in for a friend whose job was a little boring. I cut the maple and brought it to work where I hand cut the dovetails. We still use it.

[Shawn Horley]

Thank you for your feedback gents.
I know a lot of folks have no use for them, but our kitchen experiences strong changes in temperature and humidity throughout the day. Bread in a plastic bag will start to mold in 2-3 days. In the old breadbox it stayed unmolded for 7-10 days.

No chance of leaving it out with just a linen cover as we're constantly battling the rodents who want to get inside and set up shop. I am leaning towards maple or walnut myself. I don't intend to use any of the pine or cedar species due to their scents, which can be enjoyable at Christmas, but not on my pbj.

Speaking of pine. Would anyone know where I can source pine oil?

Cheers
Shawn

[Mel Fulks]

Shawn, bread used to mold quickly, now it doesn’t. I don’t know why. Could be “better living through chemistry”. Used to see that on
TV. I don’t doubt that there are some kinds that still mold.

[Edward Weber]

How big is this bread box?

[Lee Schierer]

Thank you for your feedback gents.
I know a lot of folks have no use for them, but our kitchen experiences strong changes in temperature and humidity throughout the day. Bread in a plastic bag will start to mold in 2-3 days. In the old breadbox it stayed unmolded for 7-10 days.

Cheers
Shawn

We keep our bread in the plastic bags in the fridge and it stays fresh for several weeks. You can freeze bread and it will stay fresh a long time. Just be sure to thaw it in the fridge.

[Jim Becker]

I buy Pepperidge Farm bread...it lasts very well in the original bag if air is forced out and the bag is sealed between uses. Even with a nice breadbox, I'd still keep the bread in the bag because we do not use bread that quickly here.

As to the wood...pretty much any nice domestic hardwood will work well for this application. It's more of a personal preference/look thing.

[John TenEyck]

I made one using red oak about 30 years ago from plans in Woodsmith. It had a rolltop front on it. It never kept bread fresh, especially anything store bought. After WW II, better living through chemistry and mass production ruined bread, coffee, beer, and I don't know what else but I'm sure it's a long list. TV dinners, oh yeah, another classic. Thank goodness artisan bakers, coffee roasters, and craft brewers saw a "new" opportunity and have started to fill the void.

Use most any wood w/o significant odor you want. And get a cat.

John

[Mel Fulks]

John , RED oak is porous, you’re ‘sposed to use use WHITE oak ! But I bet NO RATS …or mice got in !

[John TenEyck]

John , RED oak is porous, you’re ‘sposed to use use WHITE oak ! But I bet NO RATS …or mice got in !

It's not if you seal it. I used shellac. I gave it away after I found it to be of no value. Bread keeps a lot longer in a plastic bag in the fridge. Good stuff keeps long enough for me to eat it just standing it up with the cut end on a cutting board. What's good stuff? The ones made with a starter and take 2 or more days to rise at low temperature. They have a hard crust and moist interior that keeps a long time at room temperature.

John

[Michael Rutman]

Last time I checked, refrigerator is not a type of wood, so not sure where those answers came from.

However, storing uneaten bread is probably more complex than picking the right type of wood, so let’s try to figure out what you want to do, which will determine whether you even want a bread box or care about the type of wood you use.

What bread are you trying to store? Is it home baked? Fresh baked bakery? Supermarket bakery? Off the shelf factory bread? Sliced? Small pieces eaten entirely? All these things matter. One thing you’ll find in common, though, is you cannot find any place that sells bread and keeps it in a refrigerator. That’s because refrigerators are dehydrators and will make bread go stale.

If you are buying off the shelf factory bread then it’s already old, has plenty of preservatives and other things to retain moisture. Storing it in the fridge for a month isn’t going to degrade it, it’s already degraded. However, look at how it came. It’s pretty much shrink wrapped inside of a plastic bag. Any way you look at it, it’s been designed for very long shelf lives, even after breaking the shrink wrap it will keep it’s mediocre flavor for a month in or out of a refrigerator. Outside of a refrigerator, you’ll get mold eventually, but depending on where you live, that could be anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months. In a breadbox, it will pick up even faint odors. To be honest, I don’t think a breadbox is meant for this kind of bread.

On the extreme other side is home baked bread with no preservatives. It’s delicious on day one and pretty darn good on day 2 if stored well. By day 3 it’s degraded and by day 4 it’s good for croutons or French toast. Store this in a cloth towel inside a room temperature drawer or bread box. If you use a plastic bag do not seal it or you will get mold (depending on where you live). Don’t use any wood that is going to impart flavors, but you are storing it for a day or two, so don’t sweat the details. Do not slice more than you are going to eat.

For the breadbox, I recommend using the wax or oil you get for butcher blocks and cutting boards. Food safe and will help with any off tastes. I believe the coating on the wood will matter more than the wood (outside of obviously bad choices of wood).