Olivia Roth, of Cleveland, has found that her baked goods are prone to getting gummy when stored in airtight plastic containers. She wonders, is there a better way?
The main challenge with storing homemade baked goods is preventing them from drying out. But airtight containers aren’t always the best solution. That’s because even inside a sealed container, the baked good is surrounded by air that draws moisture from its surface, which in turn draws out internal moisture. This can result in a gooey outer layer while drying out the inner crumb. Restricting airflow helps solve the evaporation problem.
In testing various storage methods on scones, we found that when storing them at room temperature, individually wrapping the scones tightly in plastic wrap yielded the best texture (performing slightly better than scones wrapped in foil). But even better was wrapping and freezing them. This is because freezing the water molecules locks them inside the baked item, preventing them from redistributing.
Even unwrapped frozen scones fared better than the room temperature method, wrapped or otherwise. When thawed at room temperature, individually plastic-wrapped scones were nearly indistinguishable from freshly baked scones.
Freezing works great for storing all kinds of baked goods, including cupcakes, muffins and cookies. Just make sure to leave off the frosting, which becomes unpleasantly sticky and runny when thawed.
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