Staling - wikipedia Staling `` Stale '' redirects here. For the village, see Stale, Poland. Stale bread Staling, or `` going stale '', is a chemical and physical process in bread and other foods that reduces their palatability. Stale bread is dry and leathery. Contents 1 Mechanism and effects 2 Countermeasures 3 Culinary uses 4 Destaling 5 References 6 Further reading Mechanism and effects Staling is not, as is commonly believed, simply a drying - out process due to evaporation. Bread will stale even in a moist environment, and stales most rapidly at temperatures just above freezing. Bread stored in the refrigerator will have increased staling rates, and therefore bread should be kept at room temperature. However, refrigeration delays the growth of mold and extends the shelf life of bread. One important mechanism is the migration of moisture from the starch granules into the interstitial spaces, degelatinizing the starch. The starch amylose and amylopectin molecules realign themselves causing recrystalisation. This results in stale bread 's leathery, hard texture. Additionally, pleasant `` fresh '' flavor is lost to the air, and often unpleasant flavor is absorbed from it as well, especially in a confined space with other food such as when in a refrigerator. Countermeasures Anti-staling agents used in bread include wheat gluten, enzymes, and glycerolipids, mainly monoglycerides and diglycerides. Culinary uses Specifically stale bread is an important ingredient in many dishes, some of which were invented for the express purpose of using up otherwise unpalatable stale bread. Examples include bread pudding, bread sauce, bread soup, skordalia, garbure, fondue, fattoush, croutons, haslet, gazpacho, wodzionka, french toast, Tunisian leblebi, bread dumplings and flummadiddle. In medieval cuisine, slices of stale bread, called trenchers, were used instead of plates. Destaling Stale bread can be partially destaled by heating to 60 ° C ( 140 ° F ) in a conventional oven or microwave oven. However, if not eaten before it cools or dries, the bread is even worse than before due to the moisture loss. References Food portal Jump up ^ McGee, Harold ( 2004 ). On Food and Cooking : The Science and Lore of the Kitchen ( 2nd ed. ). New York : Scribner. ISBN 0 - 684 - 80001 - 2. Further reading Look up staling in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Gray, J.A. ; Bemiller, J.N. ( January 2003 ), `` Bread Staling : Molecular Basis and Control '', Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 2 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 21, doi : 10.1111 / j. 1541 - 4337.2003. tb00011. x Xie, Feng ( 1998 ). The study of bread staling using visible and near - infrared reflectance spectroscopy ( PDF ) ( Ph. D. ). Kansas State University. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 25. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Staling&oldid=807199710 '' Categories : Breads Food science Food waste Product expiration Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français Lietuvių Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 26 October 2017, at 15 : 00. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: why does starchy food like bread become hard and stale when it dries out
Answer: the migration of moisture from the starch granules into the interstitial spaces, degelatinizing the starch