The crust softening is caused by migration of moisture from the crumb to the crust and there's little you can do to alter it a great deal. The crust softens most in bread wrapped in plastic/foil/bag when the moisture level in the crust increases from about 12 to 28%. This is when that dry, crisp, texture of fresh crust changes into the soft, leathery, not-do-pleasant texture, and is also known as the aging process, or "staling". Staling begins within two hours of baking. Add to that extreme heat and humidity, and all bets are off for long keeping times. As dcarch mentions, freezing is the best option under these conditions. The worst place to store bread is in the refrigerator. In one experiment in my records, bread stored at 46-degrees F staled as much in one day as bread held at 86-degrees F. did in six days. In the world of bread science.... Unwrapped bread (covered with a cotton towel) looses moisture and flavor faster, but retains crumb texture better, but the crust will still eventually soften, but not as quickly as when wrapped. Now you know why the French buy fresh bread daily. Lean breads (those with a short list of ingredients - flour, salt, yeast) stale quickly. Enriched breads keep longer, but the moisture will still migrate from the crumb to the crust as a part of staling. There are some ingredients that will slow down mold growth during hot humid weather: coconut oil, honey, raisins or raisin water in the dough, some spices and herbs are also helpful. This is also why biscuits were the bread of choice in the hot/humid south. -Grainlady

Beachlily, you're right. This is a digression and not about cooking at all really. I find nomenclature interesting, as well as the hair splitting, and I find that it helps to order my mind, which, in the end, also helps my cooking. Rusty, opinion respectfully understood and appreciated. It is nitpicking, and not of interest to many people, I'm sure. I have certain language bugaboos with cooking. I'm entirely aware that they're my issues, and not something that I expect others to cleave to or participate in. It doesn't bother me if people call purchased prepared food that they've doctored "homemade". To me, that just means they have a different definition of homemade. So be it. I do, however, have an issue with opened a bunch of cans and dumped them in a dish being called "from scratch". Again, I realize that my having an issue with what people want to say about their food is entirely my own problem, not theirs. In the USA, at least, there's a tradition of food snobbery in which "from scratch" demands a level of respect. I don't say "from scratch" about my cooking or baking, even when it is. If someone asks, I'll say I made the crust, or whatever, and might even use "it's from scratch" if asked about the process, but it's not a way I identify myself or my work. It goes with the kind of snobbery that insists that something hand sewn is superior to something machine sewn (not counting computer programed sewing machine work, which is its own category). Good results are good results, no matter which tools you use to achieve them. The grated cheese issue is a bagatelle: it's really all the same whether you pare it, grate it by hand, grate it in an FP, or buy it grated. The main reason for doing it oneself is that one often buys tastier cheeses than they put up pre-grated, and it keeps better as a block. Since we have that culture of admiration for the scratch cook, I think the person claiming the honors ought to be honest about it. I wouldn't think ill of anyone who doesn't put the line exactly where I do. That's why I started this thread--to learn where others put the line. But if you tell me that you made a frozen green beans, condensed mushroom soup and French's canned fried onions casserole from scratch, I'm going to think you're awfully naïve... My other bugaboo is people who don't know what the words mean extending them to mean other things. Again, totally my own issue and the world marches the way it does without regard for it. But hummus means "chickpea" not paté or puree, many hummus dishes use whole, not mashed, chickpeas, and you can't make chickpeas out of black beans. Aioli means "garlic oil", not flavored mayonnaise, and can be made without egg yolk (i.e., not like mayonnaise), but not without garlic. Some aiolis aren't sauces at all, but more like a paste or relish, but all have garlic and oil. So, I've learned a lot about how far the words "scratch" and "homemade" can extend without breaking and some points over my own lines that cooking people allow. I hope more people will contribute their ideas. And for those who just don't care, thanks for letting us know that too...

There are lots of bottled dressings that I find good tasting, but NO bottled ranch style dressings! Hidden Valley Ranch from a packet (the original that calls for buttermilk) is my family's favorite. I'm more of a vinegar and oil gal myself. Literally. We never dress a salad before serving because everyone likes something different. I like to lightly salt my salad and toss it, then let it sit for about 5 minutes or so to draw out the juices. Then I drizzle with a little olive oil and pour on the vinegar (lots). And if I have a bit of dried cherries or cranberries, I like to chop them and add them to the salad. Gives me a sweet and sour kind of thing.

I soak about a 1/4 cup fresh or, this time of year, frozen raspberries in 1/4 cup warm AC vinegar for an hour-ish. (microwave warm). I add a pinch of black pepper and fresh thyme when I have it or dried summer savory in the winter. Some lemon zest I keep whole halves in the freezer. (or frozen Meyer lemon). Muddle the berries, a fork works, and press through a mesh strainer into a jar, then add 1/4 cup oil of choice. Shake. Sometimes a tsp of mustard, sometimes and/or non-fat greek yogurt. Never sugars with fruit dressings. Same with dried cranberries but they need a longer warm soak. (I don't mesh strain dried soaked cranberries...no seeds. Nice whole in the salad) I like the natural sugars from fruit. Otherwise too sweet but we are that 1% that do not care for sweet-sweet. *I also don't buy into the 'golden rule' that salad dressings need so much oil. We like 50/50 vinegar/oil. And not that much of it. I'll use my fat calories in yummy blue cheese.