I know banana bread and bran muffins freeze well. I would cool first and then freeze on cookie sheet. When frozen put them in a freezer Hefty/Zip Loc bag. Make sure to remove as much air as possible ( I use a straw for this).

Nearly everything I make on a regular basis ends up portioned in the freezer (bread, muffins, cake, quick breads, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, cornbread, scones, burger/hot dog buns...) I make casseroles and entrees in muffin tins and they get wrapped in foil and stored in the freezer.

I like to use pop-up foil sheets for one/two items per foil sheet (I buy the foil sheets at Sam's Club in 2 sizes), so I can toss many things (like a couple dinner rolls or cornbread) into the toaster oven and reheat them while baking something else.

We also have a "warming center" (burner) on our electric stove and I can reheat some things there (muffins, scones, wrapped in foil) covered with a glass bowl large enough to cover the item/s to keep the heat in while I make breakfast. I never use a microwave oven for reheating, but that certainly is another option.

A tight wrap (plastic wrap, foil, even old-fashioned freezer paper using a butcher's wrap technique) is the best method in order to prevent ice crystals from forming. The tight wrap helps prevent the moisture inside the item from migrating through the surface. Putting things loosely in a plastic freezer bag will guarantee the items dehydrate and you'll get ice crystals forming in the bag due to the exposure to oxygen in the bag. I agree with lizbeth-gardener, removing as much air from the food is best for freezer storage.

If I need to keep slices separated (sliced quick bread for instance), I'll put a piece of freezer paper between the slices. I keep a pile of the pre-cut freezer paper in sizes I often use.

I like to place foil-wrapped items inside a large plastic storage container or basket so they don't get "lost" or crushed, or a zip-lock FREEZER bag will also works, but they tend to get crushed and pushed around in my freezer unless I put them on the storage space on the door. (I only have a side-by-side refrigerator-freezer.)

I make a double batch of waffles or large batch of pancakes and I freeze them using this same method. I reheat them in the toaster, toaster oven, or even on the griddle. I even freeze tortillas (homemade or commercial) in portions we normally use.

-Grainlady

Grainlady
Lots of great tips. I always learn something new when I read your replies. Where do you buy your butcher wrap paper and do you use it alone or with plastic wrap first/inside? And how do you wrap hot dog/hamburger buns for freezing?

Liz

All baked goods freeze well. At least those on your list. Banana bread could be cut in half before freezing if a whole one will not be eaten in one sitting. (re-freezing not so good)
All benefit from a toasting or re-heating before serving. Banana bread sliced and under a broiler, pastry slow low heat, 275 for 15 min.
I'm having a busy visitor august as well.
Every visit is the same... "we are easy, no special needs", bla bla, then the requests happen day one. I have a rule. All request need to be placed BEFORE a visit. I hate shopping anyway but do it efficiently before visits.
Some like savory, some like sweet. I'll make a granola this week and have a fruit salad and plain yogurt available. Breakfast is self serve as all wake at different times...Dad likes an egg.
Up early with me. Cheese platter with meats, olives, smoked salmon, veggies/dip, fresh bread and crackers for lunch self serve. Or pre dinner snack.
Always have pistachios on the table in a big covered bowl, always full and trade for mixed nuts and dried fruit when empty. (my family grazes all day).
I usually plan for foul weather first day. Roast a couple chickens with roasted veg. Good weather we grill outside. Three days worth are all prepped ahead...pasta salad, potato salads, salsa, salad dressings. (it is my vacation also but enjoyable if a few days are covered)
Making a stock right now to freeze and will freeze the chicken pickin' for a nice big soup if another bad weather day happens...
Freeze and do aheads take the pressure off. Freeze away!

Sharon, I freeze scones and biscuits unbaked and then bake them the day they are needed, they turn out well enough that Makayla won a blue ribbon for her peanut butter scones, prepared in advance, frozen and then baked and glazed the day of judging.

Banana bread and bran muffins freeze nicely, and I've frozen Ann T's Danish many times. I wrap the Danish in two layers of foil and thaw at room temperature, I do the same with banana bread. Muffins are a little harder to wrap in foil, I often wrap those individually in plastic wrap, then package them in a Lock N Lock box until needed.

The unbaked scones and biscuits I freeze on baking trays, then package in ziplock bags, using a straw to suck out all the air I can, like liz does.

Have fun!

Annie

lizbeth-gardener -

I get freezer paper in the same isle as foil and plastic wrap (usually on the lowest shelf). I mostly cut it into small sheets to keep food separated during freezing. If you use it for wrapping food, you have to seal it with freezer or masking tape, which is a pain. I used to use parchment paper for the task of separating food in the freezer, but it doesn't do as good a job as the thicker (coated) freezer paper.

Loaves of bread (whole or portions) I wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil (I can reuse the foil many times).

Hot dog and hamburger buns are wrapped in pop-up foil sheets. I wrap 2 hot dog buns together in a sheet because that's how we generally use them, and burger/sandwich buns one per sheet. They are stored in a plastic storage container.

Something else I've done is put portions in fold-top sandwich bags (they are less expensive than zip-lock bags and can be washed and reused) and then put the items in plastic storage containers.

-Grainlady

You could make up the bran muffin batter the day before your guests arrive and just keep the batter in the fridge to bake muffins fresh when needed. I'm sure a google search would give you recipes for this kind of bran muffin.

Teresa

Thanks for all the info ladies!

Annie , it never occurred to be to freeze the scones unbaked. I'll have my company thinking I was up at the crack of dawn baking for them.......which is precisely what I want to avoid!

This bran muffin batter will sit in the fridge for up to 2 months so it's easy to have fresh baked muffins quickly and easily. It is without a doubt the best bran muffins I've ever eaten. I substitute half the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour.

2 cups (500 mL) water, boiling
2 cups (500 mL) natural bran
5 cups (1250 mL) All Purpose Flour
5 tsp (25 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) shortening (All-Vegetable or Golden)
3 cups (750 mL) granulated sugar
4 (4) eggs
4 cups (1 L) buttermilk
4 cups (1 L) oatmeal
2 cups (500 mL) raisins or chopped dates
Directions:
1. Pour boiling water over bran and raisins and let stand. In large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Stir well to blend.
2. Cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs and buttermilk. Add liquid ingredients to flour mixture. Mix well. Add oats, raisins and bran. Stir well to blend.
3. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 375úF (190úC) for 15 - 20 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.
Storage
4. Keep unused muffin batter in refrigerator until ready to use. Mixture can be kept up to 2 months. To bake, use batter directly from refrigerator and bake at 375úF (190úC) for 20 - 25 minutes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ever Ready Oat Bran Muffins

The refrigerator muffin mix is no longer considered safe to store for long periods of time due to the raw eggs in the mixture. If you make this recipe, go ahead and bake the entire recipe and store the muffins in the freezer.

-Grainlady

Two months does seem long. We have been making the Artisian-5min-a-day that keeps for two weeks...i give it 10 days but usually used up by then. (no eggs, just cautious)
Fresh bread from the bakery i just toss in the freezer and 'food saver' when i get around to it within 12 hours-ish. I don't have freezer room for storage for very long with breads. For short term they freeze really well. Focaccia freezes well and one of our basics. So good sliced for sandwiches, panini pressed, sliced in thin strips and toasted for soups.
getting a nice loft this summer with the heat and humidity...