A wire rack, common as it seems, is one of the most underrated baking tools. You’ve seen it many times, but nobody pays much attention to what it contributes to those delicious bread, cakes, or doughnuts we enjoy. That is just at least how it seems to ‘mere consumers’ of baked products, poor wire rack. However, in the eyes of a baker, a wire rack is an unsung hero. Without it, a baker must find ways how to cool bread without a wire rack. That’s how essential it is in baking that in the absence of it, one must find creative and improvised ways as its substitute.
How to Cool Bread Without a Wire Rack
So why is there a need to learn how to cool bread without a wire rack? How important is a wire rack? The concept behind this is simple. If you put your hot-from-the-oven bread on your countertop, the air will not reach the bottom part of it. If you use a pan from the oven and place it on your countertop or trivet instead of on a wire rack, the hot pan will continue to bake the bread or whatever it is you are baking. No air reaches the bottom part of the pan that helps to cool it off. This will cause over baking. This means that a wire rack is beneficial in cooling a baked well faster than when they are left on a countertop or trivet.
It is a wise move to find ways how to cool bread without a wire rack. A substitute for wire rack is needed since the bread will have to be transferred into a substitute wire rack for final cooling. This is crucial because it helps steam and condensation from accumulation that causes them to become soggy. You don’t want that to happen. Either you are a baking newbie improving your skills or an entrepreneur starting in bread and other baked product business.
Beginning with the first method on how to cool bread without a wire rack, follow these steps:
Improvising an Elevated Surface
- If you have a gas stove that has raised, removable grates on top of its burners, you may use it. Take it and place it on your counter. After removing your pan from the oven, set it on the grate. The bottom of the pan will cool faster.
* Should a large baked item is to be transferred like a loaf of bread (no pan used), make sure to clean the grate with soap and water before doing so. - If you have a foil, roll up pieces of it and place them on your counter in 2 inches apart. Make three pieces of rolled foil. Make it thick and cylindrical to allow the flow of air underneath. You may use more than three pieces of rolled foil depending on how you need to distribute the weight of the pan with the baked item.
- With the use of open- style cookie cutters, place each of them on the counter, leaving some space apart them to allow air to flow at the bottom. Set your pan or baking sheet on top of it. Make sure you use metal cookie cutters since you will be placing a hot pan over it. Any shape of cookie cutters will do.
* In this method, transferring smaller baked goods such as cookies or mini cookies will not be possible as cookie cutters may not be stable to place them in. - With the use of a cool burner of an electric stove, set the hot pan or baking sheet on it. It will allow the flow of air and cool it down faster. Large baked items may also be transferred on it as long as it is thoroughly cleaned.
- A baking rack is placed on the counter. Set a hot pan or baking sheet on it to cool faster or directly transfer baked goods on it. A rack from the oven, toaster oven or roasting pan will do.
* If the rack isn’t high enough to allow space for air below, use the rolled cylindrical foils to place underneath it. For cookies and other small baked goods, line the rack with parchment paper or wax paper first to prevent them from falling through the spaces between the racks.
Next, here is the second method on how to cool bread without a wire rack. Follow the steps below:
For Transferring Items in a Cool, Flat Surface
- Place baked products on a cool baking sheet for it to cool faster. This allows the bottoms of the bread to cool down immediately than leaving them on the sheet where they were baked on.
- Line the countertop with paper towels. Place the baked items from the pan and allow them to cool.
* The paper towels will also absorb oil, butter, and other greases from the bottom of the bread and cookies. - Use a cutting board. A cutting board is easy to find within the kitchen, but make sure it is thoroughly washed and cleaned. The same with the steps above, transfer the baked goods directly on it to let them cool down faster. If a marble or granite cutting board is available, the better as they are very cool surfaces. You may line the cutting boards with paper towels to absorb extra grease from the baked products.
Keep those Yummy Treats Coming!
Bread cooling is an important step in baking. When this is omitted, it can negatively affect the quality of the baked goodies. It is valuable knowledge to explore, acquire and apply other options and techniques on how to cool bread without a wire rack. Happy baking! Get more tips on baking bread.