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I've heard that by coating bread with a solution of water and sugar can preserve it from mold. Is this true? If not, then my Science Fair Project will be a bust.

JoyPatch
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  • Wouldn't measuring this / comparing coated (different water-sugar ratios!) and uncoated bread be the subject of the exercise? – Stephie Jan 09 '16 at 21:45
  • Well, I suppose so. My question for the project is basically this: Which sugar preserves bread the longest? Originally, I was going to bake different sugars into the same bread, but I later realized that I didn't have enough time to do that. I had heard that a simpler way to complete that experiment was to coat each bread in a solution of water and sugar. I just wanted to make sure that it would work before I did it, waited the set time limit, and then found out that the solution had not affected the experiment. – JoyPatch Jan 09 '16 at 21:57
  • Even if every solution ends up _not_ preserving the bread, that is a reportable result! @Stephie background research is also part of the process, so it isn't totally inappropriate. – Erica Jan 09 '16 at 22:00
  • @Erica, that's why I *asked* - unfortunately, we occasionally get some "geniuses" that want us to do their work. I appreciate and support background research very much! – Stephie Jan 09 '16 at 22:04
  • There's no need to get in an argument. I appreciate both of your help. – JoyPatch Jan 09 '16 at 22:06
  • Joy, that is no argument (welcome to the site, btw.!), just friendly clarification. @Erica is also a mod on another site, and sometimes a question is discussed a bit. Your comment / further explanation is quite helpful, btw., perhaps you could [edit](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/posts/65226/edit) your question to include that information? – Stephie Jan 09 '16 at 22:13

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I'm fairly certain the prolonging effect of glazes on baked goods is simply due to the glaze forming a barrier between the pastry and the atmosphere, in effect "sealing" it and preventing the goods from going stale. Thus, the appropriate characteristics would be a glaze that coats the product evenly and thickly enough to prevent moisture loss and oxygenation.

DonPineapple
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