View Full Version : Sliced bread hanging off the back of my pack?
somers515
11-24-2016, 12:18
Usually when I take my boys backpacking I'll bring tortillas, throw in some peanut butter and jelly (or honey) and it makes a good lunch snack they like. However, they really prefer sliced bread. I've always used tortillas when backpacking as they are easier to pack of course but would it be workable to just hang the bag of sliced bread off the back of my pack? Obviously I'll have to careful to avoid smushing the bread. How long would do you think it would last before it got moldy? Picture us hiking for a 5 days/4 nights in either Vermont or New Hampshire in August. Any other downsides I'm not considering?
Sorry if this is a dumb question - thank you in advance for any thoughts. Oh and happy Thanksgiving all!
MuddyWaters
11-24-2016, 12:25
What if bag rips? And it probably will, or snag on something .
I have seen someone with a loaf of bread in a loaf shaped tupperware container.
If your pack is loose enough, you can just pack it on top wrapped in carboard or something.
http://thumbs3.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mP4Y9U2sc0ZQ-VI_paKzcZA.jpg
http://www.heftyfoodcontainers.com/content/image/4163/800/ZH0064d.jpg
Tipi Walter
11-24-2016, 12:34
I do this all the time, in fact I take at least 2 full loaves of Ezekiel bread out with me on my trips, and maybe a pack of rice cakes---all bulky items. (Don't take your standard white bread---it's junk food).
All you have to do to make this work is to get a light fairly large stuff sack like the Sea to Summit silnylon 20 liter bag and place all your bread and rice cakes inside and hang it from the outside of your pack.
If you bring a preservative-laden loaf of white bread who knows, it could last another 2 years without molding. But with regular "healthy" bread I have found a loaf to last at least 10 days even in the summer. Winter changes everything. My beloved bread on a trip---
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-2015-Trips-161/Trip-163-in-March/i-DMzpkRZ/0/XL/TRIP%20163%20083-XL.jpg
Towards the end of my thru hike attempt I started tying a loaf of bread to the back of my pack. It works OK. You'll probably be able to eat at least half of it before it becomes smooshed. I used it to make grilled cheese and pizza pockets (just a grilled cheese with pizza topings in it).
Unless you are taking fresh bread from a bakery I'd be surprised if it got moldy. A friend of mine was doing a science project for her homeschool children and they decided to leave a slice of bread out on the counter to see how long it would take to mold. After 2 months it never did, it just got hard. Then they tried fresh bread from a bakery (with no preservatives) and it molded within a couple of days.
NinjaFace
11-24-2016, 13:35
burritos rolls... when they get hard,, just run some water on it
MuddyWaters
11-24-2016, 13:40
Towards the end of my thru hike attempt I started tying a loaf of bread to the back of my pack. It works OK. You'll probably be able to eat at least half of it before it becomes smooshed. I used it to make grilled cheese and pizza pockets (just a grilled cheese with pizza topings in it).
Unless you are taking fresh bread from a bakery I'd be surprised if it got moldy. A friend of mine was doing a science project for her homeschool children and they decided to leave a slice of bread out on the counter to see how long it would take to mold. After 2 months it never did, it just got hard. Then they tried fresh bread from a bakery (with no preservatives) and it molded within a couple of days.
Homemade tortillas mold in less than a week
Store bought can last 4 months
Storebought bread molds in a couple weeks at my house.
Rain Man
11-24-2016, 13:43
Hmmmm. Does mold require oxygen? I don't know. But what about using oxygen-absorbing packets?
Sandy of PA
11-24-2016, 15:30
I met a guy in VA with a string of bagels tied to the back of his pack. A week later caught up with him again with a bagette sticking out of each corner of his pack. Trail name "Bakery" ! Does it have to be sliced bread? Lots of portable bread options.
NY HIKER 50
11-24-2016, 18:13
Let's face it, regular bread does not last long. This is especially with the conditions on the trail. You should consider crackers since they hold up better instead of fresh bread.
Introduce your kids to bagels, English muffins or Dr Kracker Crispbreads.
http://drkracker.com/our-products/crispbreads/
Wayne
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Sarcasm the elf
11-24-2016, 23:25
Homemade tortillas mold in less than a week
Store bought can last 4 months
Storebought bread molds in a couple weeks at my house.
Up North we have a large supermarket chain called Stop and Shop which has a private label natural/organic food line. They make great whole wheat tortillas that are free of hydrogenated oils and preservatives. These have become the main type of bread I carry for section hikes. Similar to what you wrote, I know they're real because they mold quickly in warm weather.
...
I have seen someone with a loaf of bread in a loaf shaped tupperware container.
...
You've seen me? <G>
Sliced whole grain bread (and some cheese and sausages) is the main food I carry. All goes into one or two big Tupperware boxes.
I've tried to carry this bread in a sack inside the bag, but it got smashed soon and I had to eat it with a spoon. Tried self baked whole grain bread too, but while this tastes more then perfect the handling of a full loaf doesnt fit to my packing and hiking style.
So I carry the bread sliced which saves me the hassle of cutting slices on the go, saves me to care about lots of breadcrumbs (read: Mice and ants fodder) and also allows me to carry a smaller knife.
We can buy this whole grain sliced bread in tight-sealed plastic bags, and this will last for several weeks if unopened, and still will be good for a week once the seal is broken.
I would never consider to carry a bag full of bread dangling from outside of the pack. First I hate it to have something dangling off my pack, and then the danger to lose it seems to be serious. I don't want to lose the whole amount of my main food in one moment.
ScareBear
11-25-2016, 04:00
I don't really eat bread when I'm not on the trail or on it, NTTAWWT!
I would think denser breads, like pumpernickel, would last longer. But, I do remember it taking a very long time for a sourdough loaf to go bad on the counter top. Like a month to go bad. I suppose if you've chosen that way to go for meals, and you were using soft bread or rolls that needed protection, I'd go with a Tupperware bread box. Plus, its a great conversation piece....I mean....how many times has somebody said "Was it bigger than a bread box?" You could use some glue and figure out a way to cement a L-bracket to the box so you could rig a tie loop to affix it to the outside of your pack with a 'biner...
That's gonna take up a lot of space in your bear bag, though...just sayin...
Slo-go'en
11-25-2016, 11:53
What if bag rips? And it probably will, or snag on something .
I have seen someone with a loaf of bread in a loaf shaped tupperware container.
If your pack is loose enough, you can just pack it on top wrapped in carboard or something.
I used the plastic bread container as Muddy Waters suggests when I switched to eating PB+J for my main meal. The only down side is it takes up a fair amount of space in the pack and adds some weight. But as you start to consume the bread, you can put other things inside the container as space becomes available.
I don't like hanging things out side my pack and it would be real easy to snag the thin bread bag on a branch or something and tare a hole in it, spilling the contents.
Tipi Walter
11-25-2016, 12:00
I don't like hanging things out side my pack and it would be real easy to snag the thin bread bag on a branch or something and tare a hole in it, spilling the contents.
Like I said, you put the bulky items in a light stuff sack and let it hang off the pack. Much more durable than a bread bag.
Spirit Walker
11-25-2016, 13:02
We always use raisin English Muffins. They are dense enough they don't crumble or get smashed easily. Bagels can be good if they don't go stale, but they are bigger and heavier.
Mini bagels.
Tipi might enjoy this. Ezekiel Bread Mini bagels. Great for hiking with a hummus or tahini smear with herbed goat cheese, avocado, and dried tomatoes in EVOO that are repackaged into a Ziplok. Ripe mango slices with a dash of powdered cloves, teaspoon of dried currants, and powdered coconut milk for desert.
Dogwood, you're watering my mouth!
You can always make bread yourself, just need to carry flour and salt, and add water on the spot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig6lHzxpby8
Tipi Walter
11-25-2016, 15:12
Mini bagels.
Tipi might enjoy this. Ezekiel Bread Mini bagels. Great for hiking with a hummus or tahini smear with herbed goat cheese, avocado, and dried tomatoes in EVOO that are repackaged into a Ziplok. Ripe mango slices with a dash of powdered cloves, teaspoon of dried currants, and powdered coconut milk for desert.
Thanks for the ideas. Ezekiel also makes english muffins which are pretty dang good, especially toasted in a fry pan with a little olive or coconut oil. The reason I take so much bread on my trips is so I can have a decent lunch which currently consists of two slices of bread with hummus, vegan cream cheese, eggless mayo and chao vegan cheese. Plus I even enjoy my raw tempeh sandwiches with eggless mayo---see below.
Winter also allows copious amounts of hummus and vegan cream cheese to be carted out for such meals.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-2016-Trips-171/19-Days-in-a-Rattlesnake/i-N3wxb5b/0/XL/Trip%20175%20160-XL.jpg
Dogwood, you're watering my mouth!
You can always make bread yourself, just need to carry flour and salt, and add water on the spot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig6lHzxpby8
Good idea for those who build campfires (though now currently banned in most of the Southeast). I guess the Bedouin don't mind eating fire ash. Plus around here if you placed your bread in one of our Southeastern campfires you'd end up with bits of burnt aluminum, old wet t-shirts, half-melted used condoms, toilet paper and various melted plastics. It would spice up such a meal.
True, it works best in desert environment, and the Bedouins are very careful in their selection of wood. Acacia is their preferred wood, but Tamarisk is also good.
In our world it would be Oak and Ash (the tree), I think.
For making bread, they don't use the herth fire in the tent (which would be full of all you said, except condoms), but a special fire outside just for the purpose of baking bread.
The thin/soft bread in the Video, we are carrying loads of on our trips, if we walk with Bedus. Piles of it fit snug into the pack, and when after days it becomes hard you can throw it into the embers for a minute to make it soft and tasty again.
Still I would not let dangle a bag full of it from my pack, but thats just me. My friend the Englishman is famous for all his stuff dangling off his pack. We call this "Gypsy Style".
I ever see that big green monster in Slick Rock I'm stopping by for lunch. :D
Might even get me to talk UL philosophy too. :D
Traillium
11-27-2016, 12:09
We carried naans that kept up to six days. Great warmed over stove, and consumed with mayo & salami, or with lots of peanut butter.
Naan. Of course. Thanks!
Wayne
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H I T C H
11-28-2016, 20:41
These flat skiny sandwich rounds can take a lot more abuse than regular breads.
37203
Hitch
My parents, both immigrants, used to refer derisively to Wonder Bread as "cotton bread." Highlight of the week was a run to the Kosher deli for a loaf of rye bread fresh out of the oven, and my sister and I would fight for the heel slices.
We used to call wonder bread, glue bread, because it glued itself to the roof of our mouths. Hated that stuff.
I wonder if I can find Ezekial bread up here? I'm ok with Artisan crackers or whole wheat sandwich wraps in most cases.
Too bad that a loaf of bread, or bread in general, is one of the least nutritious foods that you could every bring on a hike. Your body thinks it is sugar, which is energy but has no nutritive value. Empty calories. Adding jelly doesn't help much...
Processed bread like wonder bread is crap. Whole grain breads are pretty good. Good fiber, low glycemic carbs, some protein. Good stuuf with a chunk of cheese and fruit and a bottle of wine.
Note to self: Keep safe distance from hikers with food hanging from their packs while in bear country.
Greenmountainguy
11-30-2016, 20:34
I used to carry the very dense rye and pumpernickel breads that are pre sliced a little more than 1/4 inch thick. They did crumble on impact with anything, including the inside of the pack.
Now I am trying bagels and crackers. How about dense rolls?
SouthMark
11-30-2016, 20:44
Note to self: Keep safe distance from hikers with food hanging from their packs while in bear country.
Note to self: Don't worry about food hanging from packs in bear country... Bears can smell the food in packs just as well. :)
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Greenmountainguy
11-30-2016, 22:28
Naan will work, as will a variety of flat breads including pita. I made the first pita I ever saw in my parents kitchen at the age of 18 or so, in an attempt to find a bread that would pack. The pita inflates as it bakes in a very hot oven and the come out looking like balloons. I was so fascinated it ate the whole batch and it never saw the trail.
BTW ever earlier than this, about the age of 16 or so, I hit on the idea of bonding granola (which was extremely new at the time and largely limited to make it yourself hippies like me); I whipped egg whites until frothy, mixed in the granola and molded it in a hamburger press, baked until firmed up. I may have invented the granola bar, or excuse me, the granola hockey puck.
sheepdog
11-30-2016, 22:59
Most any loaf of store bread ( not bakery bread) will last more than a week.
rocketsocks
12-01-2016, 01:20
Naan will work, as will a variety of flat breads including pita. I made the first pita I ever saw in my parents kitchen at the age of 18 or so, in an attempt to find a bread that would pack. The pita inflates as it bakes in a very hot oven and the come out looking like balloons. I was so fascinated it ate the whole batch and it never saw the trail.
BTW ever earlier than this, about the age of 16 or so, I hit on the idea of bonding granola (which was extremely new at the time and largely limited to make it yourself hippies like me); I whipped egg whites until frothy, mixed in the granola and molded it in a hamburger press, baked until firmed up. I may have invented the granola bar, or excuse me, the granola hockey puck.made some Naan last week, so easy so good...it didn't stick around long with my crew.
Greenmountainguy
12-05-2016, 14:57
I have mostly used the bread that I know to be successful, naan or other flatbreads (although tortillas shred almost as you pack them), but I bet a hearty artesian bread would work if packed in a tight bag. I bet it would survive even when pre-sliced. Note that on the trail, good breads are increasingly available at places like Price Chopper and even Aldis. I will try something of the sort now that I am thinking of it.
Alligator
12-07-2016, 17:45
Bagels are a mainstay for me. You can get whatever kind you want fresh in Jersey. I don't typically have them longer than 3 days. Hard rolls can take a beating too. Sourdough can hold up too. You could go with the Lender's Bagels if you wanted a smaller bagel but I feel like I would be insulting your gastronomic tastes considering your location. Anything crusty baguettes, rolls, French bread, hit the bakery section. I love having extra bakery bread for dinner. Stick it in the kids' packs, it's light, you're going to be carrying extra gear your self Sherman Dad. Bring some pork roll and fry it up!
Greenmountainguy
01-03-2017, 14:26
I have some but not extensive experience with bagels. I advised a thru hiker last February (he started from Georgia in December...no stove or cookset!) to try bagels that were on sale. He did. The are calorically dense and nearly indestructible. Buy the chain brands rather than locally baked ones. The ones frozen or in the sliced bread area will last more than a week if kept sealed. It would be great food for a thru hiker, esp. if he/she did not cook frequently. Chip Rawlins says he heats one in a pan each morning and adds peanut butter an jam. Spreadable cheeses would work for those wanting less sweets.
Tipi Walter
01-03-2017, 15:56
I have a pertinent update relevant to this thread with the necessary pics. On my last December trip I decided to pack in 3 types of grain "breads"---two loaves of Ezekiel and one rice cake package.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-2016-Trips-171/17-Days-in-the-Bald-River/i-V3L3Kzb/0/XL/P1000022-XL.jpg
Here's my bread bag on Day 1 of the trip---this bag hangs off a carabiner off the back of my pack.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-2016-Trips-171/17-Days-in-the-Bald-River/i-tqZ4s48/0/XL/P1000023-XL.jpg
Here are the necessary contents of the bread sac---BREAD!
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-2016-Trips-171/17-Days-in-the-Bald-River/i-F5mQKBP/0/XL/P1000064-XL.jpg
Here is Day's 2 sandwich with eggless mayo and vegan cheese with sliced baked tofu---lunch.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-2016-Trips-171/17-Days-in-the-Bald-River/i-RHvhQpK/0/XL/P1000258-XL.jpg
By Day 14 of the trip my sandwiches started to look like this. Oops. Solution? Place all bread pieces in your cook pot, add mayo and tempeh/tofu and sliced cheese and mix thoroughly---eat sandwich with a spoon.
You might give Dr. Kracker Crispbread a try for weeks 2 & 3.
Wayne
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AllDownhillFromHere
01-03-2017, 16:55
I've done supermarket whole wheat breads with good results. The trick is to open the bag, then press down so that all the air comes out. You'll compress a loaf into a few inches, then you can peel the slices apart later (really, it works).
Odd Man Out
01-03-2017, 18:39
Have you ever tried slimwich buns? We eat them at home and should pack well for backpacking. I don't like things hanging off my pack.
saltysack
01-04-2017, 14:34
Sounds like flat bread......[emoji3]
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lesliedgray
01-23-2017, 15:25
Dogwood, you're watering my mouth!
You can always make bread yourself, just need to carry flour and salt, and add water on the spot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig6lHzxpby8
Now THAT is cool!
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StubbleJumper
01-23-2017, 20:23
I like to carry bagels or tortillas in the United States and a baguette in Europe. All of those are reasonably resistant to getting squished in my pack. From a calories-to-weight perspective, bread isn't particularly good. However, I find that a little bread helps me eat peanut butter, dry sausage and cheese which are all pretty good sources of calories. Maybe one day I'll start to like eating tablespoons of peanut butter with no bread, but for now, I need a bagel as a delivery agent.
ScareBear
01-23-2017, 20:45
I like to carry bagels or tortillas in the United States and a baguette in Europe. All of those are reasonably resistant to getting squished in my pack. From a calories-to-weight perspective, bread isn't particularly good. However, I find that a little bread helps me eat peanut butter, dry sausage and cheese which are all pretty good sources of calories. Maybe one day I'll start to like eating tablespoons of peanut butter with no bread, but for now, I need a bagel as a delivery agent.
I just dip my trail bar in the peanut butter...YMMV...