Viewing 24 posts - 1 through 24 (of 24 total)
  • Random Friday Question – Why does bread defrost so quickly?
  • IHN
    Full Member

    About a couple of hours ago I took half a loaf of bread out of the freezer. It’s completely defrosted already, even though it’s a fair old size.

    I know it’s not very dense, but I’d have thought that all those air bubbles would have insulated the core of it really well, keeping it frozen for quite a while.

    And, yes, i am a bit bored.

    logical
    Free Member

    Its due to small elves that live inside the bread not liking being cold. So they light small fires and turn on heaters. Then once the bread is up to temperature they go back to sleep.

    They also make the bread taste nice. Especially with Peanut butter and Banana.

    samuri
    Free Member

    Here’s my non-expert thinking. The fact that it’s not essentially a solid bock of ice but a frozen aero would surely help the defrosting process.

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    thegreatape
    Free Member

    Well obviously it’s because the specific heat capacity of bread is only 8.5 (9.5 for Mighty White).

    wallop
    Full Member

    And it’s quite warm at the moment…

    binners
    Full Member

    Is this your slack part of the day between Jeremy Kyle and Homes Under the Hammer? Most people just opt for porn at this point, rather than bread based musing

    Anyway… to test the bubbles theory, why not freeze an Aero, then see how fast that defrosts in comparison to the bread?

    Tallpaul
    Full Member

    As a guess, it’s pretty low density and the constituents parts (flour, fat) probably aren’t actually frozen. It’s the relatively small amount of moisture present that freezes. Due to the low density this can defrost quite quickly.

    IHN
    Full Member

    And it’s quite warm at the moment…

    Not in here it’s not, I’m wearing jumper.

    The fact that it’s not essentially a solid bock of ice but a frozen aero would surely help the defrosting process.

    But bubbles insulate, no? So the inside should keep frozen for ages.

    Most people just opt for porn at this point, rather than bread based musing

    Who says I’ve not opted for bread-based porn?

    jfletch
    Free Member

    But bubbles insulate, no? So the inside should keep frozen for ages.

    Air is an insulator only if it stays put. The holes in the bread probably let air flow through it, thus allowing hot air to replace the cold air, actually increasing the rate of defrosting.

    But its probably only small, the low moisture thing is probably the main driver.

    allthepies
    Free Member

    It’s because “they” add radioactive compounds to mass-market bread to keep us under control.

    </reaches for bong>

    camo16
    Free Member

    Who says I’ve not opted for bread-based porn?

    Monsieur Gilles et la slaguette… That’s a good’un.

    Cheesecake has no bubbles and takes a couple of weeks to defrost. So the bubble is the thaw catalyst, obviously.*

    * vaguely remembers science at school. Was not good at it *

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    And it’s quite warm at the moment…
    Not in here it’s not, I’m wearing jumper.

    close the freezer door ?

    onehundredthidiot
    Full Member

    Probably low moisture content and high surface area due to the bubbles, assuming sliced as opposed to non-sliced, which given this hypothesis would take longer to defrost.

    IHN
    Full Member

    But its probably only small, the low moisture thing is probably the main driver.

    This reminds me of when I asked my mum if you could freeze milk.

    “I don’t think so” she said

    “Why not?” said I, being the curious little tyke that I was.

    “Because it has too low a liquid content” was her answer.

    Even at the tender age I was, I began to suspect that my mum’s grasp on science might be slim…

    IHN
    Full Member

    assuming sliced as opposed to non-sliced

    What do you think I am, working class? It’s a whole unsliced granary loaf, thank you very much.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    I’d guess all the air bubbles would mean there’s a high surface area in relation to volume. Bit like a radiator.

    (IANAphysicist)

    Cougar
    Full Member

    It’s a whole unsliced granary loaf, thank you very much.

    How very STW, even our sodding bread has to be niche.

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    How very STW, even our sodding bread has to be niche.

    Says the Audi driver….

    😉

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    low mass

    binners
    Full Member

    I thought it was compulsory on here that you had to make your own

    samuri
    Free Member

    Make my own Audi? I wouldn’t even know how to make the badge on the front.

    RamseyNeil
    Free Member

    Because it’s not very dense .

    IHN
    Full Member

    I thought it was compulsory on here that you had to make your own

    What, and not support the delightful artisan baker* in the village? How awful!

    * the bread may in fact have come from Morrisons in Chapel

    maccruiskeen
    Full Member

    The breads full of holes that would make it a good insulator, but because theres not much material there there isn’t much heat/cold for the insulation to insulate. If you wrapped the bread around something that was dense – like ice-cream then put the ice-cream in the oven for a bit then the bread would insulate the ice-cream very effectively and help keep it cold, even if the bread itself got warm. But without the ice cream you’d just make toast instead of baked alaska.

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