Ideally, the baked coarse rye bread is cooled in special cold storage rooms at a storage temperature of 4 - 8° C and with gentle air circulation. The cold storage rooms must be separated from the production rooms and kept very clean. The coarse grain bread should cool down quickly on clean and easy-to-clean grids to reach the so-called „slicing maturity“. Allow the surface of the coarse grain bread to dry slightly. Cooling times of 15 - 24 hours are usual. Cooling in deep-freeze rooms or in front of running fans is not recommended.
With modern bread slicing machines, the slicing of coarse grain bread can take place from a core temperature of 40° C. However, this assumes that all other production parameters were ideal.
(GHD Georg Hartmann Maschinenbau GmbH)
The bread slicing machines must be consistently cleaned and maintained. Particular attention must be paid to the cutting blades and their oiling. Special attention must be paid to personal hygiene when slicing and packing bread. Wearing clean work clothing, work shoes, hairnets and disposable gloves is recommended.
The use of preservatives in packaged bread is mostly rejected by consumers. This is why sliced and packaged bread is usually pasteurized. Depending on the extent of the process- related measures to prevent mould during production, packaging, temperature profile and hygiene standards during slicing and packaging, shelf lives of 14 days to 6 months can be achieved (see chapter on Bread diseases as well as measures to preserve baked goods).