Oven Dry Bread
Learning how to oven-dry bread is a useful task that can help you prepare the key ingredient for many recipes. Stuffing tastes great made from dried bread cubes fresh out of the oven and are a great alternative to the prepackaged kind from a grocery store. Bread crumbs made from mashing up bread you dried yourself will make tasty coatings for fried chicken or fish, or can be used in meat loaf or salmon cakes. Bread pudding will have rich flavor and texture with fresh oven dried bread as the key ingredient. Oven-drying bread will also save money by using an ingredient you already have in your home, and will also cut back on waste by using bread that might be getting stale. This simple task is easy to learn with a few simple steps.
Contents
[hide]Steps
- Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (121.1 degrees Celsius).
- Slice a loaf of bread or use pre-sliced bread.
- Cut the slices of bread into small cubes to be oven-dried.
- Spread the cubed bread evenly on a metal baking sheet.
- Turn your preheated oven back to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93.3 degrees Celsius).
- Put the baking sheet with the bread cubes in the oven for about 10 minutes.
- Stir the bread cubes after 10 minutes to see if they are thoroughly dried.
- Bread is completely dried when it is crunchy and slightly golden brown. If your bread cubes are not dried after 10 minutes, return them to the oven for up to 30 minutes. Be sure to keep a close eye on them so they don't burn.
- Remove your dried bread from the oven when it is thoroughly dry.
- Set your oven-dried bread aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- It is now ready to be used in your favorite recipe. For dishes that require dried bread to be crumbled, put them in a food processor or blender. You can also use a grater, or put the dried cubes in folded wax paper and mash them with a rolling pin.
Tips
- Bread that is a day old or a bit stale dries better in the oven than fresh bread.
- To store dried bread cubes until you are ready to use them, save the wrapper of the loaf of bread and put them in it when dried. Be sure to close the wrapper tightly to keep the dried bread cubes crunchy and fresh.
- When oven-drying bread, if you live in a very humid climate, you can turn off the oven and leave the cubes in it overnight. This will ensure that it dries thoroughly. This extra step also works well if the bread you are drying is very fresh or moist.
- Because all ovens heat differently, always check your drying bread throughout the process. It will burn quickly if the oven is too hot or if left in the oven for too long.
- Once you have learned how to oven-dry bread, try using a variety of different kinds. Whole wheat, sun-dried tomato, rye and Italian are all good choices that add flavor to recipes when dried and used as cubes for stuffing or crumbs for coatings.
Warnings
- If you choose to use a higher setting in an attempt to oven-dry bread quicker , be sure to check it constantly. However, keep in mind that it will burn quickly at high temperatures.
Things You'll Need
- Bread
- Baking sheet
- Spoon
- Food processor, blender or grater (optional)
