Bread's Gone Stale? We've Got The Cure (2024)

FAQs

Bread's Gone Stale? We've Got The Cure? ›

If you want to make stale bread soft again, wrap the bread in foil. If the crust of the bread is very hard, sprinkle a little water on the outside before you close the foil. Place the bread in a 300°F oven for 5-15 minutes or until the bread feels soft. If you added water, heat the bread until it no longer feels soggy.

If you want to make stale bread soft again, wrap the bread in foil. If the crust of the bread is very hard, sprinkle a little water on the outside before you close the foil. Place the bread in a 300°F oven for 5-15 minutes or until the bread feels soft. If you added water, heat the bread until it no longer feels soggy.

Stale Bread Method: Dampen, Wrap in Aluminum Foil, Reheat at 300°F. This is the approach The Spruce Eats recommends for bringing back stale bread — dampen under the faucet, wrap the whole loaf in foil, and reheat for 15 minutes in a 300°F oven.

The trick is to heat the bread up so that water can be reabsorbed into the starch granules once again so it can revert to its springy, fresh-bread state. Now, if you have sliced bread you want to do this too. You can simply pop it into the toaster for a few seconds.

Wrap your portion of bread in your damp paper towel snuggly. Place your covered loaf or slice into your microwave. Microwave for 10 seconds. Remove your bread from the microwave.

Stale Bread and Stale Cereal Is Safe to Eat.

Bottom line: that date on your bread is not a “throw into the trash can date”, it's simply a general guide to peak quality. The bread may even be fresh for another week or more. If there's no mold, it's fine to eat.

All you need to do is place your bread inside a damp paper towel, and microwave it on a plate for 10 seconds. The water will revive the starch molecules in the bread's flour, the reaction between the two will occur again, and you'll have your soft bread back.

Heat it.

Put the bread in a cold oven, then turn the heat to 300° F. Let the loaf slowly heat up for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the density and dryness of the bread. Start checking the bread after 10 minutes.

How does this all work? The water turns to steam, which rehydrates the bread's crumb, or interior, while the heat of the oven firms up the crust. As a bonus, your kitchen smells great. Now grab that jam—we've got a loaf of bread to eat.

Freezing bread is one of the best ways to keep bread fresh. It allows you to keep bread for a longer time while preserving its quality and texture. In fact, you may find that frozen bread that's been thawed tastes similar to fresh bread. You may want to freeze bread if you know you won't eat it all before it goes bad.

What stops bread from going stale? ›

Storing bread is a matter of managing temperature and humidity. It's best to keep bread at room temperature in a dark and airtight box. Traditional bread boxes were created for this specific purpose. If you don't have a bread box, you can store your loaf in a microwave, plastic food storage container or pantry.

Giving your bread a quick bake in a 350ºF oven will starve it of its moisture—which is exactly what you're looking for. Cut your loaf into evenly sized cubes or slices (depending on what you're making), and toast them, dry, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Proceed with your recipe.

Feed the remaining starter with 100g of flour and 100g of water. Let it sit out at room temp for around 12 hours. Take 50g of starter from the jar and feed it another 100g of flour and 100g of water. Leave the starter for around 12 hours.