Inspired by conversations on the Food52 Hotline, we're sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun. Today: Forgot to stale the bread? Not to worry—stay calm, follow these easy-peasy steps, and carry on.
So you think your days of emergency bread-staling are over, do you? The stuffing's behind you? There are bread puddings and breadcrumbs and croutons in your future yet. And amidst your adept holiday meal-planning, you might (just might) let staling the bread slip.
When that happens, don't scrap the bread pudding. (Never scrap the bread pudding.) Here is what to do.
If you remember with a day to go, slice your loaf.
The more of the bread's surface area you expose to air, the faster it will stale; slice it, and you're giving yourself a leg up on the whole process. (If you'll eventually be cubing your bread, be careful to cut it into slices with the same thickness you'd like your cubes to have.) Lay the slices on a cooling rack you'd normally use for cookies, let the air circulate, and watch your bread go gloriously brittle. Tomorrow it will be ready to turn into breadcrumbs or put into that pudding.
If you truly have no time, turn to your oven.
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. (Please save us some.)
"For our first dinner in the new house, my mom made a staple of Mexican home cooking, albóndigas (meatballs in a tomato sauce)," writes Isabel Torrealba in her My Family Recipe.
French toast goes the savory route in this extra-crispy version with a healthy kick of salt and freshly ground pepper. Maple syrup gets swapped for ketchup, or if you're feeling like something spicy, Sriracha.
This "kitchen-sink" dish works for almost anything you've got lying around the fridge (from soon-to-be-wilty greens to leftover sausage), yet looks impressive on a dinner table.
We'll admit it: Our favorite part of French onion soup is the melty-crispy cheese on top. But those hunks of crisp, stale bread give the soup its classic, comforting heartiness.
How do you stale bread in a hurry? Tell us in the comments!
To stale lots of bread slices, position oven racks close together, then place a baking sheet in between them and stand up the slices of bread between the rungs. Warm the oven to 300 degrees and keep a close eye on the slices until they dry and slightly toast. Then the bread is ready to be cut into cubes or used as is.
Refrigeration accelerates bread staling, speeding up the recrystallization of amylopectin and amylose. Unless you need stale bread for French toast, it's better to store your bread at room temperature. Or better yet, try freezing your bread.
Butter contains fats that retain gases during baking, ensuring the dough rises properly in the oven and softening the crust. If you forget to brush the dough before you bake, you can still apply it as soon as you take it out. The butter will minimize the amount of crisping a loaf will do as it cools.
To soften a stale loaf of bread, you need to heat it so that the starches will reabsorb the water. The thing to know is that this reabsorption starts to happen at about 131 F and continues up to around 185 F. The point is, you need a relatively low temperature to do it properly.
we're eliminating food waste and bringing this bread back to life first up. take your loaf of bread and put it under the tap until it's completely soaking with water.now pop it in a hot oven 200 degrees for about 5min. slightly longer for larger loafs and look at that.
Quick breads are prepared by the blending-, creaming-, or biscuit-method which determines the final texture and crumb of the finished product. The blending-method, also known as the muffin-method, combines the wet ingredients in one bowl and dry ingredients in a second bowl before mixing together.
Start by cutting the bread of your choice into half-inch cubes. Spread the cubed bread on top of two cooling racks set in two half-sheet pans. Heat your oven to the lowest setting (typically 150°–200°F) and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until completely dry.
Bread is more likely to spoil if stored in warm, moist environments. To prevent mold, it should be kept sealed at room temperature or colder. Room-temperature bread typically lasts 3–4 days if it's homemade or up to 7 days if it's store-bought.
Introduction: My name is The Hon. Margery Christiansen, I am a bright, adorable, precious, inexpensive, gorgeous, comfortable, happy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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