How to Quickly Make Fresh Bread Stale

Make your own breadcrumbs from stale bread.

There are just about as many uses for stale bread as there are for fresh. Stale bread is good for french toast, bread pudding, turkey stuffing, even making your own bread crumbs. There's no need to spend money on someone else's stale bread, just make your own.

Things You'll Need

• Baking sheet, optional
• Food processor, optional
• Cheesecloth, optional

Instructions

1. Cut the bread into cubes if you are making breadcrumbs, croutons, stuffing or similar dishes. Leave the slices whole for french toast and similar recipes.

2. Place the bread on a baking sheet or other pan, or on a sheet of aluminum foil.

3. Cover loosely with cheesecloth and let it sit in a warm place overnight. If you don't have time to let the bread sit out overnight, place the pan, uncovered, in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 F.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to make breadcrumbs, you can leave the bread out a bit longer or in the oven a little longer, until it's very dry. Either process the bread in your food processor (8-10 pulses with the metal blade) or put the chunks in a plastic bag and roll a bottle or rolling pin over it until the crumbs are as small as you want.

• Don't leave the bread in the oven much longer than 30 minutes, or you will have dry bread, not stale bread. You want to remove some moisture, but not all the texture.