How to soften stale bread

If you want to recover the original texture of the bread, there are many tricks; however, it all boils down to: heat and humidity. Yes, the action of both things recovers the original characteristics of the bread, as you will see below.

But why does bread go stale? Because this food contains a lot of moisture, which is lost when it comes into direct contact with the air during prolonged exposure. Therefore, its texture changes, hardens and dries. Check three more common and effective alternatives that we share to know how to soften stale bread, which one wills you choose?

How to soften stale bread in the oven?

If you want to recover the original characteristics of the bread, you will love this classic option, since it is very easy and its results are also proven.

1. Preheat the oven. Place the oven at 230 ° C and wait 5 minutes before inserting the bread.
2. Moisten bread if crust is tough. If the bread is dry but the crust doesn’t feel as tough, you can skip this step because those bread pieces still hold moisture as the starch molecules bind and trap the water, so you can skip to the next step. On the contrary, if the crust is very hard, you should moisten the bread by submerging it completely in cold water for 4 seconds or placing it under cold tap water.
3. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil. Once the bread is moistened, cover it completely with aluminum foil. With this you avoid the loss of steam during baking, as moisture is trapped inside the bread.
4. Bake the bread. Put the moistened bread in the oven and, once inside, lower the temperature from 230°C to 150°C (300°F). Bake the bread for 5 minutes if it is a small piece (dry or slightly moist). Instead, if you bake a large, and/or moister loaf, you can leave it anywhere from 6 minutes to 15 minutes.
5. Check the texture of the bread before removing it from the oven. Since the baking time varies depending on the size of the loaf, the amount of water it absorbed and the particularities of your oven, check every 5 minutes by removing part of the aluminum foil and checking its texture. Continue like this until you achieve the desired texture.
6. Eat the bread soon. During baking, the heat breaks down the structure of starch molecules to release trapped water. Consequently, the bread softens but for a short time, since its hardening process is also accelerated. For this reason, the effect achieved with the bread only lasts a few hours, so preferably you should eat it as soon as you take it out of the oven.

In this way, the bread will be hard as freshly made, you’ll see! But if you want to know the keys to obtaining fluffy bread from the beginning, assuming that your stale bread is due to a baking or kneading error, do not miss our article on How to make homemade bread.

How to soften stale bread with steam?

If you don’t have an oven, don’t worry! You can soften stale bread with steam. This method is also very effective, since the humidity is very beneficial for hard or dry breads, so you do not need to pre-soak them. In fact, in Asian cuisine some bread is steamed.

1. Boil water in a steam pot. Pour water into a steam pot and wait until it reaches the boiling point. At that time, remove the pan from the heat. If you don’t have a steamer, do the same thing using a regular saucepan.
2. Put the bread in a basket or strainer. Place a basket with the bread inside the steamer and cover it with a lid. If you’re using a regular casserole, improvise with a colander and cover it with a lid. In this case, place the lid so that it fits with the strainer and the pan is well closed, since the steam should not escape (you can also cover the pot with a clean cloth).
3. Wait until the bread recovers its texture. Calculate 5-15 minutes before removing the bread.

How to soften stale bread in the microwave?

If you want a quick snack, you will love this method, since in 10 seconds you will get the desired results. The drawback? You have to eat the bread as soon as it comes out of the microwave; otherwise, after a few minutes it acquires a rubbery and hard texture (even much harder than before applying this method). The procedure is very simple, it consists of only two steps, and the rest is to taste.

1. Wrap the bread in a damp towel or place a glass of water. Completely cover the piece of bread with a damp paper towel, damp kitchen towel, or place a glass of water next to the bread. Perhaps the most effective method is the towel method (either one), as it traps the steam in the bread and thus keeps it softer during the process.
2. Heat the bread between 10-30 seconds. Put the microwave at maximum power and heat the bread in 10-second intervals, until you get the desired result. Remember that the time used also depends on the power of your microwave.

What to do with stale bread?

If after applying the previous methods the final result does not convince you, you can always take advantage of the stale bread by grating it, toasting it or cutting it into cubes to fry them and obtain homemade croutons.