How to Soften Hard Bread

Don't throw away that day-old baguette!
Gabby Gabby (2)
10 minutes

It’s happened to all of us. You splurge on that $6 artisan baguette and can only eat half of it. You wrap up the leftovers hoping for the best, only to discover the next morning that the baguette has turned hard as a rock. Don’t toss it just yet! Your bread can still be saved, and you won’t need any fancy tools to do it.

Kitchen tools
1 eaOven
1 eaOven mitt

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Preheat oven to 350

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you think of it, move a rack to the middle of the oven. No big deal if you forget.

Bread under running water

This is going to look and feel so very wrong, but trust me it works. Hold the bread cut-side down and let the water run over the entire baguette for 10-20 seconds. You don’t want it sopping wet–just damp enough to absorb the moisture lost when the bread went stale.

Reheat bread in oven

Promptly place the baguette directly on the oven rack–no sheet tray necessary.

Depending on how wet your bread was, it should take 5-10 minutes for the baguette to warm through. As the bread heats up, any excess water will evaporate leaving you with fluffy warm bread and a nice crisp crust.

Revived stale bread

Remove the baguette from the oven, using tongs or an oven mitt since the bread will be very hot. Slice and serve!

John John (304)
10 minutes

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