How To Revive Stale Bread With Just Your Air Fryer

If you have stale bread at home, there are a few things you can do other than tossing it in the trash — for instance, make the hearty Tuscan soup called ribollita, use stale bread to make fresh crepes, or even create a pillowy pasta called pasatelli. But if you're looking to revive your loaf of bread as-is, all you have to do is pull out your trusty air fryer.

Contrary to what you might assume, the air fryer isn't going to make stale bread even more hard. With just a little H2O and a few minutes, you can easily crisp up the outside while softening the interior. Just take your piece of bread and lightly mist it with water. Then, pop it into your air fryer at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for just a few minutes. Ta-da! You've now revived your stale slice or loaf, and it's perfectly acceptable to use in your sandwiches and breakfast dishes.

Keep in mind that this method works best for hearty bakery-style loaves like Italian baguettes, ciabatta, and sourdough. Your classic sliced breads from the supermarket might not need to be as crisp on the outside, so you can get away with using other appliances for those.

If you don't have an air fryer, there are other ways to restore stale bread to a better state. Your oven is the perfect vessel to get the job done. Just preheat it between 350 and 450 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on how quickly you want your bread to be ready. Then, spray the loaf with water and wrap it tightly in aluminum foil (this helps to keep the moisture around it while it's heating). Let it warm up in the oven for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how hot the oven is and how big the loaf is. If you want warmed-up bread even quicker, you can wrap it in a damp paper towel and zap it in the microwave in 10-second increments. However, this can turn crusty bread overly chewy or make other types a bit rubbery.

Note that the oven method can also work for old, frozen loaves of bread that could use a pick-me-up. While you can take the time to defrost it in advance, sometimes you don't have the recommended one to three hours to get it to room temperature. Instead, just wrap and place the frozen loaf in the preheated oven, then let it heat through for about 25 to 35 minutes.