My Mom, Mary, always made a classic bread stuffing
Simply made with sautéed onions and celery that are cooked down in butter, with fresh herbs and a combination of dried bread cubes and homemade chicken stock. It all comes together to make one of the best traditional stuffing recipes
I think they key is using good quality fresh bread and letting it sit out for 2 to 3 hours to get “stale”. If you didn’t plan ahead, no worries. Place the bread slices on a sheet pan in your oven on 200 degrees for about an hour for the same results
Now learn from my mistake here. Cut the bread into even shaped cubes BEFORE you dry it out. I berated myself the entire time I cut this crunchy bread into cubes and made a giant mess. You should have about 8 cups of bread cubes
Measure out 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil. Dice one large onion and 3 celery stalks into evenly sized pieces
Heat the butter and oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add in the onion and celery
It will take about 10 minutes to sweat these vegetables down. Be sure to stir frequently
I have 2 cups of homemade chicken stock (store bought is also fine), about 6 fresh sage leaves, a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder
Finely chop the sage and thyme and add along with the spices to the vegetable mixture Stir to combine then add in the chicken stock
Bring stock to a simmer then add in the bread cubes
Remove from heat and let cool down a few minutes before we add in the eggs
Is it stuffing or is it dressing??
Well, since I’m making this as a casserole in the oven and not “stuffing” a bird with it, it’s technically called “dressing”. I think dressing is more of a Southern term… most of us New Yorkers call it stuffing whether it’s cooked in the bird or out of the bird. And my Mom always made both because some of us liked the softer, more moist version that cooks inside the turkey or chicken and some of us like the crunch from baking in a casserole. I’m in the crunchy baked casserole camp
Now that our stuffing is cooled a little, let’s add in 2 beaten eggs. We’re not looking to make scrambled eggs here.
Combine well and spread out in a layer in a buttered casserole pan
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake another 20-25 minutes until lightly browned
Check out a few of our other holiday favorites
The Ultimate Roast Turkey
Homemade Green Bean Casserole
Cranberry Sauce
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Simply Sunday's ~ Classic Bread Stuffing
Servings: 8
Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients
8 cups of stale bread, cubed
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
3 celery stalks
2 cups of homemade or store bought chicken stock
6 fresh sage leaves
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 beaten eggs
Directions
Dry 8 cups of cubed bread either air dried for 2-3 hours or toasted at 200 degrees for 1 hour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Measure out 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil. Dice one large onion and 3 celery stalks into evenly sized pieces
Heat the butter and oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add in the onion and celery
It will take about 10 minutes to sweat these vegetables down. Be sure to stir frequently
I have 2 cups of homemade chicken stock (store bought is also fine), about 6 fresh sage leaves, a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder
Finely chop the sage and thyme and add along with the spices to the vegetable mixture Stir to combine then add in the chicken stock
Bring stock to a simmer then add in the bread cubes; Remove from heat and let cool down a few minutes before adding in the 2 beaten eggs
Combine well and spread out in a layer in a buttered casserole pan
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake another 20-25 minutes until lightly browned
Combine bread, onion, celery and all seasonings. Add melted butter. Toss gently to mix. Then add hot broth to moisten to desired consistency (but be careful NOT to make it soggy; a little dry is best since it will retain juices from cooking inside the turkey).
You can use any kind; store-bought white bread works well and would probably be my #1 suggestion for stuffing. You could also try using cut up dinner rolls, sourdough bread (actually this would be my personal first pick), challah, or anything else you want to experiment with.
Any attempts to make stuffing with soft, fresh baked bread will result in a bread soup with a soggy texture. Follow this tip: Stale, dried-out bread makes the best stuffing.
It's all about personal preference. If you want a sturdier dressing, eggs can help do that. I don't use eggs in this recipe, though, because I like a lighter, more crumbly texture in my dressing.
Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs help hold the dressing together and add moisture. Water: You can add a few tablespoons of water, if you'd like, to achieve your desired consistency. Seasonings: This turkey dressing recipe is seasoned with salt, pepper, rubbed sage, and garlic powder.
So stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked outside the bird, usually in a casserole dish. Additionally, dressing, especially in the American South, is often made with cornbread instead of pieces of a baguette or plain ol' white bread.
To understand the difference between the two, all you have to do is look at the cooking method. Stuffing is stuffed (literally) inside the cavity of the turkey, while dressing is roasted in a separate casserole dish.
dry!" The reason for this is that stale or dry bread will hold up better after cooking and keep its texture even after adding your broth or liquid. If you use soft, fresh bread, you'll ultimately wind up with a soggy, mushy stuffing. So, how do you dry bread for stuffing? There are two ways to go about it.
We start by cubing our bread—for traditional recipes, we favor a simple white sandwich-style loaf—then toast it in the oven at a low 275°F for about 45 minutes, tossing it every now and then to help it dry evenly.
Stuffing and dressing are commonly used as different names for the same thing—a dish consisting of bits of bread (or other starchy things) and various seasonings.
The longstanding tip to use old, stale bread for the perfect stuffing is actually a myth. Letting bread go stale doesn't actually dry it out. After sitting out on your counter, bread goes through the process of retrogradation. The starch molecules crystallize and make your bread appear dry and hard.
The stuffing should be moist but not wet. If there is a puddle of broth at the bottom of the bowl, you've added too much. Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture. If the mix is still dry and crumbly, add more liquid and toss gently until it starts to clump 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.
Stuffing most often uses dried bread, herbs, and vegetables that are reconstituted with liquid, stuffed into the turkey cavity, and baked until it is firm and finished cooking. In addition, stuffing can also be cooked separately in a casserole dish in the oven, which would then be considered dressing.
"Stuffing is cooked in the cavity of the turkey, so the juices soak into the ingredients, making it more flavorful.Dressing gets cooked on its own and needs extra liquid to make it flavorful." So stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked outside the bird, usually in a casserole dish.
The BEST traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe is easy to make dried bread cubes, sausage, diced vegetables, and chicken broth. It's a great side dish to make ahead of time and it definitely tastes best homemade! Pair this easy homemade stuffing with our popular turkey recipe, homemade rolls, and Thanksgiving pie.
Introduction: My name is Edwin Metz, I am a fair, energetic, helpful, brave, outstanding, nice, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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