Bread Stuffing 101 Recipes

REALLY EASY BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Moisten all the bread with as much water as is needed to make moist. Add the onion, seasoning, and salt and pepper. Mix with hands.
• Place in turkey or in foil and wrap up (which I do) and cook for at least 1 hour, longer if you are cooking it in the turkey. May open the foil for last 15 minutes to make top crusty.

BASIC BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• 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).
• Stuff into the cavity of the turkey before roasting, if desired.
• OR: Pour all into a large casserole and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes, not letting the top get too crispy.
• NOTE: Allow 1 cup stuffing for each pound of poultry.

HOMEMADE BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until; saute onion and celery in hot butter until onion is soft, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Put bread cubes in a large bowl. Season bread with salt, sage, thyme, poultry seasoning, and black pepper. Add onion mixture to bread cubes; stir. Pour bread mixture into a large casserole dish and cover the dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and hot, about 1 hour.

BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Melt butter in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook celery and onion in butter 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Remove Dutch oven from the heat.
• Gently toss celery mixture and remaining ingredients, using spoon, until bread cubes are evenly coated.
• Use to stuff one 10- to 12-pound turkey. Or to bake stuffing separately, grease 3-quart casserole or rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Place stuffing in casserole or baking dish. Cover with lid or aluminum foil and bake at 325°F for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 minutes longer.

BASIC BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with racks in middle and lower thirds. On two rimmed baking sheets, arrange bread in a single layer. Toast until dry and pale golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium. Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion and celery are softened, about 7 minutes. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
• Add parsley, eggs, and bread; stir to combine. Add broth in 2 additions, stirring until absorbed after each addition. Season generously with salt and pepper and transfer stuffing to dish. Bake on middle rack until deep golden brown on top, 25 to 30 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

BROWN BREAD STUFFING WITH FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with butter and set aside.
• Add the bread in a large bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon of the butter to a large frying pan over medium heat. When it foams, stir in the garlic, celery, and onions, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and the sage and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the cherries, apples, and the pecans. Transfer to the bowl with the bread and toss to evenly combine.
• Combine the remaining butter with the broth and the apple juice in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Drizzle over the bread mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and bake until golden brown on top and heated through and the internal temperature registers 160 to 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 to 45 minutes.

BASIC BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Place the butter, shallots or onions in a saucepan, and allow the butter to melt over low heat. Do not sauté the shallots. Combine with the crumbs and other ingredients and toss lightly. Add more melted butter if needed, and taste for seasoning. Stuff the bird lightly just before roasting.
• Herb Variations:
• Instead of tarragon you can use any of the following herbs to taste. (It is better not to mix herbs, except for the addition of parsley, but mix if you must.)
• 1. About 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, soaked in a little white wine for an hour.
• 2. Sage. Use with discretion, or it smothers all other flavors.
• 3. Summer savory. This has a delicious flavor for turkey and is less known than most herbs.
• 4. Basil. The fresh is delicious and superb in the stuffing of a spitted bird. If fresh is not available, use about 2 teaspoons of dried basil, soaked in white wine beforehand.
• Another way to give the flavor of fresh basil to your dressing is by adding pesto , the Italian sauce normally used with pasta. Fortunately, it freezes rather well, so pesto can be made when fresh basil is in the market or in your herb garden and it is possible to have it with your Thanksgiving or Christmas bird. Add about 3 tablespoons of pesto or more to the basic bread stuffing.
• Additives for Basic Bread Stuffing:
• You will have to reduce the amount of crumbs, depending upon the quantity of additive.
• 1. 1 1/2 to 2 cups coarsely broken cooked chestnuts (These may be purchased in tins).
• 2. 1 cup or more toasted salted filberts.
• 3. 1 cup or more toasted unbalanced almonds.
• 4. 1 cup or more salted pecan halves.
• 5. 1 1/2 to 2 cups toasted walnut halves.
• 6. 2 cups finely diced celery. This makes a delicious change in the basic stuffing and is also good in goose.
• 7. 1 1/2 cups of finely diced fennel bulb. Omit any other herb save parsley.
• 8. A head of finely shredded Boston lettuce. Added to the basic stuffing at the last minute, this is surprisingly good. You may find you need additional salt.
• 9. Giblets. Chop the gizzard and heart very fine; reserve the liver. Sauté the gizzard and heart with the onions just enough to color them, then mix with the rest of the ingredients. Use the liver in the sauce later. Sauté it lightly in butter and chop exceedingly fine before adding.

FRESH BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Tear bread into chunks, and put them in the container of a food processor; you may need to do this in batches. Pulse until you have coarse, irregular crumbs, no smaller than a pea and preferably larger.
• Melt butter over medium heat in a large, deep skillet, Dutch oven or casserole. Add scallions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add nuts and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
• Add bread crumbs and tarragon or sage, and toss to mix. Turn heat to low, and add parsley, along with some salt and pepper; taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
• Bake stuffing in same pan, or put in an ovenproof casserole. Bake 30 minutes, or until stuffing is lightly browned on top. Serve hot. (Stuffing may also be cooked in turkey, if desired.)

SIMPLE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange bread in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not browned, about 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
• In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add celery, shallots, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetablesare softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add wine, and cook until evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
• To vegetables in bowl, add bread, parsley, and eggs. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; stir to combine. Mix in half of broth. Continue to add in more broth just until stuffing is moistened but not wet (there should not be any liquid in the bottom of the bowl).
• Just before roasting turkey, stuff it with 4 cups stuffing. Spoon remaining stuffing into a buttered8-inch square baking dish. Cover with buttered aluminum foil, and refrigerate. When turkey is removed from oven to rest, place covered bakingdish in oven, and bake until warmed through, 25 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, about 15 minutes more.

STUFFING BREAD

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and seasonings. Add water and oil; beat just until moistened. Add egg and beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down. Shape into a large round loaf. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 375° for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool. , To make stuffing, cut cooled bread into 1-in. slices and then into cubes. Let stand for 24 hours to dry. In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, eggs, butter and enough broth to achieve desired moistness. Stir to blend. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 60 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until lightly browned.

MOM'S BEST BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Moisten bread cubes with milk or hot water.
• Add salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and egg.
• Combine mixture.
• Melt butter in frying pan and add onions until slightly browned, then add celery.
• Stir, then add to bread cube mixture.
• Stuff turkey or chicken lightly with stuffing, being careful not to pack stuffing in tightly.
• Rub turkey or chicken well with oil, salt, and pepper.
• Put in 300 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours.
• After 1 1/2 hour turn oven down to 250 degrees.

BASIC BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the parsley, celery, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and sage, and cook for 5 minutes. Place the mixture in a large mixing bowl, add the cubed bread and chicken broth, and toss to combine.
• When cool, stuff the turkey and bake. If you prefer, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, add 1/2 cup chicken broth to the stuffing and bake in a casserole for 40 minutes.