An Aussie mum has shared her miracle hack for making stale bread “as good as new” – and anyone can do it.
Posting on Facebook, the mum revealed if you place your old bread rolls under running water and then pop them in a hot oven, they feel and taste fresh again.
The easy trick was popular with home cooks generations ago, but has recently had a resurgence as our desire to reduce waste in the kitchen grows.
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“I’ve been conscious of reducing my waste and the job of using up stale bread rolls has always been a problem,” mum Judy said on Facebook.
“There’s only so many breadcrumbs I can keep in the freezer and my kids aren’t a fan of defrosted rolls. My mum told me a trick her mum used to do back in the day, and it really works.
“All you do is run the bread roll under a tap so it’s wet and then pop it in the oven for a few minutes. Honestly, it’s like you just bought it from the bakery – so fresh, so yum.”
Members on the Budget Friendly Meals Australia Facebook group recently also discussed the merits of the money-saving hack.
“It works well with buns,” one said.
“I haven’t tried normal bread. But when you get bread rolls and they are like a day or two old and they get stale I would wet my hand and rub water over it and pop in oven to refresh. Yum.”
“I do this with tiger bread for soups if it goes stale. I wet them with some milk with a pastry brush and chuck it in the oven. As good as new,” said another.
Added a third: “Do this with crusty loaves - awesome little trick!”
Said one more: “Even just wet down a paper towel and cover the bread and zap it. It comes out perfect. Yep have been doing this for a long time, I think my Mum taught me this one.”
Another said the tip had been passed down generations in her family as well.
“I live in the outback and grew up on a very isolated property,” another said.
“When I was younger and bread was not in plastic, if the crust was very hard on both rolls and bread you would quickly pass it under a running tap and then put it in the oven. It would come out beautiful and fresh.”
How to make stale bread fresh again
- Run your bread roll under cold water for about five seconds.
- Place it in a 200C oven for a few minutes.
- Remove and enjoy!
Watch below: Woman gives herself a haircut with a bread knife