There are so many good reasons to freeze dry bread. If you don’t have a large family, that loaf of bread will probably go bad before you can finish it. Or, you buy a delicious loaf of fresh French bread but you don’t need to eat it all – even though you really want to. Freeze drying what you won’t use allows you to reduce food waste, save money, and build up a little food storage for an emergency. Freeze dried bread can be rehydrated and eaten just like you would normally or it can be used to make things like stuffing, french toast, or bread pudding.

You can freeze dry any kind of bread, from sliced sandwich to French loaves or even small cubes of bread for stuffing. Just lay the bread slices or pieces on your trays and run your freeze dryer with the default settings. Bread doesn’t have a lot of water, so it will be one of the fastest things you freeze dry. When complete, package it in a mylar bag with an oxygen absorber and it will easily last up to 25 years. When you’re ready to rehydrate it, wrap the bread with a damp paper towel and put it inside a plastic baggie in the fridge and it will rehydrate overnight. Or, wrap the bread in a damp kitchen towel and let it sit on your counter, checking periodically to see when it’s fully rehydrated. If you’re making stuffing, just add your spices and then slowly add hot water and stir until it reaches the proper consistency. For french toast, let the bread soak in an egg and milk mixture until it softens, then fry in a frying pan like normal. You’ll be amazed how bread returns to its perfect taste and texture.