What Are Bread cubes, dry and How Can I Use Them?

Wondering what to do with bread cubes, dry? This guide covers how to pick them, cook them, store them, and swap them, plus 18 recipes to put them to work.

Key Points

Bread cut into cubes and fully dried so it soaks up stock or custard without collapsing into paste.
The base for stuffing, strata, croutons, and bread pudding; moisten gradually and stop while cubes hold shape.
Dry your own at 250°F (120°C) for 30 to 45 minutes until firm but not browned.
Cut a uniform ½-inch size so cubes dry and rehydrate evenly instead of mixing mush and hard nuggets.
Keep sealed cubes airtight in a cool cupboard for months, or freeze up to three months.

What is bread cubes, dry?

Dry bread cubes are exactly what they sound like: bread cut into cubes and dried out until firm and crisp. That dryness is the whole point.

A stale, thirsty cube soaks up stock, custard, or melted butter without turning to mush, which is why it is the backbone of stuffing, strata, croutons, and bread pudding.

Fresh bread can't do this job. Squeeze a soft cube into a wet dish and it collapses into paste, while a dried cube holds its shape and drinks the liquid in.

You can buy bags of plain or seasoned dried cubes, but most cooks just dry their own from a loaf going stale.

How to Use Them

The cube wants liquid, and how much it can take depends on how dry it is. For a baked stuffing, pour in warm stock a little at a time until the cubes are evenly moistened but still distinct, then bind with egg and bake.

That gradual soak is the method behind Turkey with Sausage Stuffing and Old Fashioned Dressing.

A slow cooker treats them the same way. Crock Pot Turkey Stuffing leans on dried cubes because they hold up over hours of low, moist heat instead of dissolving.

For a strata or savory bread pudding, the cubes go into a baking dish and a beaten egg-and-milk custard gets poured over the top. Let it sit until the cubes drink the custard before baking, the same logic behind a sweet Pineapple Microwave Bread Pudding.

They also work dry. Toss cubes with oil and toast them into croutons, scatter them as a crisp topping over a baked pasta, or crumble them into a meatloaf as a binder, the move in Diner Meat Loaf.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Sturdy, plain breads cube best. Reach for a day-old white or French loaf, or sourdough for more chew; for a sweet pudding, a richer egg bread leans custardy. Stuffing wants sage and thyme with sauteed onion and celery, plus sausage or oysters if you like.

The most common mistake is using bread that is dried unevenly. Cubes that are crisp on the outside but still soft in the center turn gummy where the soft part collapses, so dry them all the way through.

The opposite error is drowning them. Add liquid in stages and stop while the cubes still have structure, because a stuffing flooded with stock bakes dense and wet rather than tender.

One more: cut the cubes a consistent size, roughly ½ inch, so they dry and soak at the same rate. A bag of ragged big-and-small pieces gives you some mush and some hard nuggets in the same spoonful.

Substitutes

Out of dried cubes? Fresh bread, cubed and spread on a sheet pan, dries in a 250°F (120°C) oven in 30 to 45 minutes until firm but not browned. That is the same thing the bag offers, just made at home.

For stuffing in a pinch, a bagged seasoned stuffing mix works, though it brings its own salt and herbs, so cut back on what you add. Plain croutons can stand in too; crush them slightly so they rehydrate evenly.

Panko or coarse dry breadcrumbs cover the binder and topping jobs, but not the stuffing or strata jobs, since they pack too tightly to stay tender.

Buying and Storage

Bagged dried cubes live near the stuffing mix, heaviest on shelves from October through December. Plain unseasoned bags give you the most control; seasoned ones save a step but commit you to their flavor.

Because they are already dry, sealed cubes keep for months in a cool, dark cupboard. Once opened, fold the bag shut or move them to an airtight container so they don't pull humidity back in or pick up stale pantry odors.

Drying your own is the cheapest route, and a good way to use up a loaf before it molds.

Cubed and fully dried bread freezes well for up to three months in a zip-top bag, and you can use it straight from the freezer. If any cube smells musty or shows a speck of mold, throw the whole batch out rather than picking around it.