Crispy stale bread in air fryer
Do you have stale bread at home? Don’t throw it away! With an air fryer, you’ll get warm, crispy bread like it’s freshly bought, crunchy outside and soft inside.
An excellent economical method to recycle stale and hard bread, soften it, and save time and money, plus prepare healthy food.
Moreover, toasted bread lowers the glycemic index and is more digestible (prevents the accumulation of gastric juices, the lower GI helps prevent glycemic spikes, it reduces the feeling of hunger) so it can be consumed, in moderation, even in low-calorie diets (especially if you use the whole grain type).
With this cooking method, using old bread, you can prepare excellent hot and crispy bruschetta or stale bread crostoni, to top as you prefer.
I often use old bread in the air fryer to prepare great bruschetta with stale bread, rubbing them with raw garlic when they’re still very hot (if you like, you can also chop it into very small pieces) and then season with quality extra virgin olive oil, salt, chili pepper, and basil (or parsley or oregano).
With the same method, you can also prepare crostoni (cutting the slices of old bread thicker) pizza-style: with mozzarella and tomato or with sausage and stracchino or with ham and smoked cheese….or make crostini to butter and garnish with salmon or with cooked ham mousse or however you prefer. It’s important to serve the bread while it is still hot.
Needless to say, this method of cooking stale bread in the air fryer can also be used with fresh bread, giving you: warm bread crunchy outside and soft inside, fragrant as if just baked. The secret is always the same: wet the bread with water first (whether fresh or stale).
The benefits of cooking in the air fryer are numerous: no need to preheat the oven, the cooking is more quick, economical, and healthy (requires very little fat), fewer pots and utensils get dirty, no smoke or odors
Please note that the temperature and cooking times are generally indicative, as much depends on your type of air fryer and the size of the slices, however, the recipes on my Blog are all previously and rigorously tested by me, so they are more than reliable.
Anyway, I still recommend checking the cooking from time to time, to best adjust the times and temperature to your air fryer.
You might also be interested in:
Whole Eggplants in Air Fryer Salad
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Economical
- Preparation time: 2 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Air Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients for Crispy Stale Bread in Air Fryer
- 2 slices rustic bread (preferably wood-fired with sourdough)
- as needed water
- as needed extra virgin olive oil (cold-pressed spray, optional)
- 1 garlic (optional)
- as needed chili powder (optional)
- as needed basil (or parsley or oregano, optional)
- as needed fine salt (optional)
Tools for Crispy Stale Bread in Air Fryer
- Food Scale
- Air Fryer Cosori, large (5.7L) even cooking
- Air Fryer Paper with holes
Steps for Crispy Stale Bread in Air Fryer
Take the stale bread you have at home (it can be of all types, even seeded or whole grain, BUT it’s better if it’s “cafone” (rustic) bread baked in a wood oven with sourdough) cut it into fairly thick slices (NOT thin) and run it quickly under running water (it shouldn’t be soaked).
Place the wet bread slices in the air fryer’s basket.
Set the air fryer to “Manual” and program the cooking of the old bread slices to 356°F, for about 11 minutes. Turn them halfway through cooking and when they have a slight golden surface, they will be ready.
Once the bread slices are cooked, serve them hot immediately and use them to accompany your dishes.
Shopping Tips !!!
Personally, I get along very well with the Cosori Air Fryer, with a large 5.7-liter basket, 13 functions and optimal hot air circulation that makes foods: crispy outside and soft inside
A healthier way to cook, because it separates and captures the excess fat (healthy and tasty dishes with up to 97% less fat). Halves cooking times compared to a traditional oven, with significant economic and time savings. The individual components are all easy to remove and dishwasher safe. Highly recommended!
These are very useful disposable Air Fryer Parchment Paper, without holes, they don’t dirty the fryer, but the hot air circulates the same because they are very thin. They are also oil and water-resistant, non-stick, do not burn, and can be used in a conventional oven.
I often also use this convenient perforated parchment paper for air fryer, non-stick, easy to clean, can also be used in a conventional oven.
Finally, if you want to keep your air fryer clean and at the same time, protected from scratches and abrasions (e.g., by tongs) I recommend these Reusable non-stick grill mats, heat-resistant.
On the slices of bread, I sprayed this convenient cold-pressed spray extra virgin olive oil of excellent quality, with built-in spray dispenser, which you can purchase on Amazon.
You can purchase all the items I recommend above on Amazon at a great price, just click directly on the respective links.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What does cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil mean?
Oil extracted by cold pressing is a higher quality extra virgin olive oil, produced according to what EU regulations establish on the matter
Baking paper for air fryer: which one to choose?
If using the air fryer for dripping foods (like batter), it is better to use parchment paper WITHOUT holes (the paper is very light, and the air and heat circulate anyway).
If the foods to be cooked in the air fryer are dry and do not drip, it is preferable to use parchment paper WITH holes.
See above in “Shopping Tips,” you’ll find the links to purchase them.What to use to keep the air fryer clean without scratching it?
Reusable non-stick grill mat, heat-resistant, for Air Fryer.
See above in “Shopping Tips,” you’ll find the links to purchase it.
