‘I tried a vintage food storage hack that revived stale bread in minutes’

‘I tried a vintage food storage hack that revived stale bread in minutes’ (Image: Phoebe Cornish)

While many toast stale bakery items without a second thought, the resultant texture is always disappointing.

Instead of settling for a crunchy hot cross bun with little flavour, I turned to a vintage food storage tip I stumbled across in the 1970s book What Our Grandmothers Knew.

This treasure trove of "hints, recipes and remedies from a bygone age" has various health, beauty, household, and kitchen tips for savvy homemakers, and one appeared to solve my dilemma.

The Reader’s Digest book suggests reviving stale bread with water and heat. Intrigued, I decided to put this time-honoured trick to the test.

I followed the instructions with a week-old hot cross bun: “Day-old croissants, rolls and brioches can be served as though they have just been baked. Wrap each in damp tissue paper and put them in a warm oven for a few minutes.

I dunked the bun in a bowl of water as per the book's instructions (Image: Phoebe Cornish)

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“Place them on the oven shelves and not on a tin or baking sheet. This method is also useful for stale bread.”

I had no tissue paper at home, so I was pleased to read the alternative suggestion: “Quickly dunk the loaf in cold water before putting it into the oven.”

There were no details about the water or oven temperature, so I opted for a bowl of cold tap water and an oven set to 160C.

I dunked the whole bun into the water before slicing it in half, and it already looked freshly baked with a glossy, plump finish. However, it was wet and inedible, so I moved it to the oven rack and let it bake for a few minutes.

The hot cross bun already looked more enticing after being soaked in water (Image: Phoebe Cornish)

I sliced the bun before baking - the top fared better than the bottom in the oven (Image: Phoebe Cornish)

The hot cross bun became soft and pillowy, and the dried fruit plumped up and released its sweet juices.

It had shrunk a little, like many bakery items do when they’re a few days old and have been reheated, but the results were quite impressive.

I pressed my fingertip firmly into the dough to determine its texture and noticed a slight spring. Though slightly toasted on top, the bun was mostly soft and warm, with a little moisture on the thinner bottom half of the bread.

Of course, nothing truly beats the taste of freshly baked goods, but this is a close second for those times when all you have to work with is bread that’s seen better days.

The handy book offered another quick tip for those who store baked goods in a bread bin: “Keep a small dish, for instance an old salt cellar, half filled with salt in your bread bin to help keep the loaves crisp. Change the salt when it becomes wet.”

However, the water method is much more effective for reviving perfectly edible food.

So, the next time you encounter a sad-looking loaf or a forgotten bun, remember the wisdom of our grandmothers. A quick dunk and a gentle warm-up can work wonders, transforming stale bread into a delicious and satisfying treat.

It's a simple yet effective reminder that sometimes, the best solutions are the ones that have endured.