Oven Baked Bread Stuffing
I have had Thanksgiving dinner in my house every year of my entire life except one. In that one mistake, my family decided to go to an uncle’s house. I’m sure it was fine for the most part, but we did find ourselves wandering into the empty kitchen to look for leftovers a few hours after we got home. How to make a turkey sandwich on a leftover roll with cranberry sauce and stuffing with no leftovers? Disaster. We never did it again.
Once I got married, everyone continued coming to our house and so, I will be eating in my own home for the 58th time, exactly the way I like it. As my cooking skills have improved over time, I have begun playing with the menu and this year we will have a bunch of sides that are relatively new to us, roasted brussel sprouts with cranberries and bacon and pureed butternut squash. I’m also going to brine the turkey for the first time ever in a mix of apple cider and oranges. I’m excited to experiment and feel confident that things will work out well. If they don’t, there will be the reliable sides: jellied cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls and, of course, stuffing.
The stuffing I grew up with, a simple bread stuffing was, well, stuffed, into the bird. It was delicious, but there wasn’t nearly enough of it. It also got a little gummy brewing inside the turkey for hours. In order to make the most of the stuffing, I have developed this oven baked version that makes a whole 9×13 baking dish full of stuffing. You can even prepare it beforehand and then heat it up at mealtime. My oven is teeny tiny so that is a big help. The bread is seasoned with poultry seasoning (Bell’s seasoning), thyme, and onions. The smell always makes me think of A Christmas Carol when the Crachit family plunges a knife into the Christmas goose and they ooh and aah at the stuffing.
I hope you have some wonderful holiday meal memories of your own!
Oven Baked Bread Stuffing
Ingredients
- 16 oz white bread
- 1 medium onion
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- 3/4 cup milk
Instructions
- The night before, or a few hours before, take the bread out of the package and let it sit out. It's best if it is not too fresh/soft. It isn't a tragedy if you forget.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces.
- Finely chop the onion.
- Melt the butter and put it into a large bowl.
- Pour the bread cubes into the melted butter, using your hands to coat the bread with the butter.
- Add the onion to the bread and combine with your hands.
- Sprinkle the poultry seasoning and thyme leaves over the bread. Mix with your hands.
- Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. You can use spray with nonstick cooking spray if you prefer.
- Pour the bread mixture into the prepared dish.
- Sprinkle the milk over the bread, working it in slightly. I sprinkled 1/4 cup at a time so nothing became too soggy.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until browned.
