How To Reheat French Bread – The 6 Best Ways

We all love French bread, but we also know that it’s not as delicious the next day when it’s dry and stale.

Luckily, with the right reheating method, you can transform a stale French loaf into a crispy, aromatic baguette in just a few minutes.

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The best way to reheat French bread is to put it in the oven for a few minutes. However, if you want prevent it from drying outthe trick is to moisten it slightly and wrap it in aluminum foil.

The Best Ways to Reheat French Bread

If you have leftover French bread, you may be in the habit of throwing it away when it’s no longer fresh.

While no one likes old, dry bread, we advise you to minimize food waste and also save a few bucks by learning how to properly reheat French bread.

You may think that no matter what method you use, the bread you heat will never taste or smell like the bread you get at your local bakery.

However, with the right method and a few simple tricks, you’ll have a crisp, fresh loaf of baguette on your table in just a few minutes.

A common mistake people make when reheating French bread is popping it in the oven, air fryer, or any other appliance as is, without spraying it with water first.

Heating French bread, or any other bread, without any preparation, will result in a dry, crumbly, hard loaf that will be nothing like fresh bread.

Another solution for your stale baguette is to freeze it and take it out of the freezer whenever you feel like having a hot and crispy loaf of French bread.

In addition to lightly basting the bread, we suggest wrapping it in a piece of aluminum foil. This step will allow the inside of the bread to warm up without drying out.

A few minutes towards the end of this process, you can simply remove the foil, and allow the bread to develop a crispy outer layer.

Without further ado, let’s jump right into the best methods for heating French bread without drying it out.

How to reheat french bread in the oven

The best way to heat a baguette is, without a doubt, to use the oven, and we surely know what it can cost to wait for it to reach a certain temperature.

However, if you’re reheating a frozen baguette, waiting for the oven to preheat won’t be too much of a hassle, since you’ll also have to wait for the bread to thaw to room temperature.

If prepared correctly, the bread will remain soft on the inside, while developing a golden crust on the outside.

The reason you should lightly moisten the bread (using a spray bottle or running it quickly under the tap) is to retain moisture and prevent the bread from becoming dry and crumbly.

Also, the water in the bread will evaporate and create steam which will also prevent the bread from drying out.

Wrapping aluminum foil around the loaf will also ensure that the bread doesn’t dry out as the interior heats up.

Finally, removing the foil will allow the crust to brown and crisp as you just baked a fresh loaf of French bread.

Here are the steps to reheat French bread in the oven:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly moisten the loaf with a spray bottle filled with water.
3. Wrap the baguette in a piece of aluminum foil.
4. Place the wrapped bread directly on the oven rack.
5. Bake for 5-10 minutes to warm the inside of the bread.
6. Remove the foil and bake the French bread for another 2 minutes to get a crispy crust.
7. Remove the bread from the oven and brush it with the melted butter, garlic and parsley mixture if you want to add more aroma and flavor.

How to Reheat French Bread in an Air Fryer

If you’re in a hurry but looking for another efficient method to reheat a baguette, the air fryer is the best solution.

The air fryer will do essentially the same thing as the oven, but you won’t have to wait for it to preheat, which will save you a lot of time.

Keep in mind, however, that an air fryer doesn’t offer as much space as an oven, so you may have to cut the baguette in half, or even into smaller pieces, to make it fit.

One of the best features of the air fryer is that it doesn’t dry out the food as much as the oven, and it’s quite convenient and easy to use.

Although the air fryer is not as drying as the oven, we recommend moistening and wrapping the bread before placing it in the air fryer basket.

Here are the steps to reheat French bread in the air fryer:

1. Set the air fryer to 350°F.
2. Lightly moisten the baguette with water and wrap it in aluminum foil.
3. Place loaf in air fryer basket/on rack and bake for 5-10 minutes.
4. Remove the foil and allow the bread to bake another 2-3 minutes to brown the crust.

How to reheat french toast in the microwave

When it comes to reheating bread and pastries, many people tend to avoid microwaving them, as this method often changes the texture of the dish.

However, the secret to a delicious and aromatic loaf of French bread in the microwave is a damp paper towel.

For this method, instead of spraying the loaf with water and wrapping it in aluminum foil, you should cover the baguette with a piece of damp paper towel that will bring the moisture back.

An important advantage of the microwave over other methods is that it is very convenient and fast.

However, it is not advisable to reheat the bread at long intervals and at high temperatures, since the bread can become hard, dry and tasteless.

Another important fact to note about reheating bread in the microwave, as opposed to in the oven and air fryer, is that the crust can often be quite chewy and not as crisp.

Here are the steps to reheat French bread in the microwave:

1. Take a microwave-safe plate and place the baguette on it.
2. Dampen a paper towel and cover the bar with it.
3. Microwave for 15 seconds and check for crust and heat.
4. It is important to microwave the bread in 15 second intervals, as longer intervals will make the bread chewy and dry.

How to reheat french bread in the oven

Although reheating the baguette in the oven may sound a bit counterintuitive, you will be amazed at the results of this reheating method.

Again, the key is to wrap the loaf in a piece of aluminum foil, which prevents the bread from drying out before the inside gets hot enough.

Also, you will need a source of moisture to prevent the bread from drying out, so sprinkling or spraying a little water on the loaf is recommended.

This method is also a great solution if your microwaved bread came out with a soggy crust, and you want the outer layer crispy and toasty.

All you have to do in this situation is cook the baguette in a nonstick pan for a couple of minutes, or until you’re happy with the level of crispiness.

Here are the steps to reheat French bread in the oven:

1. Take a pan big enough to hold the baguette, or slices of it, and prepare the lid.
2. Moisten the bread with a little water, and then wrap it in a piece of aluminum foil.
3. Place the wrapped bread in the pot, and then cover the pot with the lid.
4. Heat the loaf for 10 minutes over low heat, or until the bread has reached the desired temperature.
5. Take the bread out of the foil and toast it directly in the pan for a couple of minutes to get a nice crust.

How to Reheat French Bread in a Toaster Oven

A toaster oven is essentially a mini oven that will give you the same results, but will also save you a lot of time and effort.

This type of oven usually takes less time to preheat, and it does not heat up the kitchen too much, which is especially important in summer.

We also recommend that you moisten and wrap your French bread if you reheat it in a toaster oven, as this is the best way to prevent the bread from drying out and developing a tough, chewy crust.

Here are the steps to reheat French bread in a toaster oven:

1. Preheat toaster oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly moisten the loaf of bread (by running it under the tap or spraying it with water), making sure not to use too much water.
3. Wrap the baguette in aluminum foil and place in the preheated toaster oven.
4. Bake the bread for 5-10 minutes.
5. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes to brown and crisp the crust.

How to reheat french bread in the toaster

So far we have only discussed the best methods for reheating a whole loaf of French bread.

However, if you want to reheat slices of bread, using a toaster is the easiest and most efficient way to get crispy, delicious bread every time.

Here are the steps to reheat French bread in a toaster:

1. Cut the baguette into slices.
2. Brush the slices with a little butter if you want to add more flavor and aroma (but you can also add the butter once you’ve toasted the slices).
3. Put the slices in the toaster and choose the desired position depending on the degree of toasting you want for the slices.

Can French bread be reheated?

Using the proper method and our tips and tricks, you can easily reheat frozen French bread and bring back all its flavors and aromas.

The next time you consider throwing away French bread, remember that in just a few minutes, your house can smell like a fresh baguette without having to make the dough yourself.

Reheating French bread in the oven is hands down the best method, but an air fryer and toaster oven can take the place of your big oven in this case.

Microwaving bread tends to make the crust soggy and chewy, but it’s the quickest fix when you’re in a hurry, other than heating up a sliced ​​baguette in a toaster.

Although it can take longer than other methods, reheating the baguette in a skillet gives you full control over the process.