From-Scratch Herb Stuffing Bread for crockpot stuffing

Updated October 24, 2024

This delicious herb stuffing bread is soft and pillowy on the inside with a gorgeous chewy crust. It is absolutely packed with flavour from a generous amount of herbs and seasonings.

This aromatic bread will make the whole house smell like the holidays! If you are a big fan of stuffing then this bread is perfect for slicing and enjoying just as it is or making epic holiday leftover sandwiches!

I love baking my own bread to make traditional crockpot stuffing for the holidays, it makes preparing stuffing on the big day of the feast quick and easy because the ingredients are baked right into the bread!

Are fresh or dried herbs best for stuffing

Either works perfectly in this recipe. But since dried herbs are more readily available in most kitchens, I’m going to use dried in this recipe.

Especially since the herbs are going to be cooked in a crockpot over a few hours, the herbs and seasoning will have plenty of time to rehydrate.

Generally speaking, if you want to substitute fresh for dried herbs, 1 teaspoon of dried herbs is equivalent to 1 Tablespoon of fresh herbs.

The herbs that are typically used in Thanksgiving and Christmas stuffing are parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Sage is the main ingredient that really gives that stuffing smell.

Is crockpot or oven stuffing better?

Let’s be honest, most times stuffing is being made is when you are having a big feast like Christmas or Thanksgiving. The oven is usually overrun by other things. So making this recipe in a crockpot is not only super easy but one less thing fighting for room in the oven.

How to prepare bread for stuffing?

Cut and dry your bread out on the counter the day before. If you do not have time, you can cut and dry it out on trays in a very low oven. For this recipe I am using a baguette-style bread.

French bread, is simple and already a more dry crusty bread. Making an enriched pillowy soft enriched brioche, seems like a waist since you will not notice those things when you dry out and then mix in a crockpot for hours.

Ingredients for herb stuffing bread

1 cup warm water 250 ml

1 cup warm milk 250 ml

2 ¼ teaspoon dry active yeast 1 packet or 7g

1 Tablespoon brown sugar 15 ml

2 teaspoons salt 10 ml

2 tablespoons butter 30 g

4 ½ cups all purpose flour 675 g

1 Tablespoon dried rosemary 15 ml

1½ Tablespoons dried sage 22 ml

1 Tablespoon dried thyme 15 ml

1 Tablespoon dried parsley 15 ml

½ cup raisins or sultanas 75 g

¼ cup dried cranberries 38 g

Method for herb stuffing bread

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, if mixing the dough by hand, add in the warm water and milk.
2. Stir in the sugar and sprinkle the yeast on top. Set this aside for a few minutes for the yeast to soften and become foamy.
3. Once the yeast is ready add in the spices, salt, butter, flour, raisins, and cranberries.

4. With the dough hook, mix and then knead for about 8 minutes or 10 minutes if you are kneading the dough by hand. The dough should for a smooth soft dough ball that cleans the sides of the bowl.

5. Cover, and let rise, in a warm place, for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

6. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Split the dough in half.

7. Flatten the dough onto a floured counter and fold in thirds. Working in the opposite direction, roll and press the dough together into a long loaf.

8. Place the loaves separated on a lined baking sheet and allow to rise in a warm spot until just about doubled in size (about 30 minutes).

9. Preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C)

10. Cut a few slashes on top of each loaf.

11. Bake for 15 mins, then reduce the temperature to 350 °F (180 °C) for 25 minutes. Or until golden and sounds hollow when tapped.

12. If using this for crockpot stuffing, after the bread has cooled enough to handle, slice (or rip into chunks) and let dry for 1-2 days

How to Make Crockpot Herb Stuffing

Now that the bread is baked, dried, and full of all the holiday flavours, our job is mostly done! Crockpot stuffing is easy to make, all the work is done in the crockpot!

Ingredients for Crockpot Herb Stuffing

Dried bread from previous recipe or 12 cups of bread of choice, cut and dried. 2 loaves

2 Tablespoons butter 30 ml

8 ribs of celery

½ onion

3 cups of broth (chicken, beef, bone or vegetable) 750 ml

1 egg

**if you did not pre make herb stuffing bread from this post and are using plain bread**

1 Tablespoon dried rosemary 15 ml

1½ Tablespoons dried sage 22 ml

1 Tablespoon dried thyme 15 ml

1 Tablespoon dried parsley 15 ml

½ cup raisins or sultanas 75 g

¼ cup dried cranberries 38 g

Method for Crockpot Herb Stuffing

1. Preheat a large frying pan to med-high heat.
2. Wash and chop the onion and celery ribs.
3. Add the butter to the pan and fry the onions and celery until they are soft and browned.
4. Add the dried bread chunks to a large crockpot.

5. Add the cooked vegetables to the crockpot.

6. In a bowl, add the egg and broth (if you need to add spices do that now as well), beat to combine.

7. Pour this mixture over the bread and vegetables.

8. Add the dried fruit, if not already baked into the bread

9. Mix to moisten the bread and combine the ingredients

10. Turn on your crockpot to 4 or 6 hour (depending on how many hours away from dinner you are). Cover.

11. Throughout the cooking process, stir every 45 mins-1 hour. Make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom or getting too dry. If needed add more broth. (If too wet leave the lid off close to the end of the cooking time.)

Looking for the perfect Holiday dessert? Try one of these pie recipes!

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Get into the holiday season!