How to dry bay leaves at home
In this tutorial, I'll show you how to dry bay leaves at home. Dried bay leaf is a delicious seasoning for soups, stews, and desserts.
Yield: 1 portion
Equipment
- A cotton string, an oven or a microwave
Instructions
In the open air
- This is my favorite way to dry bay leaves. That's because you don't need any special equipment for it!
- All you have to do is hang a bundle of bay leaves in a cool, dry place and let the air do the rest.
In the oven
- To dry your bay leaves in the oven, place the leaves separately on a baking sheet and let them dry at a low temperature, about 200 degrees Fahrenheit, for two hours.
- It's wise to turn them over occasionally to prevent the top from burning.
Microwave
- In the microwave, your leaves will be dry in about six minutes. It is important, however, that you put the bay leaf between two sheets of kitchen paper to prevent them from burning.
- It takes some trial and error to determine what works best for your microwave, but I would start by setting your microwave to 600 watts.