Dad’s Plain Bread Stuffing is home cooking at its best. It takes a basic recipe from an old cookbook and, without any special ingredients, creates a side dish that always earns compliments.

Dad's Plain Bread Stuffing made with rustic sourdough bread in a ceramic casserole dish. — Dad’s Plain Bread Stuffing made in 2021 using my son’s homemade Sourdough Bread.

Holiday Dinners

Holiday meals were a known quantity when I was a child. In our extended family each member claimed a different holiday dinner to host. Every year we gathered at the same house for the same occasion and looked forward to dining on the same menu with the same guests as the year before, give or take minor variations.

Christmas Day we ate a dinner of Baked Ham with Scalloped Potatoes, Oyster Casserole and a congealed Cranberry Eggnog Salad at Aunt Hen’s. For Christmas Supper we ate Country Ham with Red-Eye Gravy at Mammaw’s house. Christmas Eve was open to some flexibility but was always eaten at Aunt Betty‘s. On Thanksgiving it was our turn to host the feast.

After Mom died, Dad continued the tradition of hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our house. The guest list remained the same. Mammaw and Pappaw, my mom’s parents, were always there. Aunt Hen and Aunt Bet, my dad’s sisters, joined us too. Other guests were invited as opportunity provided.

The night before Thanksgiving we gathered to help Dad get things ready. Usually that meant sharing coffee and stories in the kitchen while we took out the Currier and Ives Ironstone place settings and made sure Mom’s silver flatware was polished. Dad verified that the turkey was fully thawed and the stuffing was ready to be assembled. His Plain Bread Stuffing always earned compliments.

ingredients for Dad's Plain Bread Stuffing — Mixing the ingredient for Dad’s Plain Bread Stuffing.

Staging the Show

On Thanksgiving morning, Dad rose very early, stuffed the turkey and nestled it in a slow oven. As it baked he held vigil in the warm kitchen. He tended the turkey while he had his morning coffee, basting it as necessary to encourage a golden bird. I woke up sometime later to the aroma of Roast Turkey drifting down the hallway. As the morning progressed the rest of the dinner was prepared. We always had Corn in Butter Sauce, Southern Style Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Candied Sweet Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, a Relish Tray and Soft Rolls.

As our guests arrived the women gathered in the kitchen to help with last minute details. Though Aunt Hen was generally among the first to arrive and might be asked to make the gravy, she would always defer to Mammaw’s greater experience when she and Pappaw arrived with the Pumpkin Pies. Aunt Hen brought another pie, made at my request, because I didn’t like Pumpkin. I don’t remember who made the Candied Sweet Potatoes. No one ate much of them. No one in the family really liked sweet potatoes but tradition dictated their place on the table.

Dad cooked the Buttered Corn and Green Beans along with the Turkey and Dressing. He put on the giblets for the gravy stock and he liked to arrange the Relish Tray; a pretty dish with celery hearts, carrots, green onions and olives. When the women arrived, however, he yielded the stove-top to them and focused on carving the turkey.

Dad's Plain Bread Stuffing in Mom's Courier & Ives ironstone bowl. — Plain Bread Stuffing served at our Thanksgiving table many years ago.

Duplicating the Magic

Dad’s Plain Bread Stuffing has been a hard recipe to duplicate. When I asked Dad how he made it he directed me to his old Better Homes and Garden’s Cookbook. There I found a basic recipe for Celery Stuffing. It is the same as my dad’s in theory. In reality, adapting it to the dish he prepared every Thanksgiving required examining the concept from his point of view.

I remember Dad multiplying the ingredients. He carefully premixed the salt and spices in a small bowl that was set aside on the counter. Early in the week he left loaves of sliced white bread open to get stale, then gently turned the bread cubes daily until they met his expectations for firmness. The only other tip he offered regarding his Plain Bread Stuffing was, “I get in with both hands and mix it.” I am guessing he was often a little overgenerous with the butter as well. In any case Dad’s stuffing, when slowly cooked inside a well-basted turkey, was worth raving about even without any special ingredients. It was home cooking at its best.

When I make this dressing at Thanksgiving I also take liberties. In the end it remains more of a concept than a recipe. I hardly ever cook the stuffing inside the turkey. I often add some extra celery too, sometimes use different types of bread, sometimes use more butter and then add the broth until it seems right and the dried bread cubes are moist. The temperature can also vary according to whatever is in the oven, a necessity on Thanksgiving and other special occasions. I leave it baking until it is hot throughout and shortly before serving I remove the foil or lid to encourage just a little browning on the top for a hint of crunch.