Mom's Classic French Bread Sage Stuffing

Prepare the bread

1. Two-three days before: Chop the bread into 1” cubes or rip it into bite-sized pieces to let it go stale. Place in a large bowl, and set aside. Let sit until super stale.
2. If your bread is not stale before it’s time to make the stuffing, warm the oven to 200°F and bake the cubed/bite-sized bread for 30-45 minutes or until crusty and crisp.

Make the Stuffing

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet.
2. Add the chopped onions, celery and garlic to the melted butter. Cook until the vegetables have softened, about 5-8 minutes.
3. Remove the vegetables from the heat, and set aside to cool slightly.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick baking spray, and set aside.
5. Sprinkle the sauteed vegetables on top of the stale bread pieces.
6. Season with the chopped sage, fresh thyme, ground sage, kosher salt, black pepper and poultry seasoning.
7. Use your hands or a large spoon to gently toss the ingredients together until combined.
8. Slowly pour in a cup of the stock, using your hands to mix everything together.
9. Massage the stock into the bread and vegetables, and slowly continue to do this until the mixture is combined. If it feels a little dry, add more stock. If it feels sticky and a little squishy, you're good to go! Go by feel—you want the ingredients to be soft and soaking in the stock, but you don't want them to be sopping wet.
10. When the stuffing has been assembled, transfer it to the prepared baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. (Alternately, you could stuff it into the raw turkey cavity and bake it inside the bird. You will probably still need a casserole dish for the extra stuffing to bake inside.)
11. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.
12. Remove the cover, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
13. When browned on top, remove from the oven, and enjoy warm!