How A Slice Of Bread Can Help Keep Your Air Fryer Clean

Air fryers are not only capable of cooking crisp food in mere minutes, but they do so without splattering oil all over your kitchen. That excess grease has to go somewhere, though — usually the very bottom of the fryer basket. To help you handle the lake of oil that you dread dealing with after dinner, a slice of stale bread is an unlikely hero.

This maintenance tip to keep your air fryer in top condition is super useful when cooking fatty foods like bacon, fried chicken, or french fries, which exude plenty of grease that drips through the air fryer's grates. It's not only a pain to clean up the mess, but letting it sit inside a high-temperature environment can result in a fire. This is where the bread trick comes in: Put a slice or two underneath the grates, and they'll soak up the excess fat as your food cooks.

This hack not only makes cleanup easier, but reduces the chances of fat spattering, smoking, and igniting inside your fryer. While you could also line the grate with metal foil or parchment paper, this requires extra safety considerations, such as making sure you cook enough food to weigh the liner down and keep it in place. Plus, you'll have to figure out how to dispose of the used cooking oil. Bread is more versatile, and once it has served its purpose, you can just toss it in the trash.

This air fryer bread trick is almost foolproof, but don't get greedy with how many slices you use. When liners like metal foil fully cover the bottom of an air fryer, they obstruct airflow, causing food to cook unevenly and potentially creating a safety hazard. Using bread instead happily avoids this pitfall, so long as you put in just one or two small slices. Leave plentiful gaps of space around the bread, and your food should turn out fine.

It's vital to note that this bread hack does not take the place of regular maintenance. You need to clean your air fryer after every use to keep it in good shape, so don't neglect to thoroughly wipe down the basket and interior of the appliance. A dirty air fryer can also be dangerous because leftover food particles may spoil and contaminate future meals. Stale bread can leave lots of leftover crumbs that you'll want to sweep out ASAP.

Even with all the precautions in the world, sometimes a stray oil splatter or drip of melted cheese ends up stubbornly stuck to your air fryer. Just like with the humble bread slice, a common pantry ingredient can come to the rescue: baking soda. This secret ingredient quickly cleans stuck-on food in your air fryer by breaking down greasy residue and lifting it away for easy scrubbing.