How to Dry Bay Leaves

It was time to prune my Bay Laurel plant that I keep in a large pot in front of our house. This time however, I decided to try my hand at drying some for our annual trip to the pacific northwest. First I cut a few of the straggling branches. Then I washed and wiped off the leaves. There are several different ways to go about drying them. You can tie them together and hang upside down in drafty area, oven dry, use a dehydrator or simply dry on the counter between two large cookie sheets. I decided on the latter. It was a very easy process.........

Ingredients:

Bay leaves with no blemishes

To prepare:

Carefully wipe off leaves, taking care not to bruise. Use a large cookie sheet and spread leaves out so that they do not touch each other. Put another tray on top. This keeps the leaves from curling. After 48 hours remove tray. Let them continue to dry until they are thoroughly dehydrated and crack when bent. Mine took about 8 days. Store bay leaves in a lidded glass container away from light. Enjoy in soups and stews, remember to remove before serving.