Bread and Brown Sugar

Brown sugar goes hard very quickly, even when the bag is kept tightly closed with a twist tie.  All is not lost, however, as hard brown sugar is very easy to soften.  I have seen clay disks that can be soaked in water, then put in an airtight container of brown sugar to soften it. I don't know how well these work, though, and I have found a much easer, cheaper way.

Transfer your brown sugar to an airtight container such as Tupperware with a tight fitting lid.  Put a slice of fresh white bread inside with the brown sugar and seal.  In 24 to 48 hours your brown sugar will be soft and usable.  If your brown sugar is extremely hard, or if you have a large amount of brown sugar to soften, just use more slices of bread; it may take a day or two longer to soften the larger amount.

I have actually used this method to soften brown sugar that had been in storage over 10 years and was so hard that the tip of a knife wouldn't even pierce it.   The sugar was perfectly soft and ready to use after 3 days with the bread.