Step 1

Preheat oven to 225-250º F.

Step 3

Cube bread spread in a single layer onto one or two cookie sheets. Bake until crunchy, stirring every half hour or so, for a total of 90 minutes (depending on how dry your bread was before you put it in the oven, you may need less time in the oven to dry the cubes, so keep checking periodically).

Step 5

Remove the dry bread cubes from the oven and turn up the temperature to 375°F.

Step 7

In a large skillet, melt 4 tablespoons butter, then add the carrots, celery and onion, cooking until tender (about 10 minutes).  Add the herbs, salt and pepper and stir, cooking for another 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Step 9

Combine the dried bread cubes, chopped apple, nuts, berries and flaxseed in a very large bowl.  Stir in the carrot-onion mixture until well-mixed. Add cooking stock of choice to the large bowl and stir, adding more stock as necessary to make a moist stuffing. Spread mixture into a lightly oiled 3-quart baking dish. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and drizzle over the top of the stuffing.

Step 11

Cover with foil and bake at 375º F for 25 minutes; remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until the top is golden-brown and the stuffing is not soggy.

Step 13

Make ahead options:

Step 15

Bake the bread cubes and wait for the cubes to cool before packing them in zip-top bags to keep the moisture out. Prepare the stuffing the next day.

Step 17

Or assemble the stuffing the night before, cover and refrigerate: when ready to bake, place a rack in the middle of the oven and bake covered for 25 minutes at 375°F. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes or until top is lightly browned. If you are baking straight from the refrigerator, add 10 extra minutes to total baking time.