M: My mother prefers pepperidge farm stuffing, you know, the kind that you pour water into and let it bake. My stepsister always makes a larger bread stuffing or dressing. I know that if it's not cooked inside, it's a dressing. But the point is, I was wondering if there's some kind of happy medium to try. Like some way to easily create stuffing pieces or dressing pieces along the lines of other recipes that use pieces of bread that are smaller.

G: TL;DR:
Yes. The happy medium is small-cut, well-toasted bread cubes cooked outside the bird, with enough fat and aromatics to mimic Pepperidge Farm’s soft centers and enough surface area to give your stepsister’s dressing some structure.

（日本語）
小（ちい）さく切（き）ったパン を しっかり 焼（や）く と、 両方（りょうほう） の いい ところ が 出（で）ます。
Small-cut, well-toasted bread gives you the best of both styles.

Why Pepperidge Farm works (mechanically)

Pepperidge Farm stuffing succeeds because it uses:

Most homemade dressings fail at the compromise because the bread is too big, too soft, or too unevenly dried.

Three practical “middle-ground” methods

1. Fine-Cube Homemade Stuffing (closest clone, still “real”)

Cut bread into ½-inch cubes (smaller than most dressings), then dry aggressively.

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Method

  1. Use sandwich bread, brioche, or soft Italian (not crusty sourdough).
  2. Cut into ½-inch cubes.
  3. Bake at 275–300°F for 35–45 min, stirring once, until dry but pale.
  4. Proceed exactly like dressing: butter, onion, celery, stock, eggs optional.

Result

2. Torn-Shard Stuffing (Pepperidge texture, rustic look)

Instead of cubes, tear bread into ragged, postage-stamp-size pieces.

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Why this works

This is the best psychological compromise if family opinions matter.

3. Hybrid Pan: Half Cubes, Half Big Pieces

Literally split the bread prep.

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Small pieces dissolve and bind. Big pieces stay distinct. One pan, two textures.

Flavor bridge (important)

To keep Pepperidge-farm fans happy:

To keep dressing fans happy:

What not to do

Bottom line

You’re not looking for a new recipe—you’re looking for smaller bread geometry. Once the pieces are small and dry enough, boxed stuffing and homemade dressing stop being opposites and start overlapping.

M: Separate question. I'm making a recipe that calls for rotisserie chicken. Unfortunately, I do not see any rotisserie chicken. Would I be able to use fried chicken? This is for a soup. So the skin itself doesn't matter, I don't believe. It costs a little more, but... I really can't do anything about that right now, and I've got most of the pieces together. I want to make sure that I am not missing something before I start working on this.

G: TL;DR:
Yes, you can use fried chicken for soup, but remove the skin and any heavy breading first, and expect a slightly different flavor. It’s workable, not ideal, but it won’t ruin the dish.

（日本語）
皮（かわ）と 衣（ころも）を 取（と）れば、 スープ に 使（つか）えます。
If you remove the skin and breading, it can be used in soup.

What changes when you use fried chicken

Flavor

Texture

What you should do before adding it

  1. Strip all skin (this matters more than you think).
  2. Brush or peel off breading as best you can.
    • A little residue is fine.
    • Big chunks = greasy, muddy broth.
  3. Add chicken late, just to warm through.
    • It’s already fully cooked and seasoned.
  4. Taste before salting the soup.
    • Fried chicken is already salted.

Optional but useful:

When this works best

When it’s weakest

Bottom line

Using fried chicken here is a practical substitution, not a culinary sin. Remove skin and breading, add it late, adjust salt, and you’ll end up with a soup that’s slightly richer and more seasoned than intended, but still solid and coherent.