What to use instead of bay leaf
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Background aromatic in a long simmer
Bay gives up a cooling, faintly tea-like bitterness slowly into hot liquid. You notice it most when it is missing rather than when it is there.
Fresh thyme sprigsRan out
3 sprigs per 1 dried bay leaf
Greener and more floral, and it arrives much earlier in the cook. Pull the stems before serving.
Dried oreganoRan out
1/4 tsp per 1 bay leaf
Louder and unmistakably Mediterranean, and it clouds the broth with specks. Pushes a bean pot Greek.
A 2-inch strip of dried orange peelRan out
1 strip per 1 bay leaf
Bitter aromatic in the same slot with a citrus top note. Right in a Provencal or Cuban braise, odd in a plain chicken stock.
Juniper berries, crushedRan out
3 berries per 1 bay leaf
Piney and resinous, which is closer to bay than most things. Past four berries it takes the pot over.
What doesn't work: Ground bay leaf. It is dusty and bitter when it cannot be fished out, and the leaf works by releasing slowly into liquid, which a powder finishes in the first minute.
Aromatic in the steam of a rice or bean pot
Under a lid for 20 minutes the leaf perfumes the steam more than the liquid, which is why moros y cristianos smells of bay before you taste anything.
Fresh bay leavesRan out
1 fresh leaf per 2 dried
Much stronger and greener, closer to menthol. Use the same count as dried and the pot tastes medicinal.
A cinnamon stickRan out
1 stick per 2 bay leaves
Warm and sweet in the steam rather than cool and green. Works under black beans, wrong under fish.
Dried thymeRan out
1/2 tsp per 1 bay leaf
Fills the aromatic gap and disappears into the grain. No perfume when you lift the lid, so the pot smells plainer.
What doesn't work: Leaving it out and adding more black pepper instead. Pepper is heat and a top note, so the pot comes out sharper with the same hollow middle the bay was filling.
Take the leaf out before serving. It stays stiff and sharp-edged after hours of cooking and is a real choking hazard.