Take the sliced, stale bread, preferably Tuscan bread or a crusty bread without salt, and submerge it in a bowl with water. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water, and wait for the bread to soften.
Remove the bread slices one at a time and squeeze them to remove the water and then crumble each piece into a clean, large bowl. Repeat until all the bread has been squeezed and is crumbled in the bowl.
Cut the ripe tomatoes into small pieces, add them to the bowl and mix well. The bread should turn a light red color.
Finely chop the cucumber, onion and basil and add it to the bread.
Season the dish with some salt, a dash of ground black pepper and a drizzling of extra virgin olive oil and mix together well until the consistency is uniform.
Cover and leave the salad in a cool place or the fridge for a few hours so that the flavors can meld together. Now it's ready to enjoy!