No ducks to feed your stale bread to? Guilt-tripping about having thrown it? Save yourself the guilt of wasting food......for there are many delicious uses of left-over bread! Too small a piece to be used? Keep storing bits and pieces of different breads in a Ziploc bag in the freezer until you have enough! Here's the best few ways i know of to use old bread...
Croutons - Homemade croutons are way healthier than the store-bought ones. Simply brush the bread with some melted butter or olive oil, cut into desired-size cubes, and bake for 10-15 mins or until brown. You could also season the bread with garlic salt and herbs to add more flavour. Use in soups and salads.
Bread crumbs - It can't get easier than that! Tear into pieces and grind away in a blender. Store in the freezer. Great for stuffings and of course, for coating fried food in.
Fondue - Perfect for cheese-lovers. Bread & cheese...one of the many delicious sins!
French Toast - The classic french way of using stale bread! The french call it 'Pain Perdu' which means 'lost bread'. Here's an eggless version that works really well.
Bread Pudding - There are many ways to make bread pudding. Here's one i came across that i really liked.
Panzanella - An italian salad made with bread, tomatoes, cucumber, basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
My personal favorite - A version of panzanella in a way. I drizzle a few spoons of cream over cubed bread, sprinkle some garlic salt, pepper, and herbs. Then i let it soak for 30 mins before toasting them golden-brown in a large non-stick pan.
Croutons - Homemade croutons are way healthier than the store-bought ones. Simply brush the bread with some melted butter or olive oil, cut into desired-size cubes, and bake for 10-15 mins or until brown. You could also season the bread with garlic salt and herbs to add more flavour. Use in soups and salads.
Bread crumbs - It can't get easier than that! Tear into pieces and grind away in a blender. Store in the freezer. Great for stuffings and of course, for coating fried food in.
Fondue - Perfect for cheese-lovers. Bread & cheese...one of the many delicious sins!
French Toast - The classic french way of using stale bread! The french call it 'Pain Perdu' which means 'lost bread'. Here's an eggless version that works really well.
Bread Pudding - There are many ways to make bread pudding. Here's one i came across that i really liked.
Panzanella - An italian salad made with bread, tomatoes, cucumber, basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
My personal favorite - A version of panzanella in a way. I drizzle a few spoons of cream over cubed bread, sprinkle some garlic salt, pepper, and herbs. Then i let it soak for 30 mins before toasting them golden-brown in a large non-stick pan.
I top many different salads with them....and they always taste great! I also make bread sticks in this way....to serve with dips.
I'm sure there are many more ways that can be added to this list. I'd be keen to hear if you have any other interesting thing that you do with old bread.
This is great timing! I was just wondering what to do with my old bread.....think i'm going to try the salad!
ReplyDeleteHi - agreed with all the ideas as I do but another is to toast the croutons in the oven and when very hot, sprinkle on lots of parmesan and mix through - delicious on top of soups or salads.
ReplyDeleteI used to be Home Ecomomist but now have had a career change and am a tour operator doing self drive itineraries round Scotland or France - all wonderful and interesting but this gives me more time away from teaching cooking lessons to spend time inventing dishes and to enjoy the freedom.
I have a couple of other suggestions for dishes using breadcrumbs and left overs which I'll post at another time.
Bon Appetit to all,
Marie Cruickshank.
mmmmm.....the parmesan idea sounds delish! will look forward to the other suggestions!
ReplyDeleteI make garlic "micro-croutons": Tear into chunks then pulse in cuisinart along with fresh garlic. Add olive oil and/or butter and pulse. Then toast until crisp in the oven. Great on salads, soups and as a topping on mac & cheese or creamed spinach.
ReplyDeleteThis is easy to follow and the ingredients can be found in the grocery so I will not have a hard time purchasing them. I do hope that more people will learn various ways on how to prepare meals on their own and not just depend on the instant kind. After all, this is for our benefit.
ReplyDelete