1. Soup thickener – Many soups can be thickened by adding bread. Just think of the French onion soup you get in a bread bowl. The consistency becomes top notch when you start scraping the sides.
2. French toast – No matter how dry the bread is, soak it in some beaten eggs, milk and cinnamon and you have the makings for some killer French toast. This is even truer with breads that have hard outer crusts.
3. Bread and butter pudding – Of course this has to be in the list, after all, it is the main ingredient.
4. Egg in a nest – If you want a breakfast that will transport you back to your childhood, sitting in your mother’s kitchen, try egg in a nest. Make a small hole in the middle of a slice, drop in an egg and flip and you have the makings of a great day.
5. Panzanella – This is an Italian bread salad, which makes use of cubes of day old bread.
6. Croutons – Coat the bread cubes with a light drizzle of olive oil and your favorite herbs, pop in the oven around 175 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes and you have the best croutons in the world. If you want to get daring, try tossing them with some roasted garlic, cayenne or dried mint right as they come out of the oven.
7. Breadcrumbs – Take your croutons and smash the heck out of them with your rolling pin. Tadaa, breadcrumbs.
8. Toast – It is already lacking a little moisture, why not dry it out some more and put some butter and Vegemite on it? Good as gold.
9. Grilled cheese – The more exotic the bread and cheese, the better. Experiment with Gouda and an Italian focaccia or some other variety you can find.
10. Cinnamon toast – A little butter, cinnamon and sugar to top the bread and the cereal may make a run for it.
11. Garlic bread – The all-time use for left over French bread, but the idea can be applied to almost any other type of day old bread for a slight twist on an old classic.
12. Stratta – This is an egg and cubed bread dish that is baked in the oven. A close cousin to the quiche, strata is usually denser and can be made with any number of ingredients, try one with asparagus, mushrooms and cheese.
13. Hamburgers – No, not as a hamburger bun, but chunk it up, slightly larger pieces than breadcrumbs and combine with the meat when you make your hamburgers. The bread will keep the burger light and juicy.
14. Zwieback toast - Cut thick sliced day old bread into 2cm fingers. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated oven at 120 degrees for two to three hours until bread is dry through and toasted. Let cool on a cake rack before storing in an airtight container. Great for teething babies to chew on
15. Feed the birds – Birds can’t really tell the difference between fresh bread and day old bread, or if they can, they are not too picky. Either way, a great repurposing of your day old bread.
16. Toss it – There comes a point when you have to say goodbye. If you can crack your granite benchtop with it, now is probably that time.
Grab a loaf or two of day old bread from your local bakery and get creative. After all, it is extremely cheap and you can never have enough French toast.
I slice the loaf and freeze it, then just pull out the number of slices I need, thaws in a few minutes, or 20 secs on defrost in microwave. So never have any stale bread.
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