Sunday, April 22, 2007

Leftover Bread

Food typically goes fast in our house, but occasionally we have leftover bread that is not stale or moldy, but just not fresh anymore. I try to recycle/reuse it as best as I can.

Some ways I use my not-so-fresh bread:

1. French toast. French toast is actually much better when made with day-old bread. It will hold the egg wash better, won't get mushy and it won't rip to pieces while being dipped or cooked.

2. Bread crumbs. I try to make my own bread crumbs as much as possible. The heels of the loaves are great for this! I either toast the bread or just let it sit out and dry completely, put it in the food processor and voila! Bread crumbs!

3. Croutons. I like to use leftover French, Italian or homemade bread for these. The best method I've found is to brush or spray the slices of bread lightly with olive oil or vegetable oil, cube them up with a bread knife, toss in a zip-top bag with whatever spices you like (I like Italian- oregano, basil, garlic, parsley) and toast them in the oven on a sheet pan. Store them in an airtight container or bag.

Do you have any creative uses for leftover bread?

2 comments:

Mandy said...

I don't know if this is creative or not. We give the heels of our bread to Buddy. He loves it!

Trixie Twatwaffle said...

My parents save all their bread for their ducks. Every year ducks come to their yard. Every year. They love it. (the birds and my parents)