Stale Bread Recipes
I love that I have been able to bake the bread we eat on a daily basis for about a year now, but there always seems to be stale bread laying around. I guess it comes with making fresh bread that has no preservatives (as I talked about in my first blog post). So I’ve decided to start this year off by sharing some of the ways I like using my stale bread.
I REALLY try not to throw away any bread if I could…. Unless of course it starts getting moldy (which is preventative if you just put my loaves in the fridge). Wasting is my pet peeve, so here are the ways I have used my stale bread:
PLEASE NOTE: I’m not much of a measurer when cooking, so my recipes are estimated.
1. CROUTONS… This option is my number one option because I believe it is the easiest. Buying croutons seems like a waste now, since I always seem to have some sort of bread to make croutons with.
¼ to ½ Cup of Salted butter
Couple Tablespoons of oil
½ to 1 tsp of each seasoning of choice: Salt, pepper, garlic powder or garlic salt, parsley, and
parmesan
Instructions: Mix bread and all the above in a bowl until the bread is completely coated. Bake at 400* for about 20min, turning halfway through
That is it! And I use my judgment with all these spices, depending on how much bread I have
in my bowl.
2. FRENCH TOAST STICKS…. My kids absolutely love these. And I have experimented with
different loaves but like to use my white bread or twisted challah most often.
Loaf of Dels Bread that is a little stale (suggestions: white bread, twisted challah, Irish soda
bread, Cinnamon Loaf, Potato Bread)
5-6 Eggs
About 1 tbs of Milk
1 tbs Brown Sugar
2 tsp Sugar
½ Tsp of Cinnamon
Instructions: Slice the loaf about 2 inches thick then cut those slices again to your preferred size. In a baking dish, mix the eggs and seasoning together until combined. Then dredge each breadstick in the eggs (if the bread is a little hard, you will want to soak the bread in the egg for longer) and place on a greased baking dish. Bake at 350* for about 20 Minutes, flipping halfway through. There are always a lot that comes out of this batch, so once they have cooled, I place them in a tupperware and store in the freezer. You can take them out the night before to thaw, or nuke them when they are still frozen in the microwave for about 30-40 seconds.
3. BREAD PUDDING… My mother used to make bread pudding A LOT growing up. It wasn’t until I was older, when I realized there are a million and a half ways to make bread pudding. Below is just a quick way to make our version of bread pudding from how I remember my mom making it (I have to confess, it has been years since I’ve made this).
Loaf of Bread cut into two inch cubes
Enough warm milk to cover the cubed bread
At least ¼ to ½ Cup of Sugar. The sugar will be mixed with the warm milk, so use enough sugar to
make the milk as sweet as you want.
Jelly of Choice
One Egg
Instructions: Warm the milk on the stove. As the milk is warming up, cube up the bread and place in a mixing bowl. Pour the hot milk over the bread (make sure ALL the bread is covered with the milk). Then mix the sugar over the bread until it is as sweet as you would like it. Let the bread soak in the bread until soggy, which will take at least 30 minutes to one hour. Once the bread is all soaked, grab a baking dish so you can start layering the bread & Jelly as if you are making a “Lasagna” like creation. The only thing you will need to do is strain the milk from the bread. That way all you have is soggy & soaked bread (yes it looks and sounds gross but it really is delicious!). Once you have used up all the bread, use the Egg and some milk as an egg wash and pour over the top. Bake at 375* for about 30 minutes (or until golden & warm through)
So that is it! I am sure there are many other recipes or ideas for stale bread, but these are my top three choices.
Enjoy and Bon Appétit!
