What better way to beat back a blue Monday than by making life a little greener? Being more eco-friendly often starts in the kitchen and is much more delicious than you might think!
Today’s green tip is about reducing food waste, specifically about what to do with stale bread. Whatever you do, don’t just throw it away! (Unless it’s moldy of course, in which case you definitely shouldn’t eat it anymore!) Bread that’s just gone stale and dry might no longer make for a tasty sandwich, but there are still plenty of ways to enjoy it.
What I usually do with slices of bread that have gone a bit (or even completely) stale, or that I’ve left in my toaster for too long, is make croutons, or pangrattato. Croutons are just fried or oven baked cubes of bread – great for soups and salads – and pangrattato is a fancy Italian word for fried breadcrumbs. It’s also known as pauper’s parmesan and it’s amazing sprinkled on top of almost every pasta dish you can think of. Make a basic version with just olive oil and salt or make it a bit more interesting by adding garlic and parsley or other herbs.
Croutons and pangrattato have become a fixed part of my repertoire, because they’re quick and easy and perfect if you just have a slice or two left over. If there is more bread to be used, there are also plenty of other ways to turn it into something delicious. Stale slices can be used to make a hot bread and butter pudding with raisins and cinnamon or a juicy summerfruit pudding stuffed to the brim with soft red fruit. Cubes of marinated bread also make a nice and crunchy addition to meat or vegetable shish kebabs and soaked bread can be used to make dumplings or to thicken soups and sauces.
And I’m pretty sure the list doesn’t end there. What do you do to save stale bread from the bin? I would love to hear your ideas and recipes!
Cuisine d'Eli 
As you wrote in the end, i use stale bread to thicken soup most of the time, or to make dumplings for the soup. Lovely post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Asli! I like how bread can give “body” to a thin soup (like Gazpacho for instance), but I have to admit I’ve not made dumplings more than once (and that was a very long time ago). Do you just make them plain or do you season them with herbs or spices or something?
LikeLike
There was one such recipe of Rachel Khoo that seasoned them with herbs. I first made those and continued to make other kinds of herbal dumplings, also adding spices (whatever I feel like) after that. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
nice tips! love your pictorials as well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Annika!!
LikeLike
Nice article, thanks. I use stale bread to make banh chuoi nuong, a traditional Vietnamese dessert based on far breton.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Adam! I admit I just had to look that up, but it sounds delicious. Will definitely have to try that one!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s on my list of recipes to do. I’ll bump it up the priority list. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay, can’t wait 🙂
LikeLike
I´ll give them a try thanks! Look out for my post next week on sourdough bread making on a commune in the South of France. I made some sweet tuna melts amongst other things 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will! That sounds amazing. I would love to make my own sourdough bread some day.
LikeLike
Great timing! I was just wondering what to do with some sourough, that we made, but is past it´s best!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, must be some kind of telepathy ;). Sourdough croutons are lovely!
LikeLike