Bread is an everyday thing in many western households. Since we may not eat it daily, some of it goes stale. But this does not mean that it is not useful anymore or that you have to eat stale bread. There are many recipes and tricks which can turn stale bread into a culinary delight. I have selected a couple that I know of, but please drop me your suggestions in the comments below. And keep in mind that all recipes below can also be made with fresh bread, if they make you mouth water and you are all out of stale bread.
First, the most common solution for stale bread. Cut the stale bread in small cubes (1 cm3 or less) and dry them if you do not plan to use them immediately. Dry or fresh cubes can be used for the same recipes. The only difference between the two is that the dried ones last longer (months!). Bread cubes can be used for all kinds of delicious things.
Recipes
Usually bread cubes are used for side dishes or for an addition to the main dish. For instance, you could prepare these fabulous bread dumplings or a juicy meat pie. My favorite ones are German bread dumplings which you can alway refine by adding some bacon into the mix. The same basic mix, which is used for the bread dumplings, can be used to make bread pie. Just put the mix in the oven and bake it! And again you can refine the pie with the addition of bacon, sosagues, eggs or different vegetables. Another fine option is to grind dry cubes with a grinder to bread crumbs. Bread crumbs can then also be used for a variety of beautiful dishes. The most famous and delicious use of breadcrumbs is for the preparation of breaded cutlets like schnitzel. Further, you can fry the bread cubes on a hot pan or bake them in an oven and you have fabulous croutons for your soups and salads. By far the most delicious way that you can use bread cubes or crumbs is for the whole chicken or turkey stuffing. There are many variations of the stuffing – from pure bread stuffing to liver stuffing and apple stuffing. They are all great and involve bread cubes or crumbs. My personal favorite is bread stuffing with tarragon. Heavenly!
Fried bread recipe
But stale bread can also be the main dish. My favorite recipe is fried bread. It is super easy to make and is a guaranteed hit dish. Just dip the bread slices (around 1.5 cm thick) into milk and after that in beaten eggs. Finally, fry them in hot oil. Done. The slices don’t have to float in the oil. About 1 cm (or even less) of oil in a pan is more than enough. Serve the fried slices topped with powdered sugar, ham or nutella. A guaranteed success!
Final remarks
Finally a quick rejuvenation advice. If you microwave stale or even dry bread for a couple of seconds, it turns soft and hot. But you should use it in a short time, since it slowly turns hard as it cools down. Or you can toast stale bread in a toaster and you can never tell if it was stale or fresh in the beginning.
With all these fabulous options listed above there is really no excuse to throw stale bread away. If it gets moldy, you have no option. But any other way, do something for the planet and society and use your stale bread. Cook something fabulous! And if you find another delicious recipe, drop me a note in the comments.
