Smart ways to reuse stale bread:
A fresh Slice
Jeff Yeager
My great grandmother was born a peasant in Czechoslovakia, and she
grew up eating super-crusty, European-style bread that had further
turned to stone and was handed out for free to needy families by the
local baker. As is often the case with things you experience early in
life and have never known otherwise, she actually developed a fondness
for stale bread.
Stale bread can be reused |
Even once she moved to America and could afford fresh bread, she
found it wholly unsatisfying. She would scour bakeries and markets for
"day-old" bread, not just because it was cheap, but because she
preferred it. Later in life, she took to buying fresh bread and laying
slices of it all around her kitchen to allow it to go stale before
eating it. Her house always smelled of yeast, rather like a brewery.
Every time I screw up and let some bread go stale, I think of her and
say to myself, "Don't throw that away!" Here's what I do with it
instead:
Bring it back to life. You can also try reviving stale bread by
dipping it in water and baking it in 370 degrees for 12 minutes. But
that would just break my great grandmother's heart.
Use it to heal wounds. A mixture of stale bread and warm milk wrapped
in a towel or bandage has been used for centuries as a poultice to bring
boils and abscesses to a head. (Note: After you have successfully
applied the poultice and extracted the infection, then you have my
permission to finally throw that away!)
Bread crumbs. Whisk them in the blender, add some Italian seasonings,
and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.
Croutons. Sauté stale bread cubes in plenty of butter and/or olive
oil with a little Parmesan cheese for the best croutons you've ever
eaten.
Bread soups. Use stale bread to thicken sauces, soups, and stews.
Bread soups are a popular, delectable, and hardy dinnertime staple in
countries around the globe.
Bread salads. Ample quantities of stale bread cubes tossed in with
tomatoes, lettuce and other fresh vegetables, and liberally dressed with
olive oil and wine vinegar, makes an entire meal out of a simple salad.
Here are some bread salad recipes to get you started.
Bread puddings. Everybody's grandmother has her favorite bread
pudding recipe; here's one of mine. Or check out some of these delicious
bread pudding recipes.
French toast. Use stale bread for your favorite French toast recipe.
Did you know that re-purposing stale bread was the original
motivation behind that popular dish?
Bread and milk for the kitty. Many cats love a treat of bread and
milk, but milk can sometimes cause diarrhea in cats, so go easy at
first.
Feed the birds. Bread crumbs and crusts will attract many a feathered
friend to your backyard bird feeder. While many birds do enjoy bread,
it's not the most nutritious meal, so think of it as a treat, rather
than as a staple of a healthy diet for native birds.
Green.yahoo.com
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