Kristen Cook
The bread is no longer fresh? No reason to throw it in the trash: There are great ways to recycle stale bread – for example with these 7 recipes!
Do you still have leftover bread at home and don’t want to throw it away? Whether it’s white, gray, or brown bread: it’s not difficult at all to use old, hard bread. All you need is recipe ideas and dishes that taste good.
This is how old bread can be used
Of course, you can also feed dry, hard (and not moldy!) bread to animals: animal shelters and animal parks or farms will be happy about it. However, you should not feed them to ducks and other birds as they could choke on them. On the other hand, if you want to use up stale bread and make something delicious out of it, you should try these recipes.
7 recipes with stale bread
With these ideas, old bread never ends up in the garbage again, but in the stomach:
1. Use leftover bread for Mediterranean bread salad
Cut the leftover bread into small cubes, and roast it in a pan with garlic and olive oil. Served with a salad made from the following ingredients:
- arugula
- Mozzarella
- tomatoes
- Fresh basil
- Shaved parmesan
Mix everything and add the bread cubes. Pour olive oil and vinegar over it, and season with pepper and salt.
2. Juicy bread casserole: This is how old bread can be used
It’s very easy and makes a lot: Place the bread slices in a casserole dish. You will need the following ingredients (for 2 people):
- 2 eggs, size M
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- 1 cup of crème fraîche
- 2 beefsteak tomatoes
- Fresh basil
Mix the eggs, milk, and crème fraîche, and season with salt and pepper. Slice the tomatoes and place them on the bread. Pour over the egg and milk mixture. If you like, you can also add minced meat or bacon cubes. Bake in the preheated oven (200 °C) for approx. 20 minutes. Finally, sprinkle with fresh basil.
3. Use bread in the hearty bread soup
It used to be considered poor people’s food and also filled you up in times of need – today you can vary bread soup with many different ingredients and conjure something delicious out of it. The stale bread is cut into cubes in advance and toasted in a pan. What else is needed:
- Meat or vegetable broth as a basis
- Onions, spices, and herbs – e.g. B. cumin, nutmeg, marjoram, or parsley
- 1 egg, cream, or cheese to thicken
- Vegetables such as peppers, mushrooms, or tomatoes
- Fried bacon or meatballs for meat lovers
Cook the vegetables and spices in the broth for a few minutes, then thicken the soup, and season with salt and pepper. Finally, fold in the bread cubes (and the meat).
4. What can you do with stale bread? bread patties!
The perfect alternative to meat that you can refine as you wish. Ingredients:
- 500 grams of stale bread
- 100ml milk
- 2 eggs, size M
- breadcrumbs
- To taste e.g. B. 1 onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, or feta cheese
Break up the bread, soak it in the milk, and mash. Add the eggs and breadcrumbs – the mass must be easy to form into patties. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and season as you like: there are hardly any limits to your imagination. Roll the meatballs and fry them in a pan with oil until crispy brown.
5. Poor Knight: So sweet you can use old bread
In English-speaking countries, the toast is known as “French toast”. The basis here is dry white or toast bread. It’s cut in half and then soaked in a mixture of these ingredients (for about 6 slices):
- 300ml milk
- 2 eggs
- 40 grams of sugar
- 1 packet of vanilla sugar
Then fry the soaked bread in a pan and enjoy with sugar and cinnamon, ice cream, fruit, or vanilla sauce.
6. Process stale bread into bread chips
If the stale bread can still be sliced, you can use it to make chips. Simply cut into thin slices, drizzle with olive oil, rub a clove of garlic over it, and season with salt or rosemary, for example, or top with chopped tomatoes. Roast in the oven at approx. 160 °C until crispy.
You can also make breadcrumbs from stale bread. All you have to do is cut it into slices and dry it. Then use a grater or blender to grind it into breadcrumbs. Schnitzel can also be breaded with it. Best stored in an airtight container.
That makes you want to use up old bread and bring new ideas to the table – Bon appetit!
