June 14, 2009 - 7:55pm
Using old bread
This morning I realized I had a loaf of mixed garden herb sourdough left from last Sunday! Yikes! Week old bread. I remembered a section from the River Cottage Bread Handbook on using old bread and tossed slices in olive oil and baked at 450 for ~20 minutes with a flip halfway through. The results were awesome-crispy crust and crumb with the slightest chew in the centers. My 8 year old son and husband (OK, me too) finished them off throughout an afternoon of yard work, but I wish I had a photo to show the golden brown deliciousness!
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That sounds wonderful. It's amazing what a trip back to the oven can do for stale bread. Oftentimes, it tastes better than the first time it came out.
My mom used to cut the crust off stale bread, pop it into the blender to make crumbs out of it, mix it with a tablespoon of butter, mixed herbs, a whole raw egg, some salt and pepper and stuff a chicken with it. The bird was then roasted. It would was the easiest, lightest, most fragrant and simply delicious stuffing I have ever tasted.
Another idea from the previous generation - my Mum would put any left-over pieces of bread onto the bottom of the oven, leave them there until golden, then use a rolling pin to make them into breadcrumbs. She used these for coating fried fish, meat rissoles etc. The rissoles would be made from minced-up leftover bits of meat and mashed potato.
Waste not want not!
I used some week-old sourdough that was as hard as a rock to make croutons. First I douced it in water and tossed it in a hot oven to "bring it back" and then I cut it into loose shaggy pieces and broiled them with some olive oil, salt and herbs de provence. They were a great addition to my turnip green soup.
I understand that it is common for the Germans to use old bread in new bread. I would like to know more about how they do it. (Toast it, crums etc.) and the amount that works without being overpowering.
Any of you do this?
Dave
There seems to always be a few odds and ends of leftover bread around the kitchen. I'll have to try re-working it into new dough, that sounds fun.
What I've always done is tossed it with some seasonings (garlic salt, cayenne, whatever I feel like that day), and enough butter and olive oil to coat. Then I pop it in the oven spread out on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes at 450F.
These croutons are delicious on a salad...or more frequently eaten by the kids as a snack.