Stale Bread

Do you ever wonder what to do with stale bread?  Or bread that comes out of the freezer and sounds like a brick when it hits the counter, even after it thaws?  If you are like me and prefer to make your own bread, you know that it is really only great that first night and maybe the second day.  But who eats a whole loaf in twelve hours?  Ok, maybe we have done that once or twice, but certainly not every time.  Here are my suggestions for bread that is less-than-fresh:

Egg in a basket.  This is my favorite (and my daughter’s favorite) thing to make with day old homemade bread.  Cut thick slices, butter each side (Earth Balance for dairy-free peeps), and use a round (or other fun-shaped) cookie cutter to cut out the center of the bread.  Place the bread, both pieces, into a frying pan on medium heat.  Crack an egg into the cut-out part (the one with the crust) and cook the egg, flipping once, to your preferred texture.  By the time the egg is cooked, your surrounding bread and the cutout piece should be a nice golden brown.  

The second thing to do with stale bread is to tear it all up into crouton-sized pieces and fry it in a pan over medium heat in a generous amount of olive oil and salt until golden brown.  Best.  Croutons.  Ever.  And so simple!  Top salads, soups, or just eat as a snack- these babies will last a week in an airtight container, unless you eat them all first. I particularly like making them in a scallion infused olive oil, but plain or other infusions would be great too. 

If you don't want to make croutons before your bread seems unusable, toss it into a blender or food processor and make homemade breadcrumbs.  Store these in the freezer until needed in your recipe.  

And if the bread has no hope in transforming to something edible in your kitchen, you can always take a trip to a park and feed the birds.  Just make sure it isn’t moldy.  

I hope these ideas are helpful the next time you think your bread has seen its day.  Thanks for reading!