I'm looking for suggestions to use up leftover bread. Ends of loaves, the random extra hot dog/burger buns we don't use…. I always seem to throw away a lot of bread that can still be used. I feel like a french toast bake could work, but all the recipes I see call for sturdy/french bread and we have soft white bread (kids 😬). I do save it to make stuffing before Thanksgiving, but other times of the year I don't have a need for that. Any suggestions?
Posted by lotus104
12 Comments
Maybe a bread pudding? It would be similar to the French toast, but it’s a softer texture for bread pudding, so maybe the white bread would work?
Or croutons?
Or you can toast it up, make bread crumbs then use those to thicken soup…
I always use it for bread pudding
You can let it dry out a bit before making bread pudding
Don’t turn the oven on, just put the slices on the wire rack to let it “air out”
Apple Brown Betty. There’s a good Jacques Pepin video on the YouTube.
Just make French toast out of the pieces… don’t worry about the type of bread as long as it goes with sweetness, like white, wheat, many whole grains (i.e., don’t use rye, sourdough, or other seriously savory breads). Also, dry slices in a low temp oven (170F) to make bread crumbs (for making meatloaf, crumb toppings, etc.). Look up crouton recipes and make a bunch of croutons (great for those savory and whole grain breads). Some breakfast casserole recipes use bread as the base and the egg/sausage mixture is poured over
Panzanella, croutons, ribolita, you can throw it in brown sugar to help with clumping, dip in soups as a thickened, if you know someone with livestock it is seen as a treat. Or composting? Oh, and traditional French onion soup!
Countries where fresh bread is considered a regular component of a meal (France, Italy, Germany as well the baltics) have a whole slew of amazing, traditional, and often relatively simple recipes that find delicious ways to incorporate/use up bread heels.
French onion soup is great for stale bread. Making breadcrumbs is a great use for it but not for 100% of leftover bread unless you make a lot of recipes with breadcrumbs. Garlic bread is delicious from slightly stale bread that isn’t at the breadcrumb stage yet. Bread or buns at the slightly stale stage can also be sliced thin and lightly baked for appetizer toast “crackers”.
You could dry the bread out, turn into breadcrumbs and use when you make meatloaf, hamburgers or meatballs. Or season and use as coating for homemade chicken strips. I dry bread out by putting it in the oven a little while after I’ve turned the oven off after cooking. The oven is warm enough to dry out/toast the bread without burning it. The key is not forgetting that it’s in there or it will burn the next time you preheat.
French toast bake is fine with almost any bread. I freeze them before I cook them if I want to just get everything put away.
Breakfast cassarole. The egg mixture will soften the bread, the flavors of bacon, sausage, onions, etc. will mitigate any staleish taste with the bread. Can be frozen.
I turn stale bread ends and such into breadcrumbs, and use those most often in a kind of crustless quiche. I also make a tray bake of French toast that I’ve successfully made as a casserole by cubing the bread instead of leaving it whole. And using the same base I use for the French toast casserole, just minus the sugar and adding some shredded cheese, I’ve made a kind of cheesy bread pudding type side dish.
My base mix is 6 eggs, 125g cottage cheese, 1 package soft tofu and 1/2 tsp salt. Blend smooth. Add some sugar and cinnamon for a sweet French toast vibe, or stir through 100g shredded cheese and top with a mixture of parmesan, garlic powder and breadcrumbs for a savoury version. Mix in about a loaf’s-worth of cubed bread, pour into a greased 9×11 casserole, and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Leftovers do well reheated in a microwave or air fryer.
I make breadcrumbs and keep them in a bag in the freezer. You can use them for lots of things then (treacle tart, coating on fish, chicken or topping on macaroni cheese 😊).