How do you use up stale bread?
@owlwings (43897)
Cambridge, England
May 12, 2008 1:36pm CST
In England we have something called 'eggy bread', which is slightly stale (day or so old) slices of bread dipped (or more often soaked) in beaten egg and milk and fried. It the States I believe you would call it French Toast but you would probably serve it with syrup or honey and cinnamon. In England you'd normally expect it to be served with bacon or beans for breakfast or a quick supper.
Another thing I would do with stale bread is to make breadcrumbs which I would either use as a basis for a stuffing mix (with sage and onion) to stuff a chicken or turkey before roasting it, or as a coating for fried food.
What do you normally do with old bread in your country? If your bread is mainly flat breads (like paratha or naan or pitta), do you have a way of using up old bread rather than throwing it out?
5 people like this
34 responses
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
15 May 08
It's funny I was going to suggest using stale bread for breadcrumbs but see you have that covered here..I usually use up most of my bread before it does go stale, but what I usually do is feed bread (in general, stale or not) to the birds---and of course they love their little "treat"
2 people like this
@Ohara_1983 (4117)
• Kuwait
15 May 08
we do the samething in our bread, but mostly is flat bread for our breakfast or fried to use in salad.
@nehenderson (140)
• United States
13 May 08
Bread Pudding is an excellent way to use stale breads. It can also be cubed and toast it with a variety of seasonings in a very low oven until dry to use for croutons for use with soups and salads. It is also good to use in ham and cheese Strdda. My grandmother liked to make what she called milk toast with it. She toasted it , put it in a bowl and added warm milk, cinnimon and sugar and ate it like cereal.
Bread crumbs can also be used to thicken soups, sauces and gravies.
2 people like this
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
14 May 08
Oooooh! Eggy bread! I just adore eggy bread, served hot with tomato ketchup :-) It's real easy comfort food. It was only recently that I discovered that French Toast and Eggy Bread where one and the same. I keep meaning to try it with cinnamon and sugar one day, but so far the ketchup has been calling too loudly.
My other favourite way of suing up bread that is past it's best is to make bread pudding. Sometimes i make a sweet one with dried fruit and spices and sometimes even chocolate chips, but more commonly I make a savoury version which I serve as a side dish. I butter the bread as normal then add mustard and intersperse the bread with slices of tomato and onion. It's a popular dish in this house, and quick and easy too.
2 people like this
@liquorice (3887)
•
13 May 08
I love eggy bread too, but don't really think of making it much these days. The main thing I do with stale bread is to make fried bread, which I love. I know it's not the healthiest thing to eat but it's so tastey, especially with fried eggs, beans and fried tomato, yum!
I love the idea of using it to make bread and butter pudding too, and some of the other responses have made me hungry for this. One day I'll try to make it myself!
2 people like this
@danishcanadian (28954)
• Canada
15 May 08
My mother likes to use stale bread when she makes stuffing for chicken or turkey. I sometimes crumble stale bread into a pot of soup, or something like that, or eat it under hot gravy. That always softens it up.
1 person likes this
@karadiablo (313)
• United States
12 May 08
One thing that I like to do with old bread before it goes bad is make bread pudding. Bread pudding is wonderful because you can use almost any type of bread, and you can make it as sweet or as hearty as you would like. One of my favorite bread pudding creations I have had was to brandy up some dried fruit and then when I made the pudding mixture of moistend bread milk and eggs I added warm spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, then some brown and white sugar. Added the brandied friut mixture and baked it for about an hour. When it was cool I made a warm nutmeg sauce to covver it was wonderful and turned into a big success at a family getogether last holiday.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
12 May 08
That was very inventive of you! Especially the nutmeg sauce.
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
12 May 08
Normal bread is just fine for French Toast 
. Bread pudding is an excellent way to use up stale bread, too. I had forgotten about bread pudding.
. Bread pudding is an excellent way to use up stale bread, too. I had forgotten about bread pudding.
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
13 May 08
HOW could You forget Bread pudding?
mmmmmmmmmmmm..Bread pudding.....
mmmmmmmmmmmm..Bread pudding.....1 person likes this
@schulzie (4061)
• United States
11 Jun 08
I have a big family - myself, my husband and four children so bread hardly ever goes stale. However, when it has I cut up the bread into cubes, sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika a little olive oil and then toast in the oven until they are nicely toasted. Then I put these in a ziploc bag for storage. These are croutons that I use on my salads for a nice little crunch! They are delicious! :D
1 person likes this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
10 Jun 08
OOOOHHHH I love eggy bread...its lush...but i dont do it very often..because i neve rgive it a thought!!...but we try just to buy a loaf and use it until we have practically used every slice now....there are just the two of us and i keep it in the fridge so it does keep fairly fresh...so maybe two loaves a week will see us right through.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
13 May 08
How about good old bread pudding with lots of raisins in it ...I used to love it when I lived in Scotland.
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
13 May 08
french bread is usually what my family does with it,though they've also made croutons,or bird stuffing as well.hadn't thought of having it with beans and bacon.that sounds really good.
@newtondak (3946)
• United States
13 May 08
I cut it up in small squares and put it on a cookie sheet - drizzle it with butter and some seasoning and pop it in the oven tomake croutons.
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
13 May 08
I thought that I would wait to see if anyone else came up with Summer Pudding and they did, briefly. In weather such as we are currently enjoying, there is nothing to beat it. Crammed full of summer fruits, a splash of cream and you have a small taste of heaven. Makes me wish that I had some fruit left from last year. I shall just have to go and urge the fruit bushes to work a little faster.
1 person likes this
@momalisa65 (1971)
• United States
13 May 08
Yep, I make french toast! Just made some this morning.
But I don't call bread 'old' after a day or two. I usually buy it at half price at a store where they sell it a day or two old, and it's 'new' to me then. Lol.
I don't call it old until it starts to get mold on it! Lol.
Then I throw it outside for the birds.
1 person likes this
