10 Ways to Use Up Stale Bread

Stale bread is more versatile than you can imagine. So, don’t throw out that bread that is past its ‘use by’ date, just yet. However, if it has mold on it, please do discard it. Here are ten ways to create magic from bread that is stale.

  1. Breadcrumbs: This is perhaps the easiest way to use stale bread. You can either toast the bread or use as is (bread tends to harden the older it gets). Crumble them with your hands for a more rustic kind of crumb or blitz them in a food processor for a few seconds till you achieve the desired result. The best part is that you can freeze the crumbs and use it days later. Now crumb-fried fish, chicken nuggets, cutlets and so on, don’t require a quick run to the store
  2. Toast: Toast the bread in a toaster or an oven. Store the toasts in an air-tight container. You can cut the bread into long pieces before toasting and serve them with dips, cheese, salsa and much more.
  3. Croutons: There’s nothing like croutons to give your soups or salads an extra bit of texture. Toast diced pieces of bread and store in an air-tight container. Add these nuggets of crunchy goodness to your Caesar salad and tomato soup. You can also use croutons on a baked dish like macaroni and cheese to give a crunchy golden brown topping.
  4. Like a sponge: Some curries, especially those we get from restaurants, have large amounts of oil floating on the surface. Use the stale bread to soak up all that excess oil. This the most efficient way to get rid of the unwanted pool of oil
  5. Fondue: Who does not love a good cheese fondue? That rich lava-like cheesy goodness engulfs those skewered pieces of meat and vegetables. Skewered pieces of stale bread, cut in large cubes, can also be dipped into the vat of bubbling cheese.
  6. French toast: French toast or Bombay toast is extremely popular world over. It’s easy and quick to make. The best part is you can use stale bread instead of fresh bread. French toast is actually tastier when you use stale bread. Unlike fresh bread, stale bread absorbs more of that rich eggy mixture.
  7. Bruschetta: If you have stale buns, dinner rolls or baguettes, you can toast them and add toppings of your choice. A quick simple topping would be tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil.
  8. Burgers patties and meatballs: Once your meat mixture is ready you can add stale bread to soak up the moisture to keep the meatballs or patties from falling apart when you fry them. It brings the whole mixture together and you are not left with a wet mixture which becomes too hard to handle.
  9. Quick bread and butter pudding: Bread and butter pudding is perfect for a rainy day. Layers of buttered bread soaked in sugary custard, baked to perfection, is so simple yet sublime. As stated earlier, stale bread soaks up the custard quicker than fresh bread.
  10. Toasted sandwiches: The sandwich maker is ideal for that quick and compact snack that people of all ages enjoy. Stale, buttered bread along with the desired filling results in a crispy exterior and gooey sumptuous middle.