Monday, November 10, 2008
Bread Scraps
Leaving leftover bread out to stale is actually on of the best ways to preserve it. When my bread has past its prime (usually 5 days for a home-made sourdough loaf-- breads that are not leavened with sourdough will stale more quickly) I cut off the crust and tear the remaining bread into pieces. Leave these pieces out on a sheet tray and they will be completely stale and dried in about a day, depending on the climate you live in. Bread scraps dried in this manner can be kept for a very long time, then used for croutons, puddings, stuffing and breadcrumbs. To make breadcrumbs simply throw thoroughly dried bread pieces in your food processor. Bread crumbs and dried out hunks of bread can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
You can also keep your fresh bread in your freezer, wrapped tightly with two layers of plastic wrap-- I'll often do this if I know that I'm not going to be using a whole loaf right away. Or it can be convenient to make two loaves at once and save one in the freezer for later. Refresh your frozen loaf by throwing it directly into the oven for a few minutes. When I make a light sandwich loaf or brioche (even on a budget, I am of the opinion that we all deserve some pastry-related excess) I slice the whole loaf at once and throw it in the freezer. Then I toast individual slices as I need them. I find this method keeps the bread fresh enough that I am excited to eat it even when it gets down to the very last slice.
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2 comments:
Renee,
Before I comment on "Bread Scraps", I want to tell you that I think your blog is one of the most brilliant I've come across. Besides a big thank you, I hope this endeavor can somehow, in someway, compensate you for your time and talent!
I consider cooking and preparing all of my own foods as my hobby and for 2 years I didn't eat out at all, and even now I do it occasionally and begrudgingly! I don't have any professional experience and didn't learn to cook until my early 30's. I spent most of my life extremely overweight and credit making my own foods for the success in maintaining a healthy bodyweight for over 3 years now. Blah, blah, blah...
But back to you and your blog. I've been meaning to comment since your blogpost on granola. I'm lucky enough to have the time and desire to spend all day in the kitchen if I want to, so trying some of these, what seem to be, labor intensive methods are interesting and exciting to me!
I'm going to start with the granola, and then the apples with carmel sauce. (I have to wait until the weekend to get apples from the farmers market)
Although I've never baked a laof of bread...it's not my thing, and I don't eat much bread anyway, lol....I have been drying my own, good quality bakery bought bread to use as turkey stuffing for years (usually a sourdough).
Now, I'm off to buy granola ingredients....list in hand!
Thanks again, Tracy
Tracy,
Aww shucks, thanks so much.
It's definitely true that for most people making their own food gives you a much more balanced and reasonable diet. Good for the pocketbook, the body and (if you'll allow me to get a little bit sappy) I think it's kind of good for the soul too.
Enjoy the granola! I'm hooked on the homemade stuff, I'll never buy granola again. It's also a fun recipe to play around with- swapping out different spices and nuts gives you endless flavor combinations.
-Renee
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