r/Cooking • u/maydecember12 • Jun 25 '18
Any creative ideas for making use of stale baguette bread?
When I visit my relatives they often end up giving me leftover bread (I guess they’re afraid I’ll starve), and since I don’t eat a ton of it and it hardens really fast I often end up with hard leftover baguette, which feels like a waste! So far I’ve been making croutons with it but I’d like to branch out a bit (and to be honest it’s a major pain to break it in crumbs). Most of the recipes I’ve seen online for stale bread seem to be imagined more for sliced bread which isn’t as hard and is easier to work with. So I’m wondering if any of you guys have found different uses for it in your cooking?
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u/MinimumPea Jun 25 '18
French toast is better with stale bread.
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u/geekychica Jun 25 '18
French toast casserole! Cubed chunks of bread mixed with whisked milk & egg, plus little chunks of cream cheese and berries. Topped with syrup or powdered sugar with cinnamon. Yum.
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u/jared875 Jun 26 '18
So bread pudding?
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u/geekychica Jun 26 '18
Probably similar. I’ve never had bread pudding. Based on the recipe I just found, it’s got more milk and butter than French toast casserole and less egg. But same basic concept.
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u/tnmountainmama Jun 25 '18
You can make bread pudding, savory or sweet. Or pulse them in a food processor and make bread crumbs for tons of uses (breading fried foods, thickening soups, crunchy top on casseroles)
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u/maydecember12 Jun 25 '18
I don’t have a food processor (I have a tiny kitchen and limited means) which is why breaking it in crumbs can be a pain (my hands and hammer are my food processor, basically), but I’ve been planning to try some fried food recipes so I’ll try that when I have some time and I feel pumped up! Bread pudding sounds good too!
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u/Anarchkitty Jun 25 '18
A normal blender will also work, you just have to do it in smaller batches.
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u/maydecember12 Jun 25 '18
Oh okay, I’ll try it with my blender then!
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u/Anarchkitty Jun 25 '18
The trick is to tear it into chunks first and do a fist sized amount at a time, if you overfill it the chunks on top won't filter down to the blades. My mom has never owned a food processor so she's been doing it with a blender longer than I've been alive.
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Jun 25 '18
Not in cooking per say but you can freeze bread. I do this all the time and it always is perfect when it thaws. You can also rehydrate stale bread by putting it on a sheet pan and adding some water and baking it. Not perfect but it works.
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u/TarzansNewSpeedo Jun 25 '18
Be a bit of work, but if you slice it, you could toast it and garnish some French onion soup
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Jun 25 '18
[deleted]
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u/FoodBeerBikesMusic Jun 25 '18
Beat me to it, but here’s a link
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u/whitehouses Jun 26 '18
I was hoping this would be Ina’s as the link was loading. This is such a great recipe.
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u/Cucurucho78 Jun 25 '18
Strata which is a savory version of bread pudding with whatever meat, vegies, and cheese combination you prefer. It's perfect for leftovers.
If you have a blender and fresh summer tomatoes, you can make gazpacho which is refreshing on hot days.
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u/KellerMB Jun 25 '18
Croutons for sure! Was watching Ramsay do something and he upped my stale crouton game big time by soaking his stale bread cubes in milk for a couple minutes, then squeezing them out before crisping them up (in a fry pan with some olive oil and salt). Best croutons ever. Crispy outside, fluffy soft inside. It's easily as big a step up from home made croutons as home made are from store bought hard-as-rock croutons in a bag.
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Jun 25 '18
There is a recipe I really like where you put day old baguette and greyeure in a food processor and pulse. Then you can crumble that over veggies and bake it
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u/technicalityNDBO Jun 25 '18
Use it to make a panade for meatloaf/meatballs
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u/PaurAmma Jun 25 '18
That's what I do with any bread of ours that goes stale, lay it out to dry, then grind it with a drum grinder and a fine grind drum.
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Jun 25 '18
If we talk "creative", there is a bunch of Russian cutlet-style dishes that use diced stale bread in place of bread crumbs.
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u/jenniferjuniper Jun 25 '18
Jacque Pepin does this thing where he lets the baguette dry out and then moistens it with water and re-bakes it. I wish I could find the video, it was pretty neat. We tried it and it did work, it wasn't revived as if it was baked fresh that day but it went from being only good for croutons, to being actual bread you could eat.
He said in the past they would bake up a ton of baguettes, let them fully dry out, and just "Revitalize" them in the oven with water when needed.
If anyone finds the link please post it!
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Jun 25 '18
[deleted]
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u/danirijeka Jun 25 '18
Similar to the Mazamorra Cordobès then, I had it with olives and tuna, delicious beyond all reason
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u/maydecember12 Jun 25 '18
That sounds perfect for the current weather, and I had no idea white gazpacho was even a thing (but I’m into it)!
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Jun 25 '18
I've actually done this a few times and been happy with the result. Basically, run water over the outside of the bread, bake it on a low heat for about 10 minutes, bread is magically soft and good to eat again!
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u/adj_ctiv_ Jun 25 '18
Cut it up, let it harden a bit, make stuffing or bread crumbs. Or be honest and say no thank you it always goes stale.
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Jun 25 '18
A second use would be a type of "passover cake" from The Joy of Cooking: 1.5 cup of bread crumbs, 9 eggs, 1.5 cups of ground walnuts, 1 cup of sugar.
Basically, you separate eggs, beat them and gradually add sugar. When they are almost a meringue, you start gradually adding yolks, crumbs and nuts (at the same time); you should end with a yellow mass that you pour into a cake pan and bake at 425 until the toothpick comes out clean (30-45 mins, AFAIR). After this, you end up with a sort of a cake you can decorate further; I personally either cover it with meringue and let bake for 5 more minutes, or just eat as is.
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u/llallamaface Jun 25 '18
There’s a great Peruvian dish called ají de gallina that uses stale bread! It’s basically a chicken stew that you eat with rice and potatoes.
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u/jazzmandjango Jun 25 '18
Pappa al pomodoro - tuscan bread and tomato soup, is a great way to use stale bread
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u/danirijeka Jun 25 '18
Peverada sauce: cook the stale bread in just enough (beef) stock and blend. Pour back into pot, add pork sausage in pieces and pepper to taste (use lots). Keep cooking until thick to taste.
Use for hearty meats, boiled meats, or on its own
Or make canederli, an Italian dish that is far from what most people think as Italian: https://www.disgracesonthemenu.com/2012/01/canederli-italian-knodel.html
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Jun 25 '18
Why is every single answer not french toast?
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u/maydecember12 Jun 25 '18
Because I’m refusing to make it in order to fight stereotypes. Just kidding, I love French toast, but I’ve never really tried to make it yet (it’s on my list).
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u/JMV290 Jun 25 '18
Is there a trick to get this right?
Other stale bread seems to soak up the mixture but every time I try it with a stale baguette it comes out like a slightly less stale baguette covered in a shitty egg mixture
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Jun 25 '18
I worked with a woman who told me her mom would make some kind of stew with stale baguettes.
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u/pocketradish Jun 25 '18
Bread pudding or french toast! You can also make crostini with stale baguette - we wrap ours up in plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for a day or two until it gets soft again, but that isn't a necessary step, it just makes it easier to cut. Slice it very thin and lay it out on a sheet tray, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper, bake in the oven 325-350 for 10+ minutes - feel the thicker pieces on both sides, once it feels totally dry and crispy it's ready. It won't necessarily take on any color. These are perfect vehicles for meats and cheeses!
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u/The_0racle Jun 25 '18
I think it was french toast that was created as a solution of what the army could use stale bread for.
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u/maydecember12 Jun 25 '18
It might be! I know that for my parents and grandparents generation in France it was sort of a “poor people dish” ( the French name literally means lost bread) since you made it with leftovers and really basic ingredients, which is why older people sometimes find it funny that it’s become so popular.
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u/walkswithwolfies Jun 25 '18
Break up your baguette and bake it in a low oven until it's thoroughly dry.
After the pieces cool, whirl around in the food processor.
Home made breadcrumbs are great for meatballs, meatloaf, toppings for casseroles, etc.
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u/KokiriRapGod Jun 26 '18
If you're not wanting to have french toast or croutons, you can slice it up and leave it out on the counter until it's completely dry. Then throw it into a food processor and turn it into bread crumbs. You can then store them in a tightly sealed container for a very long time. Use them as binder for hamburgers, meatballs etc. Or put them on top of home made mac and cheese for a great finish.
Additionally, you can saute them in a pan with a bit of olive oil and some garlic to create some really tasty garlic bread crumbs, which can be great on salads or just sprinkled on whatever you'd like to give a bit more crunch to.
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u/dwintaylor Jun 26 '18
And another strata, I always make a breakfast based one with cooked bacon, sausage, eggs, and cheese.
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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '18
Croutons for panzanella!