How to take advantage of stale bread – Recipes and tricks

Is your bread stale? Does it seem almost inedible? If so, don’t throw it away! we explain why your bread is stale so that it will never happen to you again and, in addition, we tell you how to take advantage of it.

With the tricks that we will share, you will be able to restore its original texture to that hard bread, so that they are also applicable to those breads that have hardened over the hours.  Of course, we will also explain how to take advantage of stale bread with delicious and simple recipes.  Keep reading!

Why do I have stale bread?

Before explaining how to take advantage of stale bread, we are going to explain why this happens, so you can prevent it from happening again if you are baking your own bread.  Solving this little culinary enigma is perhaps the key to achieving ideal bread, because, by identifying the error, we better understand the process and this guarantees success in future preparations. Thinking about this, the most common reasons that can explain why your bread is stale are the following:

• Too much steam in the oven. A lot of steam makes a very hard crust and a little steam makes a very soft crust. To avoid excess steam in the oven place a metal container with water, just before putting the bread. Then, remove it after 5 to 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to a very high temperature and without steam. This can harden the crust very quickly, preventing the bread from rising. This way the bread is very compact and dry.
• Excess liquid in the dough and/or too much flour. If the bread is very compact, perhaps you added too many liquids, since this causes it not to rise in the oven as it should. To correct this problem, add a little flour to the dough (on the counter, in the form of rain), knead it very well, let it rest for 5 minutes and repeat this cycle one more time. When you finish this process, the dough will be ready for its first fermentation or long rest.  Never add too much flour or the end result will still be hard, very compact or caked bread.
• Work the dough for a short time. Another reason why the bread is very compact or hard comes from not kneading sufficiently and correctly. To get a smooth texture you must develop the gluten. To do this, knead properly, for at least 10 minutes.
• Skip the rest time of the dough(fermentation time). If you eliminate this time, the bread is very compact and poorly developed.
• Excess cooking or temperature. Both of these factors can give you dry bread, which breaks or crumbles.

Can stale bread be recovered?

Surely you have ever bought excess bread that has accumulated. As the days go by, you have a lot of bread but with a very hard texture, almost inedible. Perhaps the first thing you think of is throwing it away, but don’t do it, because that bread has many culinary possibilities. In this way, the stale bread can be recovered. Likewise, bread that becomes hard when baking, that is, freshly made bread, can also be recovered.

But how to recover stale bread? The answer comes down to two basic ways: soften it for consumption, almost as soft as the first day, or use it as an ingredient in other recipes.  Both forms are very easy to apply and the results are excellent. Read on and find out what to do with stale or caked bread.

How to use stale bread?

Already at this point, we know that stale bread is not thrown away under any circumstances, as we can easily recover it to taste almost as good as the first day. Likewise, old bread is so versatile that it can be used for much more. This is where our creativity comes in, giving stale bread multiple culinary uses to use in various preparations. Although it is true that the recipes of use are nothing new, since they represent classic options to not waste food and save, it is also true that we can always give them a masterful twist and enjoy very creative and tasty dishes.

For this reason, here we compile the classic ways to take advantage of stale bread and its uses in the kitchen, as a prelude to a selection of magnificent recipes:

Make croutons with stale bread

Diced stale bread becomes: versatile croutons! Perfect companions for soups, creams and other dishes. Making homemade croutons is very simple, it simply consists of cutting, toasting or frying and serving.

Make toast

Sliced ​​stale bread can be toasted in the oven, pan, microwave, or toaster for multiple uses. You can simply use this toast for breakfast with a bit of sausage or go a step further and cook Panini’s, toasts (which are slices of bread with meat such as loin, cheese, vegetables…) or make canapés. The possibilities are endless and allow you to take advantage of stale bread in a very effective way.

Make your own breadcrumbs

Good news! You no longer have to buy breadcrumbs in life, just prepare it at home. Ground bread has many applications in the kitchen: it thickens sauces, gives body to certain preparations and is used to coat food. For all these reasons, we should always have a good portion in the pantry. So, can you think of a better way to use old bread?

Also, when making your own breadcrumbs, you have the option of seasoning it to your liking and adding a touch of coriander, garlic powder, parsley, pepper, oregano, or other spices. In this way, you will enjoy a different flavor for each occasion or recipe.

Use it as a substitute for breakfast cereals

Bread dipped in milk can replace any cereal; all you need is to be imaginative by adding granola, nuts, or dehydrated or fresh fruit, yummy! On the other hand, in some savory preparations, the bread is also used in pieces to give consistency to certain recipes, especially soups and sauces.

Recipes with stale bread

When it comes to recipes for use, stale bread has endless options so that it is never wasted in your home. Whether they are sweet or savory preparations, there is always a recipe that needs this ingredient (in its different versions). For this reason, we have compiled for you a series of easy, very useful and tasty sweet and salty stale bread recipes that you will love.

Tarija’s of hard bread

The traditional troikas! Typical of Holy Week (and good for the whole year), they are a very tasty way to take advantage of stale bread. Also, although French toast is a classic dessert, it has thousands of versions, so you can eat them all year round without getting bored: French toast with honey, sweet wine, pastry cream, white chocolate, milk and orange juice, in syrup, vegan, etc. . . . That said, we leave you here the recipe for Grandma’s troikas:

The ingredients are:

• 1 loaf of old bread (minimum 1 or 2 days old)
• 1 liter of milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 pinch of cinnamon powder
• 200g sugar
• 1 glass of sunflower oil
• 1 piece of lemon peel (orange zest or anise stars also works)

To make this recipe with stale bread and enjoy its delicious flavor, follow these steps :

1. Heat the milk in a saucepan with the cinnamon, sugar and lemon peel. Stir a bit and let the sugar dissolve. When the milk aromatizes, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.
2. Cut the bread into slices of approximately 2 cm.
3. Beat the eggs and reserve them in a bowl.
4. Strain the milk to remove the cinnamon and lemon peels and leaves it in another container.
5. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
6. Soak the pieces of bread first in the milk and then in the egg. Soak the slices in the milk and leave them there until they are completely impregnated, but without breaking.
7. Fry the troikas and leave them on absorbent paper as they are made.
8. Sprinkle them with sugar mixed with cinnamon powder.

French toast, a delicious stale bread breakfast

The famous French toasts are ideal for breakfast, snack or even dessert time, and how delicious they are with old bread! And although we bring you the traditional recipe, you can also enjoy it in a light version.

Ingredients to make this recipe with stale bread:

• 2 tsp. cinnamon powder
• ½ cup of milk
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla essence
• 6 large eggs
• 10-12 slices of stale bread
• 1 pot of butter
• Syrup

Step by step :

1. Place cinnamon, milk, salt and vanilla in a bowl. Combine all the ingredients and reserve.
2. Beat the eggs. Once beaten, add them to the previous mixture and mix.
3. Dip the slice of bread in the reserved preparation. Do it lightly and drain it. The bread should be completely soaked, but not soggy.
4. Fry the slices of bread in the pan. Put margarine or butter on the pan to melt it and fry the toast in it. Once one side is browned, turn the piece of bread over and repeat the procedure on the other side. Continue like this, until the mixture is exhausted.
5. Serve immediately. If you want to enjoy spectacular French toast in full splendor, do it as soon as they finish cooking, so they preserve their ideal texture. Then, sprinkle them with cinnamon and accompany them with any of these options: fresh fruit, ice cream, syrups and, with whatever you want!

Stale bread cake

Bread-based cakes are irresistible, perhaps they have a consistent texture but very silky, creamy and somewhat juicy. Can you think of a better way to take advantage of old bread?

Ingredients for this recipe with stale bread:

• 8-10 loaves (any kind)
• 1 jar of evaporated milk
• 1 jar of condensed milk
• 1 cup and a half of sugar
• 1 and a half cups of raisins
• 3 eggs
• 1 pinch of ground cinnamon (to taste)
• 1 pinch of cloves (to taste)
• 1 splash of vanilla essence (to taste)

Steps to follow:

1. Submerge the bread in the evaporated milk and leave it until it dissolves. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
2. Incorporate the rest of the ingredients: sugar, eggs, condensed milk, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves and raisins. Stir very well until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
3. Pour the mixture into a caramel mold. P repair a caramel beforehand, empty it into the mold, let it cool down and reserve it until now. You can do this by following any of the recipes in the How to Make Caramel Bread Pudding article .
4. Bake in a bain-marie at 180 °C for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until very little moisture comes out of the cake with a toothpick (almost dry). The temperature of the oven and the time vary depending on each domestic oven (you must find the point for yours).
5. Take the cake out, let it cool for 5 or 10 minutes and unmold before the caramel dries.

Gazpacho, a recipe with yesterday’s bread

In Spanish gastronomy, gazpacho is one of the quintessential summer recipes, since it allows us to refresh ourselves while consuming a drink full of nutrients. It does not require cooking and is made with bread from the day before, although it also serves very hard bread.

Ingredients to make gazpacho:

• 5 tomatoes
• 100g bread from the day before
• 1 cucumber
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 green bell pepper
• 50ml olive oil
• 300 ml of water
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of pepper

Steps to follow:

1. Wash and chop all the ingredients. The onion and garlic must be peeled before, the tomatoes are used with skin.
2. Cut the bread and put all the ingredients in the blender. You can also use an electric hand mixer.
3. Blend everything until you get a homogeneous mixture. If you want it to be more liquid, add more water.
4. Pass the gazpacho through a strainer to make it even finer.

Other recipes with hard gazpacho bread are the following:

• Strawberry gazpacho
• Gazpacho without cucumber

Capirotada, a sweet with hard bread typical of Mexico

If in Spain the troikas are typical during the Lent and Easter season, in Mexico we find the capirotada, a recipe that also has multiple versions. In addition, this is one of the most delicious recipes with stale bread without oven that exist. Next, we teach you how to prepare the traditional white capirotada.

Ingredients to make capirotada:

• 1 cup of water
• 800ml evaporated milk
• 400 g of condensed milk
• 250 g piloncillo
• 2 cloves
• 2 black peppercorns
• 1 cinnamon stick
• half a teaspoon of baking soda
• 100 ml of oil
• 70g butter
• 1 bouillon from previous days (small bread or half a loaf)

The steps you must follow are these:

1. Heat the water with the evaporated milk and, when it is lukewarm, add the condensed milk, the cloves, the piloncillo, the pepper, the baking soda and the cinnamon, all without stopping mixing. Cook until the piloncillo dissolves and set aside.
2. Cut the bouillon(bread) into slices and fry them in a pan with hot butter and oil.
3. Serve the slices of bread with the previous sauce, raisins and grated coconut.