According to research by WRAP [the anti-food waste group] it seems that bread is Britain’s most wasted food. 4.4 million tonnes of ‘edible provisions’ are thrown away every year – and nearly one third of that is bread. I am quite horrified by this statistic. Just occasionally, in the summer, the final crust of a bought loaf might go in the bin because it has gone mouldy [and I am not beyond cutting off the top mouldy bit and eating the lower half of the slice if it is OK, I admit] but I hardly ever discard bread. Home-made bread is eaten promptly and enjoyed and doesn’t sit around to go to waste.
These three loaves were made by Bob during one of our Cornerstones holidays. Can you imagine not eating up such delicious looking loaves?
The article on the BBC Website gives all sorts of ideas for using up leftover bread – and I do most of these already [click on the links to get directly to the BBC Food recipe pages]
- Breadcrumbs: Can be made from both fresh and stale bread
- Bread and butter pudding: Use white bread, croissants, brioche or panettone
- Crab cakes and crushed peas: Make a crispy breadcrumb coat
- Treacle tart: Use fresh breadcrumbs for the filling
- French toast: Uses slices of stale white bread
- Cauliflower cheese: Add ciabatta breadcrumbs to make the topping
I’d add these ideas to the BBC list..
- cut up leftover toast into croutons, store in a screwtop jar, ready to sprinkle on soups – or make croutons from solitary crusts.
- B&B pudding is wonderful made with fruit loaf or leftover hot cross buns.
- Queen’s pudding is a lovely treat made with breadcrumbs
- Brown Bread Ice Cream is great too [toast the crumbs first in a pan with a little butter]
- top a casserole with a couple of leftover slices of bread buttered and cut into triangles, instead of make dumplings or a cobbler topping.
What do you do with leftover bread?
In a world where so many are starving, it seems that Brits who can pick up a white sliced loaf reduced to 20p at the end of the day have ceased to have any respect for the staff of life. Did you know that the Elizabethans [according to the blessed St Delia, who ought to know] called yeast ‘Godisgoode’ because they were amazed at the way it transformed heavy dough into a light and tasty loaf?
How can we pray ‘give us this day our daily bread’ if we are taking this blessing for granted?
I confess we are guilty of throwing away the last couple of slices of a loaf.
ReplyDeleteYour list of ideas for using it up is fantastic - I can't help thinking we must try harder not to waste it. We're pretty good at using up tired fruit and veg in crumbles and soups but when it comes to bread my enthusiasm runs out.
I think food waste is one of the effects of the hectic lives we all lead. I'm getting better at buying sensibly and using it all up now I only work part-time and have time to cook properly.
I always keep a bag of breadcrumbs in the freezer, there are so many uses for them.
ReplyDeleteCroutons, breadcrumbs, and--most popularly--french toast!
ReplyDeletexofrances
No such thing as leftover bread in our home...if the last weeny end piece is left, it is frozen for breadcrumbs.
ReplyDeleteJane x
Also Fattoush: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fattoush
ReplyDeleteAlso those 20p end of day loaves dried in the oven at a low heat and blitzed in a food processor until they're breadcrumbs make a perfect bulking ingredient for sausages, meatballs, meatloaf etc.
Thanks for all these great ideas. I shall have to try fattoush, Jon!
ReplyDeleteWow, we never have leftover bread. I love toast so much I'll even toast fresh bread.
ReplyDeleteGrilled cheese sandwiches do come to mind as a good use for less-than-fresh bread.
Perhaps if more people made their own bread they'd be less inclined to throw it away. They'd appreciate the labour involved, and homemade bread is so tasty they wouldn't want to lose any of it.
Fabulous poem on Jim Gordon's blog:
ReplyDeleteBe careful when you touch bread.
Let it not lie uncared for – unwanted.
So often bread is taken for granted.
There is so much beauty in bread;
Beauty of sun and soil,
Beauty of patient toil.
Winds and rain have caressed it,
Christ often blessed it.
Be gentle when you touch bread.
~Anonymous
my youngest boy makes delicious croutons with the left over oil from the jars of olives we use - the oil is already flavoured and so he soaks the bread in it and then bakes the croutons in the oven - delicious. It was his idea as until then we did indeed waste both the oil and the bread!
ReplyDelete