6 tasty ways to use stale bread

Related reading: Easy hack to make stale bread ‘fresh’ again

There’s nothing worse than opening up a fresh loaf of bread only to find the slices have already gone stale. But don’t throw it away — instead, turn your bread into something tasty. From breadcrumbs to stuffing mix and French toast, there are plenty of ways to use up stale or day-old bread.

Breadcrumbs

The easiest way to use stale bread? Make breadcrumbs. They’re great for topping pasta bakes, casseroles or thickening up soups. Just bake your stale bread on low heat in your oven until the bread is extremely dry, then place the bread in your food processor. To punch up the flavour, you can add herbs and salt.

French toast

A breakfast favourite, French toast is the perfect recipe for stale bread. Soaking the bread in the egg mixture softens up stale slices. Serve with tomato sauce, or for something a little sweet, sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top whiles it’s hot.

Bread pudding

When is the last time you had bread and butter pudding? It’s such a classic English dessert, and despite its origins as a ‘poor’ dessert (because it uses up stale, leftover ingredients), it’s an enduring favourite!

Croutons

Forget about store-bought croutons, homemade croutons take things to a whole other level. On top of being super-easy to make, they’re an excellent way to use up stale bread! All you need to do is cut the bread into cubes, toss them with dried herbs, spices and olive oil, and bake. Croutons work great in a salad, notably the Caesar salad, or on top of soups or casseroles — plus, they make a delicious crunchy snack too!

Stuffing mix

Stuffing is the perfect side, especially when you have stale bread on-hand. You can add the stuffing into your meat — it works perfectly with turkey or chicken — or spread the mix out in a tray and bake it in the oven separately to serve up alongside your meal.

Grilled cheese sandwiches

It’s safe to say nothing is more comforting than a classic grilled cheese sandwich. Try using about to go stale or day old bread so it grills more easily.

How to keep your bread fresh for longer

If all of the above don’t do it for you, but your bread is starting to go stale, just add a stick of celery to the plastic bag and let it sit overnight. The bread should absorb the moisture from the celery stick.

Others will swear by the old technique of running it under the tap, then briefly heating in the oven.

Alternatively, bread will keep for up to three months in the freezer, but its quality can be affected by freezer burn. So it’s a good idea to make sure the packaging is secure – try wrapping the bread tightly in plastic wrap and then resealable freezer bags before storing it in the freezer.