Home › Stale Bread › Stale Bread

Stale Bread

A CAREFUL housewife plans to keep in stock the smallest amount possible of stale bread, and of that stock not a morsel is consigned to the garbage pail. There is economy in adopting the English fashion of bread cutting, placing the loaf on a wooden trencher with a keen knife, and cutting at the table each slice as it is required.

Look carefully to the stale-bread remains of each day. Keep a wire basket, set in a tin pan in the pantry, to receive all scraps left on plates, toast crusts, or morsels from the bread jar. Never put them in a covered pail or jar; they will mold. Save all soft inside parts of a loaf to be used as soon as possible for croutons or croustades, slices or cubes for toast and toast points, and soft scraps for meat and fish dressings, puddings, omelets, scalloped dishes, griddlecakes, soufflés, croquettes, and the numerous dishes for which stale bread may be utilized.

For stuffing for poultry, fish, spareribs, veal, or game it is often possible to use dry "heels " and crusts by soaking and adding to them a portion of dry crumbs. The scraps which can be used in no other way may be saved for crumbing. When the basket becomes full, put the bread in a pan and set in a moderate oven with the door open. Never allow these crusts to grow more than golden brown. The browner crumbs are, which are used as a covering for croquettes, etc., the less frying they will stand. Before a croquette rolled in very brown crumbs is heated to the heart, it will appear almost burned. When the a scraps of bread are thoroughly dry, roll them on a board or put through the meat chopper, using the finest knife.

If there are children in the family who like "rusk," the old-fashioned New England name for browned crumbs sprinkled into cold milk, reserve the coarser crumbs for this purpose. Sift through a fine sieve, and the crumbs, no larger than cornmeal, may be put away to be used for crumbing purposes. Save the rusk in the same way, keeping it always uncovered. If the air is not allowed free circulation into the can, the crumbs will spoil. When rusk is used, heat it slightly in the oven. After croquettes have been crumbed, scrape together all the fine crumbs left on the board and sift, returning what is dry to the can.

Bread crumbs are always preferable to cracker crumbs in covering anything which has been dipped in egg. Cracker crumbs do not brown well. In the recipes following, stale bread and crumbs are spoken of in a distinctive fashion. Dried bread crumbs are those which are rolled and sifted, suitable for crumbing, but not for use in puddings or scallops, for they would absorb too much moisture. Stale crumbs are made from odds and ends of stale bread, rubbed on a grater or crumbled fine. They must be used at once or they will mold.

Stale bread that is broken and unsightly can be used for brewis, bread puddings, or in scallops. Toast or steam all that can possibly be used in such a way. Remove crusts before toasting. It makes a dish more STALE BREAD sightly, and the crusts can be dried for crumbs or worked into a dressing. Slices of bread too ragged to be toasted may be trimmed into diamonds, fingers, oblongs, rounds, or triangles for canapes. Cut smaller pieces in dice, narrow strips, or squares for croutons. Fry forty seconds in hot fat, or butter lightly and brown in the oven. They are an attractive accompaniment for thick soups. or Toast that will cut into vandykes or long points can be utilized for surrounding dishes of spinach, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, or green vegetables served in a mold. Dishes au gratin will use any of the dry bread crumbs. Instead of dotting the crusts with morsels of butter, melt the butter in an omelet pan, 2 tablespoonfuls butter to cupful crumbs, and toss lightly with a fork till every morsel is buttered. Brewis, steamed bread, and toasts of a large variety are some of the changes to ring in the daily menu, and they can be made so appetizing that a family has no suspicion it is aiding to keep the bread jar in good condition.

Brown-Bread Brewis. 2 cupfuls stale brown bread, 1 cupful stale white bread, il tablespoonful butter, 24 cupfuls milk.

For this dish use the smallest odds and ends of the bread, crumbling the larger portions into inch pieces. Put the butter in a spider. Allow it to melt, but not brown, and put in the bread. Pour the milk over it and simmer, stirring occasionally to keep the bread from sticking to the pan.

Season with a dash of salt and white pepper. Serve hot.

Steamed Bread.

Into the middle of a large steamer with a close-fitting lid set a cup or bowl inverted and around it arrange slices of stale bread you wish to steam. Do not allow them to touch the side of the steamer or they will become water-soaked. Fit the steamer tightly into the mouth of a kettle of boiling water. The bread will be ready in a few minutes. In taking it out, turn the lid over instantly to prevent water dripping on the bread.

Butter each slice and arrange on a hot plate with a napkin over them.

Stale biscuit or rolls may be steamed in the same fashion, or sprinkled with cold water and set for a few minutes into a hot oven.