Bread Cereal

A one-line recipe that turns stale bread into a hot breakfast cereal. The only variable that matters is how far you take the drying, since that determines whether the crumbs stay crisp under cream or collapse into paste.

• Oven settingThe original gives none. A slow oven, in the region of 275-300F, will dry the bread through rather than colouring the surface only; reckon on roughly 20-30 minutes on a sheet pan, turning once, though this depends on the loaf. Higher heat risks browning the outside while the centre stays leathery, and such crumbs soften faster in the bowl.
• Bread to usePlain white or wheat sandwich loaf, a day or more old, crusts included. Enriched or sweet breads colour and scorch faster; sourdough will carry its own sour note into the dish.
• Crumb sizeCoarse is the instruction and it is the hinge of the dish. Aim for crumbs the size of cracked wheat. Fine crumbs absorb cream instantly and turn to mush, which is presumably why the recipe insists on coarseness.
• Meat grinderA hand-cranked grinder on the coarse plate was the standard tool. A food processor pulsed a few times does the same work; run it continuously and you get breadcrumbs for coating cutlets instead.
• "Cream"In this period cream was skimmed or separated from unhomogenised milk, and its richness varied; modern light cream is the nearest common equivalent, with heavy cream closer to separator cream. Whole milk works, though it thins out faster against warm crumbs.
• ServingWarm the crumbs briefly before serving and add cream at the table, not in advance. Sugar, a spoon of jam or stewed fruit are obvious additions, though the recipe leaves it plain.
• Yield and keepingThe recipe gives no quantities; as a rough guide a pound loaf yields something like four to five cups of coarse crumbs. Cooled completely and jarred dry, the crumbs keep well for some weeks; any moisture left in them, or trapped as condensation from jarring them warm, will bring on mould.