Bread can get old really really fast. It doesn't mean that it's not edible, but most people would not consider making sandwiches or eating older bread on it's own. I always use old bread as a kind of pizza dough. Put some tomato sauce, meat, cheese and oregano on it and stick it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Fast, easy and delicious! Any other good tips for getting rid of old bread without throwing it away?
I used to date a woman who would toast old bread, even if it had mould on it, she would simply scraped the mold off and toast it and eat it, I didn't eat at her place very often!
Ew. We don't often have bread go old around here before we eat it all. Hotdog and hamburger buns, however, are a different story. When there's just one left in the bag, it almost always gets old. I try to remember to throw it in the freezer. I've also turned stale (but not moldy) bread into bread crumbs or croutons by baking them in the oven. And, of course there's always pulling all the old bread out and going to feed some ducks somewhere. Haha.
LOL, I wouldn't eat there too, especially moldy bread! I usually don't throw bread away because it's more expensive every day, so I manage the bread I have for use freezing it. If for some reason the bread doesn't get eaten in that day, I put it in the fridge and in the next day I toast it, it's great toasted.
I do the same pizza thing with bread. I have also heard french toast is better if you use old bread. You can also make croutons and stuffing with old bread.
I love using old bread for either bread salad or to use in soups. My particular favorite is just dipping them in soup since old bread tends to be a bit tough and putting them in soup obviously softens them up and by then it wouldn't be so noticeable that it is old bread. Another way to use old bread I like is to make them into garlic bread, given that they are not yet too tough that they end up getting too crunchy when baked. Also, you can just turn it into a bread based dessert, there are lots of recipes online that utilize old bread for bread pudding or similar desserts and since these recipes call for the bread to be soaked in milk, the age becomes unnoticeable.
Dice the bread, toss it with a little olive oil, garlic powder, and dill. Throw it in the oven to lightly toast it and you have croutons. You can freeze them and then grab them by the handful as needed - it takes little time for them to thaw.
When I have leftover odds and ends of bread, I just make garlic toast and serve it with spaghetti. We use all the bread in the house and rarely waste bread.
I was about to mention bread pudding but you beat me to it. Bread pudding and french toast are actually better if the bread is a little stale.
Bread doesn't usually last in my house very long. However, I know my grandmother would freeze her bread before it reaches the stages of becoming moldy. She would later use it to make bread pudding. I personally only eat bread if I know for sure it's fresh. It can't smell sour or have no mold on it what so ever.
Croutons are a great option as mentioned above. Once they are toasted up, they will last in an air tight container. If the bread is old, as in getting a little bit hard (not moldy); I use it as a panini bun. Making a panini, by heavily toasting the outsides softens the bread and makes a nice crusty outside. Stick whatever you like in a panini; it's a good way to use up some odd bits in the fridge.
I see a lot of my suggestions have already been given, like croutons, french toast, stuffing, etc. When the bread gets too old or is starting with a bit of mould, I will give it to the kids and they will go outside and crumble it up for the birds and squirrels instead of using the birdseed. We will also save the heels of the bread to go on our trips to feed the ducks since no one in our house likes the heels.
Ew, no, that's a bad idea. While it's safe to simply remove mold from foods like cheese, bread and fruit are two that you should always throw the whole item away if there is mold on it because it can spread without necessarily showing visible spots yet. As for me, bread crumbs, croutons, and bread pudding are all nice options assuming the bread is still good and there is NO mold.
Apple pan betty! It's a delicious recipe that my mom used to cook for breakfast sometimes if we had a lot of leftover bread. If you love apple pie and you're trying to get rid of some old bread, I highly recommend apple pan betty. It's so tasty and easy.
