Use your loaf
Freeze it. Toast it. Bake it. Fry it. Butter it. Bread may be one of our most useful and versatile food items, but it’s also the quickest to be thrown away.
A report by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) figures shows that 32% of bread purchased by UK households is dumped when it could be eaten. And when you consider the average household buys a loaf every other day, that’s a whole load of dough we’re throwing away.
Of course bread can do more than sandwich tuna or be fashioned into a croque monsieur. It can be used to create culinary favourites such as bread and butter pudding and the naughty-but-nice eggy bread. Bread can also be used once it’s past its best by moistening it with a little water before toasting it. Sorry ducks, looks as though your luck’s just run out!
Here are a few of our favourite ways to use your loaf to create some tasty treats:
- Breadcrumbs: Can be made from both fresh and stale bread (they’re not just for ducks)
- Bread and butter pudding: Use white bread, croissants, brioche or panettone
- 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
PS Don’t ever put bread in the fridge – this draws out the moisture and makes the bread become stale faster.
Images: clockwise from left: 1. Armadillo Breadbin 2. Nigella Lawson Black Breadbin 3. Orla Kiely Breadbin Multi-Stem 4. Koziol Brod Crispbread Bin 5. Typhoon Novo Bread Bin
