What to do with left over bread?

We have a freezer full of bread crusts off white sandwich bread and I wondered does anyone have any savoury recipes for the use of left over bread? Because the bread was frozen when fresh, the bread, when thawed, is fresh, not stale. But they are the crust ends so can't be cut into cubes for panzanella or croutons.

I have a Bread Pudding recipe made with leftover bread, dried fruit and cake spices, which is very nice by the way, but I am wanting something more savoury.

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.

Cheers,
Sue

We always keep the remains of old loves in the freezer for the sole purpose of making "fresh" bread crumbs.

LOL Carl - nice little typo there.

Never knew you couldn't use the crusts for croutons or panzanella. I actually like the differet textures and have used the entire loaf/slice.
I like to have a bag of seasoned bread crumbs ready to go for quick schnitzels of chicken/pork/veal/sweetbreads.
Breakfast/lunch stratas would be the savory equivalent of a pudding.

LOL Carl - nice little typo there.

I've been tempted to do that, myself....

Hi Christina,
I thought my crusts would be too thin for croutons as in my croutons have usually been cube shaped. But certainly worth experimenting with flatter ones.
What are the 'stratas' you mention.
Cheers,
Sue

I remember Jenise posting a wild mushroom bread pudding recipe a few years back. Maybe she could rustle that up for you.

Funny timing. Last week, I just took a bunch of frozen bread out of our freezer to make room for some black bean soup I had made. Ours wasn't just crusts so I made croutons out of them. They are really good.

Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding - now that sounds like something I'd make. Thanks for the tip, Carrie.
I searched and found one on FLDG that Cynthia posted (an Emeril recipe) and plenty more variations come up on Google.
Now I just have to get mushrooms and there won't be any wild ones here at this time of year.

Sue, we do a kind of savoury bake - soak bread in milk and white wine, then squeeze dry and then it with pancetta/proscuitto, cheese, tomato, herbs or anything else you can lay your hands on. Pour over seasoned beaten eggs, cover and let it rest for a few hours or overnight in the fridge to set up. Take it out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temp, then drizzle over cream and top with cheese and bake in a 175C oven for 45min - an hour. (Based on the Basil Breakfast Strata from one of the Silver Palate cookbooks).

Celia

Sue, we do a kind of savoury bake - soak bread in milk and white wine, then squeeze dry and then it with pancetta/proscuitto, cheese, tomato, herbs or anything else you can lay your hands on. Pour over seasoned beaten eggs, cover and let it rest for a few hours or overnight in the fridge to set up. Take it out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temp, then drizzle over cream and top with cheese and bake in a 175C oven for 45min - an hour. (Based on the Basil Breakfast Strata from one of the Silver Palate cookbooks).
Celia

Yum, that sounds really nice C
I still don't know what strata in a food sense is. Something layered I would guess without looking it up.

I freeze them too, for making bread crumbs, or adding to toppings for casseroles. When I clean out my freezer every year, most likely they go out to the birds, and I start over.

There are tons of savory bread puddings, Sue. But, you can always make a recipe of your own. Start with a base like you would for a sweet pudding, eliminating the sugar and spices. Instead, add salt, pepper (experiment with this) and your flavor essentials (onions, leeks, garlic, shallots, etc). Add herbs of your choice or perfect companion herbs for the vegetables you will use, like tarragon, dill, basil, thyme, rosemary, etc. Then pile in the vegetables of choice (mushrooms, asparagus, leeks, broccoli rabe, spinach, etc.) singly or in combination. A good quality cheese (especially one that will give you a nice string as you dish up -- I like Jarlesberg) will finish it up. Be brave -- experiment! Make up your own recipe and let us know all about it.

[Jenise]

Sue, we do a kind of savoury bake - soak bread in milk and white wine, then squeeze dry and then it with pancetta/proscuitto, cheese, tomato, herbs or anything else you can lay your hands on. Pour over seasoned beaten eggs, cover and let it rest for a few hours or overnight in the fridge to set up. Take it out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temp, then drizzle over cream and top with cheese and bake in a 175C oven for 45min - an hour. (Based on the Basil Breakfast Strata from one of the Silver Palate cookbooks).
Celia

Yum, that sounds really nice C
I still don't know what strata in a food sense is. Something layered I would guess without looking it up.

You're exactly right, Sue. Bread (usually stale is a bit better) layered with various ingredients in a shallow pan, covered with a custard and baked. It's one of the best things that can happen to breakfast.

I've been making Madeleine Kamman's 'French Bread and Shallot Soup' during the cold weather months for years. I'm at work, so don't have the book in front of me ("When French Women Cook"), but I believe she says it's an old recipe from Normandy. You take leftover bread and grate it fine, then use that as a thickener, rather than roux, slurry or liason. It works great, and the soup is absolutely smooth and delicious. I'm sure someone must have already posted the recipe somewhere on the web if you want to do a search, but I'll also be happy to type it up here when I get home later this afternoon.

I've been making Madeleine Kamman's 'French Bread and Shallot Soup' during the cold weather months for years. I'm at work, so don't have the book in front of me ("When French Women Cook"), but I believe she says it's an old recipe from Normandy. You take leftover bread and grate it fine, then use that as a thickener, rather than roux, slurry or liason. It works great, and the soup is absolutely smooth and delicious. I'm sure someone must have already posted the recipe somewhere on the web if you want to do a search, but I'll also be happy to type it up here when I get home later this afternoon.

And bread is the one common element in gazpacho, but that's more of a summer recipe for me.

Mark Lipton

Think of the sparrows.

Fondue and French Onion soup spring to mind.

Think of the sparrows.

I can picture Sally Struthers pleading on a TV ad.

And bread is the one common element in gazpacho, but that's more of a summer recipe for me.

Considering Sue is in Auckland gazpacho may be a good idea right now.

And bread is the one common element in gazpacho, but that's more of a summer recipe for me.

Considering Sue is in Auckland gazpacho may be a good idea right now.

LOL! Good point, Dave. By the time I'd got around to responding, I'd forgotten who the OP was.

Mark Lipton