Old Bread

So, I have a confession.  I hoard stale bread. I inherited this from my mother.  Any bread; the heels of a loaf, part of  a baguette, leftover biscuits, the last muffin, or cake trimmings from the spouses latest masterpiece, all fair game.  I have a bucket on the counter, where it all goes to dry. 

  It is with good cause, however. When I was first married, the spouse was about to throw out the heels of a loaf of bread (as neither of us likes to eat them), and I told her to save them.  She asked, "why?", thinking I was nuts.  I answered, what I thought was obvious, "for stuffing".  As her mother wasn't much of a cook, she only knew stuffing out of a box.  So, for our first thanksgiving, I made the sage dressing the way my mother and grandmother did, and she learned how right I was.

 Once the bread is thoroughly dried out,it gets cut up in cubes.  I put a collender over a bowl.  When it gets full, it gets shaken, and the pieces big enough to count as cubes get picked out.  Course crumbs collect in the collender, and fine crumbs in the bowl. 

Sweet breads get cut up and stored seperately.

By doing this, I have ready ingredients for stuffing, strata, bread pudding, meatloaf, or breading.  It is frugal, using something otherwise thrown away.

Happy eating!