I heard a statistic on the radio today. A horrifying one about bread waste.\u00a0 Apparently, in the UK, we throw away 24 million slices of bread every day.\u00a0 Let me repeat that.\u00a0 We discard 24 million slices of bread EVERY DAY!\u00a0 For something which, for many, is a staple, we have a blas\u00e9 attitude to our daily loaf.\u00a0 Perhaps because it has become a mass-produced, under valued commodity. Don\u2019t get me onto my bread soapbox again or I\u2019ll never get off it.\u00a0 This figure is staggering, and shouldn\u2019t be ignored.\u00a0 I suspect if we valued our bread more, if we made it ourselves at home, or paid an artisan baker a fair price for handmade loaves, our attitudes would be somewhat different \u2013 that\u2019s perhaps a whole other argument.\u00a0 The fact remains we waste tons of perfectly edible food.\u00a0 Food which, somewhat obviously, could feed people.\u00a0 It could feed us and our families if we planned with a little more care, and stored bread better.<\/p>\n
I must confess, when I was buying supermarket bread, over two-decades ago now, the end of a loaf would often go blue-moulded and get tossed in the waste.\u00a0 Sometimes it would go mouldy before we\u2019d had a chance to eat half of it.\u00a0 Buying smaller loaves more often is one solution, and another is slicing bread and freezing it so you can defrost it when required.\u00a0 Never store bread in the fridge as it dries it out quicker.\u00a0 If you do freeze it, wrap it well in a double-wrap and use it within three months.<\/p>\n
These days, there\u2019s rarely any spare bread in our house.\u00a0 As a bread maker you\u2019d think there would be, but it\u2019s always my husband\u2019s complaint that the house smells of bread none of which he\u2019s allowed to eat!\u00a0 Waste bread is not something we suffer from.\u00a0 A standard wholemeal loaf is baked on one day and used for breakfast and\/or lunch, and toasted the following day.\u00a0 Loaf gone.\u00a0 If for some strange reasons there\u2019s some left to go stale, it gets dried or frozen for breadcrumbs, to use in no end of dishes.\u00a0 A lot of Europeans still queue for bread each morning, and with good reason.\u00a0 Freshly baked #realbread is something to be treasured in my humble opinion.<\/p>\n
If you find you often have loaves that go mouldy, you could do worse than try and buy local #realbread.\u00a0 It will cost you more, but it will taste better and keep better.\u00a0 Your bread is only likely to go stale and dry out.\u00a0 It can still be used right up until the last \u2018nobby crust end\u2019. (Don\u2019t ask. I\u2019ve no idea where the name comes from, but it\u2019s what I’ve always called it).<\/p>\n
If for some reason you do find yourself with \u2018leftovers\u2019, please don\u2019t bin it.\u00a0 Blitz it for breadcrumbs, which make a great topping for gratins, or a stuffing to go with Sunday lunch.\u00a0\u00a0 If you have a loaf that\u2019s been forgotten, why not make it into Bread and Butter pudding, or a Queen of Puddings?\u00a0 These are recipes which use basic ingredients and are guaranteed to please.\u00a0 For more ideas and information see the links below.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re feeling adventurous you may think about baking your own bread.\u00a0 It won\u2019t save you a great deal of money, if you already buy supermarket bread, but it will give you a buzz of satisfaction to know your loaf has been made by your own fair hands!\u00a0 Look in the recipe section to find the simplest \u2018no knead\u2019 loaf<\/a> you will ever come across.\u00a0 I bet you don\u2019t waste any of it!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n https:\/\/www.bbcgoodfood.com\/howto\/guide\/top-10-ways-use-leftover-bread<\/a><\/p>\n