Frugal Kitchen: Save Money with Stale Bread

Frugal Kitchen: Save Money with Stale Bread

One of the most frequent food products that goes to waste is bread.  It can often go stale soon after purchasing it, and be rendered unfit for sandwiches and other uses.  However, you should not throw your stale bread out.  These frugal kitchen tips will save you money with your stale bread.

Frugal Kitchen Tip #1 – Bread Crumbs

Perhaps the most obvious use for stale bread in the kitchen is making it into bread crumbs.  Bread crumbs are popular ingredients in breaded chicken and fish, as well as casseroles.  Instead of purchasing pre-made bread crumbs, it is very easy to make your own with stale bread.

First, take all of the stale bread and pop it into the toaster.  You want to remove a large portion of the moisture left in the bread.  Alternately, you could lay the slices out on a cookie sheet and bake them.

After the stale bread is mostly dry, cut it up into smaller pieces and put them in a food processor.  Process the bread until it is in crumbs.  If the bread tends to stick together, throw in a small amount of plain flour.  Store the bread crumbs in the refrigerator.  You can even include seasonings or herbs with your frugal bread crumbs.

Frugal Kitchen Tip #2 – Crusty Bread Sticks and Chips

Another money-saving tip for stale bread is to make crusty bread sticks and chips.  The first step in this frugal kitchen tip is to cut the crusts off the stale bread.  Then, spray each piece with olive oil or brush with butter.  Then, sprinkle on spices, salt, pepper, or herbs.  Then, put the pieces of bread onto an ungreased cookie sheet and pop into the oven.  Bake until they are just golden brown.  These make excellent bread sticks and chips for dipping and eating hummus and salsa.

Frugal Kitchen Tip #2 – Grilled Bread Hot Sandwiches

For this frugal kitchen idea, you need an electric grill or sandwich maker.  Stale bread is excellent to make grilled bread hot sandwiches.  You should put a light layer of butter on the outside bread and the fillings in the middle.  The stale bread will create a firmer crust than fresh bread, but will not be hard due to the butter and moisture in the fillings.

Using stale bread is a great money saver for your frugal kitchen.  Instead of throwing out the stale bread, you can use it in many ways.  Not only will these great frugal kitchen tips help you save money, they will also provide more delicious meals for you and your family.