Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-07-12
FACTS ABOUT BREAD.

An expert on household economy re-
Gently said that no woman could be
really considered an economical house
wife who permitted a constant waste
Of bread THE woman whose refuse
cans show a daily outgo of crusts of
bread" went on this expert, "is just
as much at fault as the business man
who permits constant leakage in the
stamp drawer in his office. or the manu-
facturer who permits leakages of
water or power to go on unchecked in
his factories"
Many a modern housewife would an
swer this statement with something
like this: The few crusts of bread
that are wasted in my bread box every
day cannot possibly mean a money loss
of more than a few cents a week
surely not more than dollar or so
year For that consideration surely no
one save the very poor would feel the
necessity of eating stale bread or OF
going to very great pains to find ways
of using it up. The time spent in stop
ping this waste would be Tar more
valuable than the amount Of the loss
amounts to-
This might be true IL there were even
the slightest danger from using stale
bread, or were there any possibility
that bread kept for a day or so might
deteriorate in nutritive value. AS a
matter of fact yesterdays bread is bet
ter for certain culinary uses than is
fresh bread, and once a housewife
works out a scheme to use this surplus
of bread neither she nor the cook will
find it troublesome.
In the first place bread crumbs or
cracker crumbs are always needed in
frying croquettes of all sorts and in
making various bread" dishes. These
bread crumbs will keep perfectly well
for ten days at a time, and with a lit
tie thought constant supply can be
kept on hand. There is not the slight
est reason why any housewife should
spend money to buy prepared cracker
meal or bread crumbs in special pack :
ages In order to effect an economy Of
fuel it is good idea to dry out the
bread to be used in this way some time
when it is necessary to have the oven
heated for some other purpose. The
bread should be cut in small pieces and
allowed to dry thoroughly in the oven
! without becoming brown. 1t should
| then be turned out a bread board
! and rolled to a powder. 1t can then be
/ put in a perfectly dry earthen or glass
jar and put away for future use.
/ From bread that is not quite fresh it
| is q good idea TO make crutons to be
used with all sorts Of heavy soup.
| These crutons should be made from
! bread cut in squares little over nall
inch across. and they may be Drowned
, either in the oven or by frying in deep
! fat They should be served hot and
| passed with the soup course.
For all sorts Of meat loaves and
meat croquettes bread crumbs may
be used Usually the recipe for these
dishes calls for either bread crumbs
or cooked rice. With bread going To
waste in the bread box. why not use
the crumbs instead Of the rice? At
| this time of year, when vegetables are
! plentiful, it is a good idea to use some
| Of your stale bread crumbs in making
the filling for baked vegetables. To-
matoes. green peppers and cu"umbefs
! can be followed out and filled with a
! mixture of bread crumbs. little meat
and the minced pulp taken from the
! middle of the vegetable in the case OF
the tomato Bread crumbs can also be
used in scalloping all sorts of Vege-
/ tables, such as tomatoes, cucumoers.
egg plant and potatoes
/ From yesterdays bread one can al
! ways make French toast, which may
| either be served with butter for the
piece dc resistance at luncheon or with
| too, part loaf Of stale bread can be
! cut into thin slices which can be
| Drowned to a golden brown in the
oven and served in place of bread with
| dinner. Crisped bread of this sort Is
served at many of the best equipped
| hotels. not for reasons of economy
surely. but because it is preferred by
many epicures to fresh bread.
! Here are a few dishes that make
Use of bread that is not fresh that
are worth remembering IL you are one
of the many housev ives in the land
who have not solved the problem OF
bread economy.