The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1918-01-31
Use Up Stale Bread
DO Not Permit the Odds and Ends
Frequently Found In The Bread
Box to BE Wasted.

Bread is one of the items most
commonly wasted in many American
households, say the specialists of the
United States Department of Agri
culture. This waste is probably due
to the fact that many housekeepers
do not think of bread as costing much
and are careless about its uses or do
not know what to do with the odds
and ends frequently found in the
bread box.
Good, fresh bread has a spongy tex
ture. which in time disappears, leav-
ing the bread dry and crumbly the
moisture gradually passing out
through the crust Bread a little too
stale to be appetizing, but not yet
hard. may be freshened by putting il
into the oven for a few minutes. The
heat seems to drive the moisture from
the crust back into the center of the
loaf, making the crust more crisp and
the crumb a little more spongy. Some
housekeepers mOisten the surface OF
the bread and sometimes cover it be
fore putting it into the oven, but 9th
ers think that moistening Injuries the
texture of the crust without improv-
ing the crumb.
greater surface in proportion to their
size dry out more rapidly than loaves
of bread It is good planning, there
fore, not to provide more than will
be used at a meal or at least a day
after baking. For similar reasons,
bread stays fresh longer in the loaf
than after it is sliced No more
than will be needed should be cut
for any one meal, and one loaf should
be used up before the next is cut in
to. When the bread needs freshen
ing it is good plan to cut the re-
quired slices and put them into the
oven for a few minutes just before
serving.
Toast
Toast is another form in which
partly stale bread can be made at
tractive In many families it is serv-
ed only for breakfast, luncheon, or
supper, but the custom which many
high grade restaurants have adopted
of serving thin, crisp, hot toast with
the more substantial meals might
well be followed at home Such dish
es as chopped meat with gravy
creamed chicken or fish, poached
eggs, melted cheese cooked aspara-
gus, Swiss chard, baked tomatoes,
]
toast Cream or milk toast Chat is,
toast with a cream sauce or milk
gravy, perhaps Favored with a very
little Clipped beef, salt fish, or other
savOry) may be used as the main
dish at breakfast, luncheon, or sup
| per. Slices of toast may also be dip
ped in water or milk and beaten egg
and slightly brOmned on a hot greas-
ed pan The recipe for this dish,
which is called by various names, is
given in the appended recipes under
the heading Egg Toast" 1t may be
used at breakfast, and has the ad-
vantage of making the egg go fur
Their" than if used in a separate dish,
or it may be served with connamon
and sugar syrup, or any sweet sauce
| for dessert
As Breakfast Food
Another good way of using stale
bread, or of treating bread so that it
shall not become stale, is to put the
pieces in the warming oven or on the
back of the stove and leave them I'M
until they are crisp and a delicate
brown throughout. This is often call
ed twice-baken bread and is very pop
ular with children and also with the
grown-ups, who like its "crunchiness"
and the flavor which comes with the
slight brown. The rusks, which used
to be commonly served like breakfast
cereals in some parts of the cOun-
try, were made by crushing such
twiCe-baked bread with a rolling pin
Crumbs Valuable i'm Cookery
There is nothing new in the idea
of using bread crumbs in cookery,
and most housekeepers are in the
habit of having some on hand for
use in scallOped dishes, stuffing for
meat, buildings, etc. Few realize,
however, how much more generally
they might be utilized. Many com
mercial bakers use bread crumbs to
some extent as a substitute for flour
in many sorts of cakes, cookies, pud-
dings etc. Crumbs may also be used
instead of flour and starch for thick
ening soups and sauces
Any bits of bread which can not be
eaten on the table should be saved
and crumbled for use in cooking.
Some hOusekeepers keep two kinds on
hand-One, stale crumbs made chiefly
4, from the inside of the loaf and suit
able for use in the place of flour;
| and dried crumbs made from any
part of the bread Drowned a little in
a very slow oven and crushed fine to
| be used in scallOped dishes, for the
| coating of croquettes or other fried
! foods or whatever a crusty fine
crumb is needed. To prevent theil
| growing musty, crumbs should be
kept in dry air-tight containers.
n