Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1919-01-24
What to do With
Stale Bread

commonly wasted In many American
households, say the specialists OF the
United States Department OF Agrlcul-
ture. This waste is probably due to
the fact that many housekeepers do
not think Of bread as costing much,
and are careless about its use or dc
not know what to do with the odds
and ends frequently found in the
bread box.
Good, fresh bread has spongy
texture which in time disappears,
leaving the bread dry and crumbly,
the moisture gradually passing out
thru the crust. Bread little too
stale to be appetizing. but not yet
hard, may be freshened by putting il
into the oven for few minutes. The
heat seems TO drive the moisture
from the crust back into the center OF
of the loaf, making the crust ~more
crisp and the crumb little more
spongy. Some housekeepers moisten
the surface of the bread and some
times cover it before putting it into
the oven, but others think that mois-
tening Injuries the texture of the
crust without improving the crumb.
Rolls or biscuits which have
greater surface in proportion TO their
size dry out more rapidly than
loaves of bread. 1t is good planning,
therefore, not to provide more than
will be used at meal or at least a
day after baking. For similar rea-
sons, 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 into.
When the bread needs freshening it
is good plan to cut the required
slices and put them into the oven for
a few minutes just before serving.
Toast is another form in which
partly stale bread can be made at
tractive. In many families it is
served 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 dishes as
chopped meat with gravy, creamed
chicken or fish, poached eggs, melted
cheese, cooked asparagus. Swiss
chard. baked tomatoes, etc., are
served very commonly on toast.
Cream or milk toast Chat is, toast
with a cream sauce or milk gravy,
perhaps favored with very little
Clipped beef, salt fish, or other say
ory) may be used as the main dish
at breakfast, luncheon OF supper.
Slices of toast may also be dipped
in water or milk and beaten egg, and
lightly Drowned on a hot creased pan.
The recipe for this dish, which is
called by various names, is given in
the appended recipes under the head
ing Egg Toast" 1t may be used at
breakfast, and has the advantage of
making the eggs 'go further" than if
used in separate dish, or il may be
served with cinnamon and sugar, sir
up, Or any sweet sauce for dessert.
Another good way of using stale
bread or of treating bread SO that it
shall not become stale, is to put the
rieces in the warming oven or on the
back Of the stove and leave them I'M
til they are crisp and delicate
brown thruout. This is often called
twice-baked bread and is very popu-
lar with children and also with
grown-ups who like its "crunchiness"
and the flavor which comes with the
slight browning. The rusks which
used to be commonly served like
breakfast cereals in some parts of the
country were made by crushing such
twice-baked bread with a rolling pin.
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 commercial bak-
ers used bread crumbs 10 some extent
as a substitute for the flour in many
sorts of cakes, cookies, buildings, etc.
Crumbs may also be used instead of
flour and starch for thickering soups
and sauces.
ANY bits of bread which cannot be
eaten on the table should be saved
and crumbed for use in cooking. Some
housekeepers keep two kinds on hand: .
One. stale crumbs made chiefly from
the inside of the loaf and suitable for
use in the place of flour and dried
crumbs made from any part of the
bread Drowned little in q very slow
oven and crushed fine, to be used in
scalloped dishes, for the coating of
croquettes or other fried foods, or
whenever crusty. fine crumb is
needed. To prevent their growing
musty, crumbs should be kept in dry,
alright containers. Fruit jars are
often convenient for the purpose.
Yeast-made bread Is by no means
the only bread that can be utilized in
some OF the ways suggested. The
quick breads raised by baking powder,
soda and sour milk or other acid, etc.,
dry out more quickly than the yeast
bread, probably because the water is
NJ H..