20 delicious ideas for what to do with bread

How to soften stale bread - and is it possible to soften bread in the microwave?

Bread goes stale in just a couple of days, so some people prefer to throw away the stale product or make crackers. Few people know that you can soften stale bread in the microwave or oven. If you don’t have such equipment in your kitchen, then don’t despair, since you can even bring bread back to life with the help of a water bath.

Softening bread using the microwave

It is necessary to use the microwave only if the product will be eaten immediately. If you leave the bread to be stored, after a short amount of time it will turn to stone again.

Stale bread must be cut into pieces no more than 2 cm thick and lightly sprinkled with water.
Place a container of water in the microwave, place the pieces of the product there and heat for one minute.
If the process is being carried out for the first time, then it is better to check the condition of the bread every 20 seconds.

To better retain moisture, you can cover the product with a special plastic lid, which is designed for a microwave oven.

The main thing is not to overcook the product, because if you heat it for a long time, you will end up with crackers instead of soft, crispy bread.

There is another way to soften bread in the microwave. It is necessary to moisten a kitchen paper towel in water, squeeze it out as much as possible and wrap it around the stale product. Next, you should place the bread in the microwave for 15 or 20 seconds. A damp towel will add more moisture and help trap steam inside the loaf better.

How to refresh bread in the oven

There are two ways to refresh stale bread in the oven. The methods will not return the product to its original texture and aroma, but will help refresh it and make it edible.

Preheat the oven to a temperature of 140-150°C, cover a baking tray with baking paper and evenly arrange the pieces of bread on it. The product must also be sprinkled with water, or better yet, covered with a damp kitchen towel or wrapped in foil. Keep in the oven for 5 minutes.

You can soften bread only if it is in good condition and there are no signs of mold. Even if there is no visible plaque, but there is a musty smell, then it is categorically not recommended to use such a product.

If sliced bread has dried out, you can restore it with hot water and high temperature. The method is suitable if the product is very stale. First of all, you need to heat the oven to 160 °C and prepare a container with hot, boiled water. Place the bread slices in a bowl and let them soak in water for one minute. After this, place all the pieces on a baking sheet and place it in the oven for 10-15 minutes. It is advisable to keep the door slightly open, this will help achieve a better effect by allowing excess moisture to escape.

Additional bread recovery options

If the basic methods do not help, then you can use auxiliary options to refresh dry bread. Additional methods:

softening in a double boiler;
using a water bath;
paper bag method;
restoring bread in a frying pan.

Double boiler. Here you can soften a hard, weathered loaf, since the bread will not heat up much and will receive a large amount of moisture. You need to boil water in the steamer tray, then remove it from the heat, place a special basket on top and place dry bread behind it. Cover the entire structure with a lid and leave for 5 minutes. During this time, the product will soften and be ready for use.

The procedure should be carried out immediately before eating bread. After 1-1.5, such a product will again become stone, and it will no longer be possible to make it soft again.

Water bath. You need to pour some water into the pan and boil it. There should not be a lot of liquid, 2 centimeters is enough, otherwise all the slices will get wet and fall apart. Place a colander with pieces of bread on top of the pan and heat for 3-5 minutes. Periodically you need to check the condition of the slices so as not to overheat them.

Paper bag. Place the sliced bread in a paper bag and add a stalk of celery to it. The bag must be tied well so that it does not allow air to pass through, and put it in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours. After this, remove the pieces of product and celery from the bag. The stem should dry out noticeably, as it will give up its moisture to the bread.

Pan. The method cannot be called the most effective, but if you don’t have a microwave or oven, you can use it. Slices of bread should be sprinkled with water and placed in a frying pan, preheating it over low heat. The effect will appear in 1-5 minutes. At this time, it is better not to leave the stove and monitor the condition of the product.

If there is no mold or other signs of damage on the product, then it is quite possible to make it soft. It is enough to use one of the listed methods and enjoy the taste of hot and crispy bread.

Casserole with vanilla sauce

A fragrant vanilla casserole is a lifesaver for those who are expecting guests at home or simply want to please their household with something tasty.

Ingredients:

Apple (sour) – 5-6 pcs.;
Butter – 100 gr.;
Wheat flour (premium grade) – 3 tbsp;
Almonds – 100 gr.;
Powdered sugar – 1-15. tbsp;
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp;
Cream – 270 ml;
Lemon (zest) – 1.5 tsp;
Sugar – 9 tbsp;
Chicken egg – 3 pcs.;
Vanilla – 1 sachet;
Starch – 2 tbsp.

How to cook:

First of all, thoroughly wash and peel and core the apples. Then cut them into small pieces;
Lightly sprinkle the apples with lemon juice and let sit for a while;
Dissolve 2 tablespoons of sugar in half a cup of water and boil this mixture;
Pour the resulting caramel over the apples and let them stand for another 10-15 minutes (covered!);
Mash the butter with a fork or defrost in the microwave (if necessary) and mix with chicken yolks and 2 tablespoons of sugar;
Add flour, almonds and lemon zest;
In a separate container, beat the whites with the required amount of powdered sugar. Add the resulting mixture to the oil mixture and mix well;
Preheat the oven at 200 degrees;
Lay out the apples that have stood for the required time and fill them with the butter-egg mixture. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes;
While the casserole is cooking, make the sauce. To do this, mix four tablespoons of sugar with starch and a bag of vanilla;
Mix the sweet dry composition with 2 tablespoons of cream (be sure to be cold!);
Place the remaining cream on the fire and bring to a boil, add the cold mixture and cook until it melts. Let the sauce cool and pour into a special container.

Serve with casserole still hot.

What can you do with dried bread?

Pizza

First of all, look at the condition of the bread. If it's moldy, you can't cook with it. If it has been stored loosely and only dried out, it is an excellent starting material for many delicious dishes. White bread can be used to make a quick pizza. For 1 loaf take:

– 200 g of milk; – 100 g mayonnaise; – 200 g ham; – 1 tomato; – 150 g of cheese.

Mix mayonnaise with milk. Using a sharp knife, cut the bread into finger-thick slices and peel off the crust. If it is very dry and difficult to cut, steam it first. To do this, place in a double boiler or in a colander, which is placed over a pan of boiling water. After 5 minutes the loaf will become softer.

Remove the crust from it and cut into slices. Dip each in the milk and mayonnaise mixture and place close together in a round baking dish. Fill the voids with small pieces of bread. Cut the ham into pieces, place them on top and place tomato slices on top. Sprinkle coarsely grated cheese on them; if desired, you can put a little mayonnaise on it. Place the baking sheet in the oven preheated to 190°C for 20 minutes.

Baguette with filling

Have you ever tried a crispy baguette with filling? It’s a shame, because this is a simple and at the same time incredibly tasty dish.

Required Products:

Baguette (you can use just black or white bread) – ½ piece;
Hard cheese – 170 gr.;
Mayonnaise – 2-3 tbsp;
Tomato (large) – 1 pc.;
Salt, pepper - to taste;
Greens (dill or parsley) – 1 bunch.

Cooking process:

First, cut the baguette, the thickness can be any at your discretion, but it is best to make not too thick pieces, ideally 1-1.5 cm;
Lightly coat each piece with mayonnaise;
Wash and cut the tomato, if it is very large, then cut into half rings, and if it is medium, then into rings. Place on top of baguette;
Cut the cheese into thin slices and place on top of the tomatoes;
Add salt and pepper to your taste. If desired, you can add spices;
Microwave for 2 minutes. Remember that the cooking time directly depends on the power of your device, so it is better to set it for 1 minute and then finish it, rather than spoil the dish;
Sprinkle the finished hot sandwiches with herbs.

Needless to say, you can use almost any product as a filling, the main thing is that you and your guests like it.

Three simple ways to make stale bread soft again

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The main rule to follow: you can only refresh bread that has become stale, but not moldy. If there are clear signs that the product has deteriorated, then you should come to terms with the fact that it cannot be saved.

Bread becomes stale as it loses moisture, so all methods are aimed at re-infusing the pieces with moisture. This can be done in several ways: in the microwave, in the oven or in a double boiler.

Light salad with croutons and brie cheese

Brie cheese goes well with many ingredients, so it is used in a wide variety of dishes. Now we will talk about a light and tasty salad with croutons. To prepare you will need:

Loaf – ½ piece;
Head of radiccio lettuce (disassembled into leaves) – 1 pc.;
Radishes (chopped) – 7 pcs.;
Rocketsalat – 60 gr.;
Balsamic vinegar – 2.5 tsp;
Brie cheese (cut into thin slices) – 170 gr.;
Watercress – 60 gr.;
Currants (red) – 130 gr.;
Hazelnuts (roasted and chopped) – 30 g;
Olive oil – 1.5 tbsp;
Peach (cut into pieces) – 3-4 pcs.

How to cook:

Cut the bread into slices and toast in the oven until golden brown;
Place cheese on the browned pieces and place in the oven for a couple more minutes to melt the cheese;
Toss lettuce leaves in a large bowl;
Add peaches, currants (90 g) and radishes;
Grind the remaining currants in a separate bowl with oil and vinegar;
Season the salad with the resulting sauce, and place croutons and cheese on top. Sprinkle with nuts and you are ready to eat.

Microwave

The fastest way to soften bread is to microwave the wet pieces. Place a small container of water there. Turn on for 15-20 seconds, check the degree of softness, then repeat 1-2 more times. As a rule, 40-50 seconds is enough for the bread to become soft. You need to check it often, because if you overdo it, it is quite possible that the effect will be exactly the opposite - the pieces will turn into crackers.

Ham casserole

A delicious casserole can be a great dinner or lunch. Due to its satiety, it does not need any addition in the form of a side dish; simply serve it with drinks or vegetables. The following products will be required:

Pasta (any to your taste) – 0.5 kg;
Onion (medium) – 1 pc.;
Marinated mushrooms – 220 gr.;
Sunflower oil – 3 tbsp;
Butter – 1 tbsp;
Ham – 250-300 gr.;
Salt, ground black pepper - to taste;
Hard cheese (for example, “Russian”) – 180-200 gr.;
Egg (large) – 2 pcs.;
Milk – ¼ cup.

This amount of ingredients is enough for 6 servings; if this is too much for you, then simply reduce the amount of ingredients several times. Total cooking time is about 45 minutes.

Preparation:

Cut the ham into medium cubes;
Grate the cheese on a grater, preferably a coarse one;
Place a large saucepan of water on the fire and bring it to a boil;
Throw pasta into boiling water and cook for about 9-10 minutes;
Rinse and let the water drain completely;
Add butter to the finished pasta;
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees;
Wash, peel and finely dice the onion and fry it (until lightly browned) in vegetable oil;
Grease a baking dish with a little sunflower oil;
In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, pasta, onion, cheese (100 g) and ham. Adjust to taste with pepper and salt. Place in baking dish;
In a separate container, mix chicken eggs and milk, pour over the pasta mixture;
Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 35 minutes.
Remove the finished dish from the oven and leave for 15-20 minutes, then you can cut and serve.

Oven

In order to soften bread in the oven, you need to cut the same small pieces as for the microwave. Then wrap them in a paper towel soaked in water and place them in an oven preheated to 180 degrees. 2-3 minutes are enough for the bread to become soft again.

If you don’t have a paper towel on hand, but have foil, you can also wrap the bread in it. In this case, the holding time in the oven should be increased to 10-15 minutes. It is important to let the bread cool without unrolling the foil, then it will be truly soft.

Scrambled eggs in bread

Cool idea for breakfast. And if you take scrambled eggs in bread, wrapped in foil, with you to work, they will remain warm, tasty and aromatic until lunch.

Ingredients:

Round buns - 1 pc. Ham - 2 slices Cheese - 50 gr. Salt, pepper - to taste Egg - 1 pc.

Cut off the top of the round bun and remove the crumb. Line the resulting cavity with slices of ham. Grate half the cheese on top of the ham and beat in the egg. Salt and pepper the egg to taste, sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Cover the bun with a cut-off lid, wrap in foil and bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees.

Steamer or colander with saucepan

Softening steamed bread is another effective way that housewives know about. This usually takes 1-2 minutes on normal mode if using a double boiler.

If there is no such machine, then the usual steam bath will be an alternative. Place a colander over a pan of boiling water. Pieces of bread are placed at the bottom of the colander, which actively absorb moisture. This method is simple, but requires care: if the bread is left to steam for too long, it may become soggy. In addition, you need to make sure that the bread does not touch the boiling water, this will also ruin the result.

Be sure to take note of an elementary way to keep bread fresh 3 times longer. A little trick will allow you to enjoy soft bread for almost a whole week!

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Delicious sandwiches with figs and brie cheese

This recipe is not very popular, but despite this, the dish boasts incredible taste, so be sure to try it.

List of required ingredients:

Baguette – 1 pc.;
Brie cheese – 450 gr.;
Thyme (must be fresh!) – 2-3 sprigs;
Honey – 120 gr.;
Butter – 3 tbsp;
Ripe figs – 270 gr.

How to cook:

Cut the baguette into slices of medium thickness, ideally 1-1.5 cm;
Brush each piece with honey;
Cut the cheese into thin slices and place on top;
Sprinkle with thyme and top with sliced figs;
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and place the sandwiches there for 7-10 minutes, depending on the oven power.

Such chic sandwiches will be an excellent snack on the holiday table. They can also be made quickly if guests suddenly come over, because they require very little time to prepare.

How to soften stale bread

The smell of freshly baked bread often makes customers put several different rolls and loaves in their basket, which already on the second day lose their appetizing aroma and begin to stale. To avoid overspending the family budget and not throwing dried out food into the trash, you can refresh it, use it for croutons, breadcrumbs or kvass.

Proper storage of bread

Baguettes and rolls will remain soft and fresh if stored correctly:

Immediately after purchase, it is recommended to remove the cling film or plastic bag from the bread. After this, the product should be wrapped in linen, cotton or paper towel.
Loaves made from wheat and rye flour should be stored separately. If you don’t have a bread bin, you can make or buy special bread bags for each type of product in the supermarket. They are sewn from two layers of natural fabric, separated by perforated polyethylene.
It is allowed to keep baked goods in plastic bags. To prevent the product from “suffocating” and becoming moldy, small holes should be punched in the walls of the polyethylene with any available object (a gypsy needle, an awl or the tines of a table fork).
If you don't have a bread bin at home, loaves and bagels can be placed in a paper bag or wrapped in paper. For these purposes, you cannot use book, magazine or newspaper sheets - particles of printing ink will remain on the surface of the bread, enter the body and cause harm to health.

If the purchased loaf cannot be eaten within 2-3 days, it is better to put it in the refrigerator: low temperatures reduce the rate of drying of the product and prevent the development of mold.

Methods for softening dry bread

There are several ways to help steam bread: in the microwave, oven, double boiler, frying pan or steam bath.

In the microwave

Hardened bread can be softened in the microwave by choosing one of the following options:

Cut the dried loaf into pieces 1-2 cm thick, sprinkle the slices with water, place on a flat plate and place in the microwave oven. Cover the product with a plastic cap and set the heating power to maximum. If you don’t have a special microwave-safe lid on hand, place a glass filled with warm drinking water next to the bread. Check the readiness of the slices every 15-20 seconds. The total cooking time should not exceed 60 seconds, otherwise the product will become dry and tough.
Wrap the loaf pieces in a damp paper towel and place the bundle on a rotating plate. Turn on the oven to maximum, heat the product for 15-20 seconds.

These methods have one drawback: slices steamed in a microwave oven cannot be stored. Within half an hour they will dry out and turn into crackers, so they need to be eaten as soon as possible.

In the oven

Housewives who do not have a microwave oven in their home can refresh stale bread in the oven. For slightly dried pieces, the first method is suitable:

Preheat the oven to 120-130°C.
On a baking sheet lined with baking paper, arrange the loaf slices in one layer. Cover them with a damp textile towel or spray with water from a spray bottle.
After 5-7 minutes, remove the bread from the oven, cool slightly and eat immediately.

Tuscan bread salad

Making a truly tasty and satisfying salad is not an easy task, but you think so only because you have not yet prepared a Tuscan bread salad, and now is the time to correct this mistake.

Ingredients:

White bread – 1-2 slices;
Cucumber – ½ piece;
Tomato (large) – 1 pc.;
Green onions - 2-3 feathers;
Oil (olive) – 3 tbsp;
Wine vinegar – 1 tbsp;
Olives (pitted) – 100 gr.;
Feta – 80-90 gr.;
Basil leaves – 3-4 pcs.

How to cook:

First, rinse under running water and chop the basil, celery and onion;
Coarsely chop the tomatoes;
Cut the cucumbers into small slices;
Cut the bread into small cubes and dry in an oven preheated to 220 degrees until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes;

Important! Oven power may vary, so keep an eye on the crackers constantly. If you doubt your culinary abilities, then set it to 180 degrees rather than 220. This way the crackers will take longer to cook, but the likelihood that you will spoil them is much less.

Remove the bread and let it cool completely;
Mix vinegar and oil;
Place all the ingredients in one bowl and season with olive-vinegar sauce, mix well (but very carefully!) and serve.

How to soften stale bread in the microwave or oven in 1 minute

The aroma of freshly baked bread with a crispy crust excites the appetite so much that it is impossible to resist not to eat it. However, after just a few hours it may lose all its appetizing appearance. They prefer to make crackers out of stale bread or simply throw it away, without thinking that if used correctly it can easily be made incredibly tasty and soft again.

Proper storage of bread

In order not to let baked goods dry out and keep them fresh for a long time, you should be aware of several simple rules:

After purchasing bread from a store, you should wrap it in a linen or canvas towel. In this form it can remain soft for a week.
To extend the life of rolls and loaves, you need to put them in the refrigerator. It is preferable that the temperature be at least 2 degrees - the top shelf will do. If the value is lower, the product will begin to lose moisture faster and, therefore, deteriorate faster.
To store loaves, it is advisable to use cotton bags. Between them should be laid a plastic film with pre-made holes. These bags can usually be found in supermarkets.
A great option to maintain softness and prevent the development of mold is to leave half an apple, a few pieces of sugar, a small piece of potato and a pinch of salt in the container with the bread.