Tip: Freeze Bread Remainders

We rarely find ourselves faced with a surfeit of bread in our household; we buy one loaf per week at the farmer's market and it gets devoured pretty quickly. Sometimes, however, there's a crust or heel that lingers in the cupboard until it turns hard or stale. Though we'd like to use it for breadcrumbs or croutons, there may not be enough for any significant amount, or it may not fit into our current cooking plans. A tip in the latest issue of hippie favorite, Mother Earth News reminded us that these odds and ends can still be saved for later.

In an article about food waste (a topic that's often on our minds), there's a suggestion to freeze stale bread and hard crusts. (It's also a good idea to freeze bread before it gets stale, if you know you aren't going to be able to eat it in time.) For some reason, while we're accustomed to the practice of freezing whole loaves or rolls, it had never occurred to us to freeze stray crusts and slices. Once accumulated, these can be thawed and used to make breadcrumbs, bread pudding, French toast, or strata.

We know this tip may already be common practice for some of you. If so, how do you like to use frozen overstocks of bread?

(Image: Flickr member chotda licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (8)

That's a great idea. My wife hates the heels of the loaves (tho I don't mine 'em!) and if she comes across the last of the bag in the fridge with only the heels left, she'll toss it. I use them for breadcrumbs in the food processor and she's none the wiser, but I'm forced to use them before she spots the bag! Now I'm gonna stow 'em in the back of the freezer (behind the fudgesicles, something else she won't touch) for future use!

posted by TheGoodBiGirl on February 2nd 2009 at 12:14pm
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I freeze my extra bread bits, and then when I've accumulated enough I use them for strata or homemade stuffing/dressing (whichever term you prefer).

posted by GreenCayennes on February 2nd 2009 at 1:28pm
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I do this! If I don't use the crusts for breadcrumbs or stuffing then we take it up to the park and use it to feed the ducks. They're the best-fed ducks in all of Philadelphia!

posted by katia / crazy for trying on February 2nd 2009 at 1:56pm
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I started doing this when I stopped buying bread at the grocery store and started making my own. Basically whatever bread is left when I make a new loaf (once or twice a week) goes into the freezer. This is usually not very much, and so it's normally just the right amount of breadcrumbs when I need them for a recipe.

posted by nessie1013 on February 2nd 2009 at 2:05pm
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Sometimes I like to put leftover pieces in with my brown sugar. They keep it nice and soft like the day I purchased it.

posted by KaynEm on February 2nd 2009 at 3:42pm
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I live by myself and I often will buy a baguette and cut it in to single size portions to freeze. that way I have always have bread to eat with my soup (which is also frozen into handy single portion servings). it took a little trial and error to figure out which baguettes freeze well (some bakeries are better than others), but once I did it has been great.

I find that it still tastes great defrosted and heated in the oven.

posted by lcg on February 2nd 2009 at 5:06pm
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I make croutons! That way it's fine if the bread is already a little stale by the time I get around to freezing it.

posted by AlisonM on February 2nd 2009 at 5:32pm
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I don't bother to freeze it, i just keep the stray crusts and ends in an open bowl in a dry place and every once in a while i make breadcrumbs. it all dries out completely and then it doesn't mold.

posted by badifat on February 4th 2009 at 2:33pm
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