Crispbreads

 

I made a loaf last week that simply didn't rise much (I don't always get it right), and although it tasted wonderful and we did eat some,  it got a bit forgotten about and was left languishing in the bread bin.  When I did finally remember the poor thing it had touches of mould on the bottom.  Never one to waste anything I suddenly thought of THIS post over at my Blogging Buddy Karon's blog 'Larder Love', my loaf was the perfect shape to make handy little crispbreads with.

 

 

So the mould was sliced off and then the loaf thinly sliced and the whole tray went in the oven while I was cooking tea the other night.  As the oven was on quite a high temperature I took them out after a few minutes and then popped them back as I took our tea out and then left them in the cooling oven.

 

In fact the poor things got completely forgotten about again .... what is it with this bread !!  So the next night when I put on the oven to warm it ready for making tea I was surprised to smell the lovely aroma of toast filling the kitchen, aha something clicked in this tired old brain and my crispbreads were rescued.  All this shows just how forgiving the poor things are.

 

 

Once completely cold they were tipped into an empty glass jar, so I can bee the bl**dy things and they don't get forgotten about again. They are great for when you want a crafty little nibble with either a smear of homemade jam or curd or for dunking in homemade soup for that extra little crunch.

 

Thanks Karon you are a star!!

 

Sue xx

 

 

 

Simple September - Tops Tips #18

 

 

Never ever throw bread away, it really is as simple as that. 

 

Stale or leftover bread can be turned into so many different things the most obvious being breadcrumbs for coating foods or adding as a final layer to dishes like Cauliflower Cheese.  Either whiz them up in your food processor as they are and then pour into a bag or tub and label and pop into the freezer, or alternatively, whizz them with herbs for Herby Breadcrumbs or go a little bit further in the flavour department and throw in a clove of garlic or two and while they are whizzing round pour in a thin stream of olive oil.  These lovely tasty breadcrumbs can then be frozen as they are or lightly fried and then frozen to be used as a topping to lots of brilliant dishes.  I love them on what must be the most simple pasta dish,  pasta cooked in lots of salted water and then drained, sprinkled with finely grated Parmesan and then a final flourish of Garlicky Breadcrumbs - so simple, so divinely tasty.

 

There are lots of recipes that you can simply Google on what to do with stale bread and I also dip into The Leftovers Handbook by another Blogging Buddy of mine, Suzy Bowler if I ever want some fresh ideas.  She has lots of brilliant suggestions in the Bread section (the Amazon Link for this book is way down on the right hand sidebar of my Blog) such as 'roll out sliced white bread thinly and use to line a buttered muffin tray, brushed with melted butter and baked and you have wonderful little 'pastry cases' just crying out for delicious fillings'.

 

Whatever you do try not to throw away food, you have paid for it with your hard earned money, and you might just as well throw that money in the bin if you are throwing away food, learning to get the most from everything you have is the best thing you can do to save money and keep to a tight budget.