How can I use up stale bread?

Slices of brown, multigrain breadSome weeks, we get through a loaf of bread in about a minute and a half and other times, we have a couple of slices of toast the day we get the loaf and the rest just sits there forlornly as we fill up with other carbohydrates instead. This week is somewhere inbetween and we’ve got about half a loaf left.

But what, oh what, can I do with it?

I suspect throwing it all out to the birds would a) be overkill since they can’t eat that much and b) literally overkill, because of the cats (or at least overpounce-and-miss because our cats are tubby and generally inept when it comes to that sort of thing) but it seems such a waste to just throw it in the bin.

Any suggestions?

Best Suggestion

  • Reuse: Grind up into breadcrumbs. They can be frozen and used in all manner of recipes as a bulking agent or a coating. Alternatively, cut it into chunks and fry them in a little oil (and possibly garlic, mmm garlic) to make croutons for soups or salads.
  • See the comments below for more suggestions and ideas

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23 Responses to “How can I use up stale bread?”

  1. sarar says:

    I was going to suggest bread and butter pudding but I don’t know what that would be like with brown bread!


  2. Suz says:

    I blast stale bread in my food processor to make bread crumb s for stuffing. Stale bread is better because when it’s fresh it clogs up the blades. I usually use white bread but I bet the seeds would go nicely in a herb stuffing!

    • louisa says:

      We’re veggie so we don’t stuff – but inspired by your comment Suz, I did a bit of googling and voila! a breadcrumb-filled nut roast recipe!


      Thanks for the idea, Suz.


      • Hey Louisa,
        You could make stuffing balls! BTW what do you have instead of meat in your roast dinners?

      • louisa says:

        Hi Cadan,

        We don’t have roast dinners that much so don’t do anything terribly exciting. When we do have them, we go for something like nut roast or veggie sausage, or well, even mushroom burgers (without buns or anything, just the burger bit).

        I do still like stuffing though – just not stuffed into anything :)


  3. louisa's mum says:

    bread crumbs can be stored in the freezer till you require them.can be used as a topping for chicken mixed with herbs,tarragon etc.no need to thaw

  4. Fee says:

    Bread Pudding

    Leave crusts in freezer until you have about a loaf’s worth.
    Then, get out of freezer, put in large bowl and cover with hot water. Cover this with a tea towel and leave overnight.
    Mix in mixed fruit, mixed spice and suet (works fine with veggie suet too) and brown sugar until you think it looks nice.
    Mix thoroughly.

    Pour into cake tins/casserole lids and sprinkle brown sugar over the top.

    Bake until the whoile thing is firm and the top is golden brown.

    Leave to cool (this is most important because bread pudding ‘sets’ rather than being cake-like).

    Eat…lots…with custard…or cream…or on its own.

  5. Where I live, there is a lake about 10 minutes away. Whenever we go, there are always Canada geese and mallards. We take stale bread with us and feed it to the geese/mallards.

  6. CheapNLazy says:

    Toast, stuffing, croutons, bread crumbs, french toast, meatloaf filler, bird food.

  7. Aspen says:

    We always have the ends of bread leftover that go stale and I put them in the oven to make them crispy. Its really good with cream cheese, guacamole, and sunflower seeds! You can also break the bread into small pieces and put them on the bird feeder.

  8. Rosie Angel says:

    Ntt on the bird feeder please.. always SOK bread before putting out. Dry bread not good for birds.
    ut in the micro or the oven or toaster to bake dry and then crumble into crumbs for coating food before cooking. They will keep for a while in an airtight container or jar

  9. Anteater says:

    I make dry bread crumbs to use in meatballs, meat loaf, etc. I put all the slices of bread on a cookie sheet, stick them in the oven until they’re all dried out and crisp (but not burnt), then put them in a paper bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Result: dry bread crumbs!

  10. Horses!!!!!Han says:

    you could get a small compost bin or give it to some1 in an alotment (so they can compost it), we have just got an alotment and all of our food waste, including lettuce gets put on the compost heap;your friend can reuse the final product (fertiliser)to grow more veg!

  11. Horses!!!!!Han says:

    it will also compost leftover stale bread

    • janet says:

      Be careful how you compost your cooked food, that includes bread, rats are a big problem, they tunnel into compost bins.

  12. sara says:

    ok stale bread you can cut into small squares and bake low heat til totally and utterly dry then put in bowl pour milk on top eat quick and its just like shreddies. got us through the war and got me through collage

  13. harrison says:

    i think it should be used as feed for birds and i intend starting up something funny with it,i mean make some money from recycling stale bread.so anyone with a good precepts should pls throw more light on it.

  14. Jeffry Golingho says:

    Give it tome and let’s do business.

  15. naz says:

    I would make it into a quick sweet indian pudding – \make it into bread crumbs or tear it into small pieces. Melt some butter into a pan – (enough to coat the breadcrumbs in. (a bit more if you are not watching your weight!
    add the breadcrumbs, coat and lightly toast them in the pan after a couple of minutes add some milk and some sugar (add according to how sweet you want it). and heat it for about 5 mins make sure the consistency is like rice pudding. Eat and enjoy. :-)

  16. Janet Forbes says:

    bread soup! there are lots of different types, and they’re a great way to get rid of stale bread. if it’s not soup weather, or you’re not in the mood, just chuck it into the freezer until you are!

    this is an especially good solution with bread (like french baguette) which goes super-hard when stale, and would probably squish or severely weigh-down any bird unlucky enough to be on the charity end of it…


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