In some recipes, you want bread to be stale

When bread goes stale it usually gets tossed out. But rather than throwing it away, try rescuing it. Stale bread can be used for bread pudding, French toast, breakfast casseroles, strata, homemade stuffing and bread crumbs, to name a few.

How have you used stale bread? Here are a few more ideas:

Add moisture: Maybe you’ve microwaved stale bread to soften it and found out this method doesn’t achieve the best results. You can add moisture to it by spritzing it with water and re-baking it. One reader, Karen from Kansas, shares: “There is an actual formula for softening stale bread. Heating the bread to a temperature of at least 120 degrees will re-gelatinize the starches, which temporarily reverses the staling process. For individual slices of bread, spritz with water using a fine mist spritzer (a plant mister works very well for this), and warm the slices in a toaster. For the entire loaf, wrap it in foil and bake for 10-20 minutes at 300-350 degrees. Note: Re-gelatinization only works once. Don’t try it several times on the same loaf of bread.

Breadcrumb cookies: “I also use dry bread (heels and occasionally a slice or two) to make breadcrumb cookies,” Karen writes. “I use coconut oil in the recipe, which makes the cookies taste like chocolate coconut and gives them a texture similar to finely shredded unsweetened coconut, which my family loves. I usually make half a recipe when I accumulate one cup of dried bread crumbs in the freezer.”

Sift together 1¼ cups flour, 1¼ cups sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder and ⅓ cup cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, mix ½ cup milk, 1 egg and 1½ teaspoons vanilla; stir into dry ingredients then add ⅔ cup melted coconut oil and 2 cups bread crumbs. Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350-degreess for 15 minutes or until done.

Grilled sandwiches: Stale bread isn’t noticeably dry when it’s toasted or grilled. Make foods such as grilled cheese sandwiches, French bread pizza, cinnamon and sugar toast and garlic bread.

Meatloaf and meatballs: While many people use bread crumbs, oatmeal or saltine crackers to bind the ground beef, you can soak bread slices in milk and egg, too. Here’s a tasty meatloaf recipe at allrecipes.com/recipe/glazed-meatloaf-ii.

Breadcrumb muffins: Frugal Village forums member J. Moffitt shares: “My family enjoys breadcrumb muffins, which are a great use for stale bread. The muffins themselves are not sweet, but you can add sweetness by spreading honey butter or fruit butter on them.”

In a large bowl, combine 1 large egg, slightly beaten, 1 cup milk, ¼ cup melted butter and 1 cup bread crumbs. In another bowl, mix 1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon baking powder; fold into liquid ingredients. Pour into greased or lined 12-cup muffin tin and bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

For more recipes that use stale bread, visit: frugalvillage.com/forums/frugal-recipes-leftovers-budget-meals/18086-what-do-left-over-bread.html.

Ÿ Sara Noel owns of Frugal Village (frugalvillage.com), a website that offers practical, money-saving strategies for everyday living. Send tips, comments or questions, to Sara Noel, c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106 or sara@frugalvillage.com.