A lot of people have started baking bread at home as of late. It can definitely be a lot of fun to learn how to bake new kinds of bread for your family to enjoy.
Sourdough bread isn’t something that everyone likes, but it is delicious to those who have a taste for it. If you’ve taken to baking sourdough bread every so often, then you might wind up having more of it than you can eat before it goes bad.
The good thing is that sourdough bread stays good for a fair amount of time. It certainly lasts longer than most other homemade bread types.
Regardless, you might need some ideas about what you can do with your leftovers Are there any good ideas that will help you to use leftover sourdough bread in satisfying ways?
Keep reading to learn about some of the best things that you can do if you have too much. This will help you to figure out how to use the bread without it being a big deal at all.
1 – Turn Sourdough Bread Into French Toast
Perhaps turning your sourdough bread into something tasty that you can enjoy for breakfast will be the right way to go. You could turn it into French toast if you think that you and your family would like it.
French toast is a breakfast treat that many families enjoy from time to time. You might typically make French toast using normal bread, but it can be made with sourdough bread too.
You can make an egg mixture that consists of a few eggs, a half-cup of milk, a bit of sugar, and some vanilla essence. You then slice up the stale sourdough bread and add it to the egg mixture that you created.
It should be allowed to soak in the mixture for a little while. Once this is done, you want to fry the slices of bread in a buttered skillet. Ensure that both sides are golden brown and then you’ll be ready to eat.
This is a delectable breakfast food that will make it simple to eat up the rest of your sourdough bread. If you want to make it even tastier, then you could eat the French toast along with a little bit of whipped cream.
Some people like to eat this alongside fruits such as strawberries as well. It probably isn’t something that you’d want to have for breakfast every morning, but it could be a fantastic way to keep from wasting leftover sourdough bread.
2 – You Could Make Crispbread
Have you thought about making crispbread using your leftover sourdough bread? It’s actually quite easy to do this and it’s going to turn out really well.
You need to slice the leftover bread thinly using a sharp knife. It might be a bit difficult to slice it at first if it has become hard due to going slightly stale, but you should be able to get the job done.
It’s said that you should aim to have each slice be around three millimeters thick. You should then brush your slices with olive oil on both sides.
Put your bread slices on a baking sheet and heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You will then need to bake them for approximately ten minutes.
Depending on other factors, you might need to bake the bread slices a little more or a little less. You want them to turn out as thin and crispy as they can.
You should store your crispbread in an airtight container for the best results. The crispbread should stay good for about a week and you can eat it cold.
Lots of people like topping crispbread with various types of cheese. It also tastes really great with peanut butter and jelly.
This is a good way to use up any leftover sourdough bread that you have. If you’re tired of eating the normal sourdough bread, then this might be the perfect idea for you.
3 – Make Sourdough Breadcrumbs
Another idea that’s going to be appealing involves making sourdough breadcrumbs. If you don’t think that you’re going to be able to use the sourdough bread in time, then you could turn it into sourdough breadcrumbs and then freeze them to be used later.
These breadcrumbs could be used in many different ways, like for stuffing. You could use them as a topping for some other type of dessert if you wanted to.
It wouldn’t be unusual for sourdough bread fans to use these breadcrumbs on top of ice cream. They can be used to top many sweet or savory dishes.
Making breadcrumbs will be very simple, too. You just have to chop up the slightly stale sourdough bread and then put the pieces into a blender to make them even smaller.
Once this is done, you’ll be able to put them in a freezer-safe plastic bag. You can use the breadcrumbs later on when you find a use for them in a meal that you’re making.
People have even used sourdough breadcrumbs in pie fillings to help add texture. They can be used to thicken sauces that you’re making, and they’re just really going to be versatile enough that this will be a great idea.
4 – Try to Give Some Sourdough Bread Away
Have you thought about trying to give some sourdough bread away? If you have too much of it and you aren’t going to be able to eat it before it goes stale, then you might need some help.
You don’t necessarily have to try to eat all of it by yourself. Most people will have friends and family members that they can call to see if they will want some.
Try inviting family and friends over so that they can help you to eat the bread. You could also send some of it home with people so that it will be eaten up.
Depending on how much sourdough bread you made, this might be the most practical thing to do. Having leftovers doesn’t necessarily mean that the bread is stale, after all.
You might just have way more bread than you’re going to reasonably be able to eat by yourself. Enlist the help of the people that you’re closest to and you might not have to worry about the bread going to waste.
Sometimes it might even be possible to give some sourdough bread away to your neighbors. At the very least, it’s worth considering whether giving some of it away would make sense.
5 – You Could Try to Refresh the Stale Sourdough Bread
Finally, it’s worth considering whether or not you could try to refresh the stale sourdough bread. Your bread might not be so stale that it can’t be brought back to life and enjoyed when you use the proper methods.
You can potentially make your sourdough bread taste almost as good as it did when it was fresh. It’s possible to do this with a half-eaten loaf of bread, but you could do it with a whole loaf as well.
Set your oven to 390 degrees Fahrenheit and then run your sourdough bread under running water to get the crust wet. Do your best not to allow the inside of the bread to get wet, though.
So long as you’re doing your best to only get the crust wet, it’ll be easy to get the right results. Once you’re done, you need to cover the bread with aluminum foil.
Put your loaf of bread that’s covered in aluminum foil in the oven once it has been preheated. It should stay in the oven for fifteen minutes.
After fifteen minutes have passed, you’ll be able to remove the loaf from the oven to see if this trick worked. The bread should be a lot tastier and the inside of the bread will be soft once more.
Final Thoughts
Now you know many different ways that you can try to use up the leftover sourdough bread. There are quite a few things that you can do with leftovers that will make it easier to eat it up.
You could try to turn it into a different type of dish. Making the bread into a crispbread will definitely allow you to enjoy it in a completely new way.
Some people will prefer turning the leftover sourdough bread into French toast so that they can enjoy a tasty breakfast. Others will like the idea of turning it into breadcrumbs that can be utilized in many different dishes.
Just knowing that you have options will help to put your mind at ease. If you just want to use it up before it goes stale, then you could even just try to get friends, family members, and neighbors to help you eat it all.
If your sourdough bread is already a bit stale, then you could even try to refresh it. Simply go with whatever idea makes the most sense to you and you won’t have to worry about throwing the leftovers out.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.