Monday, April 10, 2017

My Walk Through Life 4/10/17

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Stale bread is one of largest items that cause food waste. When I have stale bread, and remember to grab it, I take it to my brother's house to feed their chickens. There are so many good ways to use stale bread, we should never have to throw it away. 
   It can be refreshed by putting the bread in a damp paper bag and heating it in a 300F oven for three minutes.
   Use it in recipes like grilled cheese, strata, bread pudding, French toast, or French onion soup. You can add bread to a soup to add texture. If you are not ready to use it in a recipe, freeze in a zip-lock freezer bag. Bring it to room temperature before adding new bread.
   Make bread crumbs by laying the bread out on a cookie sheet and drying it out on your ovens lowest setting. Grind in a food processor and then dry some more for an hour. Store it in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Add some Italian seasonings if you want to flavor it up.
   Make croutons by cubing the bread. You can season it by tossing the bread squares in olive oil and seasonings. Lay out on a cookie sheet and dry at a low oven setting until golden brown. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks. 
   I store my brown sugar in a tight covered container and add a slice of stale bread to it to keep it soft. You can add a slice of bread to a container of soft cookies to keep them soft. Also, if a slice of bread is kept with your vegetables in a crisper drawer, it will keep them fresh. Put in new bread every couple of days. 

Make a beer or an ale from bread:
   Fill a glass jar or other container with pieces of stale bread or crumbs.
   Fill container with water or make an herbal tea of your choosing.
   Cover with cheese cloth. You want to let air circulate but keep insects out.
   Let the mixture sit for 1-2 days. 
   Strain through cotton flannel, a jelly bag, a pillowcase or other cotton material, to remove the solids.
   Measure the amount of liquid that has been drained out.
   For each pint of liquid, add 2 tablespoons of sugar. You can choose to use white sugar, barley sugar, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, etc.
   Stir.
   Drop in a few raisins.
   *I apologize for the next couple of instructions. I have researched and not sure I understand them.
   You may or may not need to add yeast or a yeast starter. The bread and the open air may have allowed the yeast to generate or the raisins will carry in yeast. Allowing it to sit for a couple of days will help the process. If not, you can add yeast at this point. Using yeast meant for beer brewing is recommended but you can use any yeast. Add a pinch of yeast for each cup of liquid.
   Cover the jar with an airlock.
   When the raisins start to float, the beer is ready to drink. I will mildly carbonated and low in alcohol. If you want it to be more alcoholic, add more sugar and brew for longer periods.
  This recipe came from the site Wind in the Roses. She has a lot of interesting recipes for home remedies, ideas for frugal living, and more.

There is a brewery called Toast that is based in England. They use surplus bread from bakeries to make their bread. They even share their recipe. 


Make French Toast Sticks
    4 thick slices white Texas Toast bread (stale is best)
   1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
   2 eggs
   1/4 cup milk
   Salt
   1/4 cup sugar
   1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
Remove the crust and cut the bread into 4 sticks.
Using a large bowl, mix milk and eggs and a pinch of salt. 
In a flat bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon.
Heat the butter over medium heat in a skillet.
Roll the bread sticks into the egg mixture, shaking off the excess and place in the pan.
Turn each side until golden brown.
Once done, transfer immediately into the cinnamon sugar mixture and roll to coat. 
If desired, put syrup in a small container and dip.

Recipe for Austrian Dumplings from Mother Earth News
Recipe


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1 comment:

  1. I'm glad to see you back! The Food Pantry throws away thousands of loaves of bread that nobody, not even the poorest of the poor, would like because there is just TOO MUCH! -- Debbie

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