This is a great recipe for using up that bit of bread that is languishing on your bread board, getting staler and staler. I always have lots of bread in this house (from testing recipes, running bread courses etc) and I hate to throw them away. In truth, if they don’t get transformed they go into the chicken pen but I would rather that we eat them.
I was first inspired to make this back in 2011 by Nancy over at Good Food Matters. You can adapt it in many ways, it is a recipe that will help you use up anything lying around in your fridge of cupboards. I use a tomato sauce, but you could use a cheese sauce or stock to soak the bread. You could add pesto, harissa, chorizo, tinned tuna (my nemesis , so I definitely won’t), anchovies, roasted peppers, feta, cheddar, brie – the list is endless.
The recipe below is just a guide, please feel free to adapt it to suit you.
Ingredients
200-400g stale bread cut into cubes or broken into chunks
Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano,
salt & pepper
1 tin plum tomatoes (or passata) or chopped fresh tomatoes
300ml pot of cream but you could use milk
3 eggs
mozarella or cheese of your choice
Method
Splash a little olive oil into a pan and add the onions and garlic, fry over a gentle heat for about 10-15 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the oregano and season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook for about 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Break or cut the bread and stir into the tomato sauce.
Beat the eggs into the cream (or milk) until just combined. Add to the bread mixture. Spread the mixture over an ovenproof dish and sprinkle liberally with cheese.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180C, 350F, Gas Mark 4 for about 30 minutes until puffed up and golden.
Are you ready to learn more?
Why not join my Bread Made Easy Membership that will transform you into a confident bread maker and show you how to use up that staling crusts.
