Suggestions on the Various Uses of Stale Bread.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIX, Issue VI, 9 August 1902, Page 378

Suggestions on the Various Uses of Stale Bread.

Casting your bread upon the waters may be ail right in a figurative sense, but it is certainly not right to east your bread into the garbage barrel in any sense. Bread will get stale, but it has not outlived its usefulness by any means. You need stale bread almost as much as you do the fresh. In fact, you cannot; well get along and be up to date without it. The good man wants his toast for breakfast, and for this stale bread is an essential, no matter whether that toast be dry, buttered, milk, or cream. You may also make a toast by adding to the toasted bread the chicken

gravy left from the dinner of the day la-fore, or you may fry the stale bread after dipping it in milk and beaten egg lone egg to a cupful of milk), and it will be welcome to all.

Stale bread also serves you by forming the basis for the croutons for your soup, and is equally valuable when it furnishes you canapes whicu you spread with cheese, sardines, ham, anchovies, or other mixtures. The crumbs of bread are just what is needed for breading of chops, for meat stuffings, croquettes, and serve in pudding making a good purpose.

It is from extremely stale bread that bread baskets and boxes are made. Cut the loaf into pieces about three inches square, shape as desired, remove the inside, brush over with melted butter, and brown at once in a hot oven. The re-

suit is a nice case in which to serve mushrooms, minced sweetbreads, or game, asparagus tips, peas, etc. One of the best puddings is made with stale bread as the prime factor: Soak two cupfuls of bread in three cupfuls of milk, add three beaten eggs, one cupful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of butter, one-half cupful of raisins, and some grated nutmeg. Put in a deep earthen dish, which has been buttered, and cook in a slow oven. When the top has crusted, loosen the sides with a flat-biaded knfie, and pour in one cupful of milk. When the top crusts the second and third time, repeat this operation, and then bake until no milk adheres to the testing spoon.

Another way of using up the crumbs is to bake the scraps until light brown and crisp, and pound while hot. Pour

over these half a pint each of boiling water and milk, cover and steam until soft. Add two tablespoonfuls of light brown sugar, one-half cup of raisins, and spiee to taste. Pour the mixture into a well-greased pudding dish, sprinkle with bits of butter, and bake about 20 minutes.

A chocolate and bread pudding can be made as follows:—To two cups of fine bread crumbs add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, mix thoroughly and pour into a well-buttered mould. Melt an ounce of grated chocolate over hot water, add carefully two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a scant cupful of hot milk, two beaten eggs, and half a teaspoonful of vanilla flavouring. Pour this over the crumbs slowly, let it soak in for ten minutes, place in a pan partly filled with hot water, and eook until the centre is set. Serve with cream.