As with all handmade bread, our loaves and baguettes lose their freshness after a few days. Don’t be so quick to send your stale loaf packing though. There are options for making use of your reject bread – and simple, quick ones at that!

Behold. Breadcrumbs.

Simply tear your bread into large pieces, toss them in a food processor, and pulse away! If you’d prefer your breadcrumbs to be drier, you can toast the bread in the oven at 190º C / gas 5 before using the food processor. To add more zest, you can even add a dash of any seasonings you have on hand such as cayenne, oregano or five-spice.

Another easy fix with a crunch – croutons!

Dice up your bread into cubes. Again, you can add extra flavor by tossing them in extra virgin olive oil, spices, or even pesto! Toast your croutons at 190º C for about 15 minutes until they are perfectly golden. Voilà! That was easy, wasn’t it?

Bet you never thought of this – thicken a soup 

Many soup recipes call for added thickness for a richer consistency, and day-old bread is the perfect means to achieve that heartier broth you desire. This works fabulously with butternut squash soup, potato leek, and many more! Simply put the bread into the blender with your other ingredients.

You can also repurpose your bread by using it in a sweet bread pudding, tomorrow morning’s French toast, or another breakfast classic, an “egg in a nest.”

And, well, sometimes bread is entirely too stale, at the point of no return. In this case, why not add it to your garden compost?

Of course the possibilities are endless. Do you have a special crouton, breadcrumb or soup recipe you hold near and dear? How do you make use of your less-than-fresh bread? Fill us in by commenting below!