To Use up Stale Bread.

The principles and practice of not wasting bread are themes I refer to quite regularly for several, hopefully fairly obvious reasons. Once upon a not-too distant time, to waste bread was an unconscionable act – a sin, even. Throughout most of history, the specific ways in which bread scraps were re-used were not documented. Mostly, dry and stale as they may have been, they were likely eaten without much enhancement other than a dip in broth or soup, if that was available. But there are a lot more ideas for your crusts and crumbs.

In 1917, the United States Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Bulletin No. 817, How to Select Foods: II. Cereal Foods contained a couple of ideas which caught my fancy. The booklet gave the usual ideas for stale bread – toast, croutons, etc, but it also suggested that breadcrumbs be used in place of flour in some recipes. It was my luck that one of these was in gingerbread, and as you know, I cannot resist a new gingerbread recipe. And pancakes are pretty good too. Let us please return to the regular practice of not wasting even the tiniest piece of the staff of life.

Pancakes.

1 cup crumbs.

2 ¼ cups skim milk.

½ cup flour.

4 teaspoons baking powder.

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar.

1 teaspoon melted fat.

1 egg.

Soak crumbs in milk for three-quarters of an hour. Then add other ingredients and cook on a hot griddle like ordinary pancakes. If sour milk is used, substitute ½ teaspoon soda for the 4 teaspoons baking powder.

Gingerbread.

1 cup molasses.

½ cup boiling water.

1 ⅓ cups fine bread crumbs.

⅔ cup flour.

1 teaspoon soda.

1 ½ teaspoons ginger.

½ teaspoon salt.

4 teaspoons melted lard, or other fat.

Add water to molasses and combine with the dry ingredients mixed together, then add butter and beat. Bake for about 25 minutes in a hot oven.