Tag: Reducing Food Waste

Bread: From Loaf to Panko

A fair amount of the bread we eat is homemade. Ingredients go into the bread machine; dough comes out 90 minutes later. I form it into a loaf, allow to rise for 30 minutes, then bake it for 35 minutes.

Yes, the bread machine can bake the bread, and I do that when I can’t be available at the necessary intervals, but I prefer the shape of the loaf when I form it by hand.

As hard as it is not to tear into a loaf immediately fresh from the oven, I allow it to cool completely. Sliced hot, the loaf will be forever crushed and misshapen. Once I do slice, I start in the middle, cutting the loaf in half.

Alternating halves, I take slices from the middle and push the ends together for storage in a plastic bag. This process helps keep the cut ends from drying out and going stale quite as quickly as cutting from the end.

Finally, I get to the ends and in my quest to reduce food waste, I must use the bread heels.

Since the heel is not my favorite slice of the loaf, here’s my solution.

Cut the remaining bread into cubes, add melted butter or margarine and seasonings, and then toast in the oven. Voila, croutons.

We eat a lot of salad, so croutons are a welcome addition.

Each slice of bread cut into crouton-size cubes (approximately 1/2 inch) will make about 1 cup of cubes. I usually have about 4 cups at a time and use 3 tablespoons of margarine and two teaspoons of seasoning. I randomly choose seasonings from the blends I have on hand. Italian herbs, steak seasoning, Za’atar, or even just salt and pepper make great croutons.

Mix the melted butter or margarine, seasonings and bread cubes thoroughly, spread on a baking sheet and bake at 300º (convection if you have it). Stir occasionally and bake until the bread cubes are dry and crunchy. This usually takes around 20 minutes.

Different flavors of bread can create wonderful croutons. Recently, I made a pumpkin ginger loaf, and the resulting croutons were fantastic.

Then, I took this process one step further when I ran out of panko to use for breading on fried green tomatoes. Using a rolling pin and a ziplock bag filled halfway with croutons, it only took a couple of minutes to crush the croutons into crumbs. I may never buy panko again.

I’ll be back in the kitchen this week, looking for more ways to reduce food waste.

Warm Saltine Crackers Are Delicious

Every once in a while I stumble upon a grand idea. I realize others may have already discovered the same thing, but when I actually experience it, somehow it becomes more real. Isn’t that the way with almost anything? A physical experience writes knowledge on you in a way that reading about it cannot fully convey.

So, read this article to get the idea, but then go do it for yourself. It is quick, easy and painless. Unless you burn your fingers.

My experience started with a stale sleeve of saltines.

I was making soup, and what goes best with any kind of soup? Crackers. Not fancy water crackers, or wheat thins or even Ritz crackers, but plain basic saltines.

Since the invention of this iconic cracker, saltines have classically accompanied soup.

Many have used these inexpensive crackers to extend a simple bowl of soup into a meal. In the Great Depression, many a cracker was crumbled into a thin broth soup to fill hungry bellies. The habit of crumbling crackers into soup continues as a comfort food, even when food is plentiful.

But stale saltines?

Somehow, it just isn’t the same. 

Filling, yes. Satisfying, no.

There have been times in my life when stale saltines went out for the birds. As I became more conscious of food waste, I could not think of throwing out an entire sleeve of crackers. After cursing the packaging breach that allowed moisture to render the crackers unpalatable, it was time to pivot.

What to do?

Somewhere in the recesses of my brain, I recalled crackers could be crisped in the oven. There was nothing to lose and everything to gain by giving it a shot.

I couldn’t remember any directions about how long it might take to crisp up stale crackers, so as I often do, I guessed. By monitoring color change through the oven window and paying attention to the aroma in the air, I hit upon a success.

Another technique I use often is starting food in a cold oven, allowing the food to come to temperature along with the oven. This saves a bit of time. Plus, if moving a glass baking dish straight from the refrigerator to the oven, it helps prevent the pan from shattering because of the sudden temperature change.

Back to the saltines.

Pour out an entire sleeve of crackers onto a small baking sheet. It doesn’t matter if they are in a single layer or not; dump out the crackers and shake to semi-distribute. Pop them in the oven on the middle rack. Set the temperature to 350º and turn it on. Monitor closely until the crackers reach your desired color. Remove from the oven, and slide into a serving bowl. 

Eat warm.

Easy as this is, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, you need to get to know your oven. In my electric oven, the crackers are nicely browned and crispy at exactly the same moment the oven reaches 350 degrees. Second, it is quite handy to have a window in the oven door. I am not sure why windowless ovens were ever created, but I will never buy one.

One step better.

If you want to raise your game one more step, before baking, shake the crackers in a baggie with a small amount of melted butter and the seasoning of your choice. I recommend 1 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter and 1 teaspoon of seasoning to one sleeve of crackers. Open up your spice cabinet and think outside the cracker box. Try a bit of freshly cracked pepper. Paprika comes to life and offers a warming addition. I like steak seasoning on almost anything, not just for meat. Think chili-seasoned crackers to accompany a hot bowl of chili soup.

Now I crisp saltines every time I make soup. Not only when they have gone stale. Even without any additional seasoning, the slight browning gives crackers a new flavor profile that is distinct from the bland saltines straight from the box. It is possible this even makes the cheap saltines better so you can save money not buying an expensive name brand.

This simple technique elevates the humble saltine into an ethereal experience. Imagine warm, lightly browned crackers spread with soft butter beginning to melt. Delicious and simple.

Now, go straight to the kitchen and warm up your saltines. You know you want to.