An Old Loaf Of Sourdough Can Be Transformed Into The Tastiest Bread Crumbs

Even with all of the ways to keep bread fresh, there are times when you might slip up. Whether out of laziness or forgetfulness, it's always a bummer to walk into the kitchen and find that your fresh sourdough bread was left unwrapped — or, worse, finding it in the fridge. That is, unless, for some wild reason, you're actually trying to make it go stale faster. In that case you'd have the perfect excuse to make some tasty sourdough bread crumbs.

Bread crumbs are the silver lining to all of your sad sourdough loaves that, in any case, have been left neglected. By all means, if you're planning to enjoy your fresh sourdough to its entirety, store it in the freezer. It'll last there for months, and can easily be popped back in the oven or toaster when its time does come. But there's really no reason to cry over old sourdough, at least not now that you know you can transform it.

Transforming stale sourdough into bread crumbs starts by making croutons. Simply take your old, stale loaf and tear it apart into small, irregular pieces using your hands. When that's done, you can toss all of the pieces into a bowl with some olive oil, salt, and virtually any other herbs or spices that sound good to you. After you toast them up on a skillet or in the oven, all you have to do is crush them by hand or blend them in your blender. Voilà.

Obviously, you could stop at the sourdough croutons. The bread crumbs, however, will find many more uses once chopped with a food processor. Depending on the herbs and seasonings you make them with, be it garlic and rosemary or a classic Italian seasoning blend, you can use your sourdough bread crumbs the same way you'd use store-bought bread crumbs. Add them to the breading on your fish, pork, chicken, or tofu, or sprinkle them on top of your homemade pasta, mac and cheese, lasagna, or casserole. You can also stir them into your soup to instantly thicken it, layer them into your vegetable gratin, or add them to your meatballs, crab cakes, or burger patties to hold them together — you won't regret it.

While this will work for any variety of bread, making bread crumbs from your stale sourdough will be specifically rewarding given its tangy flavor. This will, in turn, transform to your bread crumbs and everything you use them in going forward. You can either store them in an airtight container in your pantry, where they'll last for two weeks, or in your refrigerator, where they'll last for a month. You can even keep them in the freezer if you want, where they'll last even longer. Your hard work tending to your starter to make your homemade sourdough — or the time and money you spent at the bakery — will never have to go to waste again.