How To Use Stale Bread: 4 French Toast Recipes to Brighten Your Morning
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French toast is the ultimate way to use up stale bread for breakfast and reduce waste. Quick and easy, here are four French toast recipes.
The beauty of French toast is that it takes day-old bread, stale and not that appealing, and transforms it into something delicious with a few frugal ingredients like eggs and milk. A great waste-reduction recipe that’s perfect for a relaxed weekend breakfast.
If you can get your hands on some marked-down day-old artisanal bread or sourdough, go for it!
But you don’t need fancy bread to make this fancy, yet frugal breakfast. The cheap home-brand bread will do.
And if it’s old and stale, all the better!
The other thing about French toast? It’s infinitely variable; enjoy it sweet or savoury and use up whatever you have on hand.
French toast was one of the first things my daughter learned to cook. Even at eight years old, she would whip up some French toast on a Saturday morning. Eggy, bready, cinnamon-y goodness – it’s warm, spicy smell filling the house.
And while you traditionally cook French toast in a frying pan with a little butter, you can cook it quickly in a sandwich press. This is great for people – like students and campers – who might not have a stove or full kitchen.
Looking for more ways to use up stale bread? Why not try Strata for breakfast?
French Toast Substitutions, Freezing, and Reheating Tips
While it’s a bit hard to substitute eggs in this dish, you can substitute the bread for gluten-free varieties and use dairy-free milk like soy or almond milk if you prefer.
You can freeze cooked French toast by placing the slices on a tray lined with baking paper, then transferring the frozen French toast to a zip-lock bag. Freeze for up to three months.
Reheat from frozen in the air fryer, oven, toaster, or grill/broiler.
Leftover cooked French toast can be kept in the fridge for up to three days and reheated in the same way.
French Toast Four Ways
The foundation of all French toast recipes is eggy bread flavoured with vanilla and cinnamon.
Extra decadent, this French ooey, gooey, chocolatey French toast is a special treat.
Cream cheese and jam is one of my favourite combinations. Here it's sandwiched between bread soaked in eggs and milk.
French toast doesn't have to be sweet. This savoury French toast version hits the spot for those who prefer something savoury for breakfast.
