What can I do with bread that comes out bad? (2024)

FAQs

What can I do with bread that comes out bad? ›

If the flavor is unappealing, then yes, toss or compost it. But if it tastes good, then you can make bread crumbs and/or croutons with it.

Reuse in another dish. For the dry parts of the bread, they're usually made into bread crumbs or used in some kind of pudding. As for gummy bread, I wonder if you can use it like a panade and mix it with ground meat.

Everything's coming together when you discover that your bread dough just isn't rising. Fortunately, this is a problem that's relatively easy to diagnose and solve. If your bread dough doesn't rise, you can still use it and fix it by changing up the temperature or mixing in more yeast.

If the flavor is unappealing, then yes, toss or compost it. But if it tastes good, then you can make bread crumbs and/or croutons with it. Bread crumbs are useful for coating foods that will be fried e.g. chicken or fish.

Whizz up your stale bread in a food processor (or grate it) to create breadcrumbs. These crumbs can then be used in recipes – to top savoury dishes, 'bread' meat, stuff poultry, make burgers and sausages, or thicken stews, soups or gravies.

The bottom line

Bread has a short shelf life, lasting just 3–7 days at room temperature. Proper sealing and storage, as well as using the refrigerator or freezer when needed, can help prevent mold and increase shelf life. If you see mold, you should throw away the whole loaf, as mold can produce harmful mycotoxins.

If the date on your bread or snacks has expired, it does not mean they have not gone bad. In fact, once something goes stale it means that it has been depleted of moisture, which makes it less likely to grow mold. Try storing it in a plastic bag for extended shelf life.

In cooking, proofing (also called proving) is a step in the preparation of yeast bread and other baked goods in which the dough is allowed to rest and rise a final time before baking. During this rest period, yeast ferments the dough and produces gases, thereby leavening the dough.

Does yeast expire? ›

Yeast is a living thing, which means that all yeast expires at some point. All yeast has an expiration date, but yeast will expire sooner if not stored properly. Properly stored yeast may last for up to four months beyond the expiration date. Improperly stored yeast may not make it to its expiration date.

The trick is to heat the bread up so that water can be reabsorbed into the starch granules once again so it can revert to its springy, fresh-bread state. Now, if you have sliced bread you want to do this too. You can simply pop it into the toaster for a few seconds.

If food is covered with mold, discard it. Put it into a small paper bag or wrap it in plastic and dispose in a covered trash can that children and animals can't get into.

Cubed reject breads are good for a LOT! You can make croutons, bread pudding (perhaps with a bourbon sauce?), bread and butter pudding, even plum pudding! I recommend exploring plum pudding if you've made enough bread that you might be willing to age a pud for a year!

In most situations, an undercooked loaf of bread can be fixed by returning it to the oven for a few more minutes. This is true for loaves where the outside of your bread may look fully set, but the inside of the bread is still gummy. Place the loaf back in a preheated oven at 350° F for 10-20 minutes.

But almost as good as a proofing box is taking a Mason jar filled halfway up with water, microwaving it for two minutes, then putting your bowl of dough into the microwave with the jar to rise. The other thing you can do is place your lidded container or bowl of dough into a second, larger bowl of warm water.