Ingredients: Where Has All The Flour Gone for bread

Bidets, Baubles, Ballet And Bread

In Italy, it was pasta and rice, in the UK it was tea and then flour (it is the home of The Great British Bake Off, after all), and in the US, it was toilet paper and now flour.  According to the Italy Insider, there is not a shortage in this bathroom necessity as they are civilized enough that all homes are required to have a bidet. The much publicized shortage of toilet paper here forced me to buy this pair of earrings for comic relief. (I have a modest reputation for cheesy, thematic earrings). They are from Created By Carla on Etsy. But to return to the flour shortage, clearly there is a tsunami of cake, pie, biscuit and bread baking, as my Instagram feed has gone from too many pictures of dogs and cats to too many images of sourdough starters.  But the trend has led me to return to dishes I actually make when an attack of frugality hits me. I am not sure internationally which country is in the lead on how to use stale bread, but there is even a bread crumb fairy in the story of Sleeping Beauty. Her name is  Miettes Qui Tombent, which literally means “falling breadcrumbs”. This fairy in both the story and the ballet symbolizes generosity, since in Russian culture bread and its crumbs are symbols of welcome and good fortune.  So as Miette’s good wish or  blessing for the princess,  she sprinkles breadcrumbs  in the baby’s cradle. Tchaikovsky’s music to Miette’s solo is enchanting to me.

Beyond Croutons

Even as a fan of the real Caesar salad, and panzanella, there are just so many more dishes you can make with stale bread. Bread Pudding is on top of my list, but certain rules apply. It cannot taste stodgy the next day. Water baths are essential. Crusts should be removed. It is better to start with a hot water filled pan than just filling it in with cold water. Either put the roasting pan over a burner or two to start the the water simmering and then, with potholders of course, lower it into the oven, or start it in the oven while you are making the pudding, or fill a tea kettle with water, bring it to a boil and then pour it into the roasting pan once you have placed the prepared pudding in its container into the water bath pan.  Here are two desserts  that you should consider before throwing out those last slices of bread that seem too stiff to be resuscitated.

Maida Heatter wins again, as she combines sandwich bread slices with a light custard for  this large bread pudding.  You can switch out the raisins for dried cherries or cranberries. I steam them in a liqueur like port, cassis or marsala. This recipe is from her original book, Maida Heatter’s Book Of Great Desserts. The  bread requirement that is non-negotiable is that it be some sort of sandwich loaf. Brioche slices are also acceptable, as is challah. When I made this with cubes of baguette and other levain-based breads, it was acceptable but not as yummy. Miettes would be disappointed.

The second dessert using stale bread crumbs is actually a cake from a cookbook written by Diana Henry titled A Change of Appetite. She has written an astonishing number of cookbooks,  and I have hoarded many of them.  It almost seems Sicilian in its use of ground pistachios and bread crumbs. In fact, some of the most intriguing recipes I have found have come from Italian sources: passatelli and canederli, which is the Italian version of the German Knoedel,  are just two examples of what I am trying to master with my quarantine time and stale bread. But this cake was a delightful and surprising success. A nice picnic cake or even with coffee or tea. I have served it with mixed seasonal fruits (with a splash of liqueur) and whipped cream. I use the Bronte Sicilian pistachios as their flavor and color are more intense than the ones from California.