Thursday, August 17, 2006

What to Do When You're Singing the "I Made a Lousy Loaf of Bread Blues"

Have you ever made a less than delectable loaf of bread and wondered what to do with it? This happened to me just last week. Frugality prevented me from tossing it so my solution was to make a stove top stuffing. I used Amy Dacyzyn's recipe for stuffing from The Complete Tightwad Gazette as a guideline. Most of the changes I made were based on what I did and didn't have on hand. The results were quite good. Everyone ate the stuffing without complaint and that was a whole lot better than their reaction to the bread itself.

Cut the bread into cubes and let it dry out in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. You want to wind up with about 6 cups of bread cubes. Let cool and place in an airtight container. Add:
1 Tbs. dried parsley
3 Tbs. vegetable broth
2 Tbs onion powder
1 tsp. dried celery seed
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Cover and shake until well mixed. I found the seasonings seemed to settle to the bottom, so shaking and then shaking even more were very necessary.

To cook take 2 cups of the above mixture, add 1 cup of water or more ( I found I kept having to add more water as I went along) and 2 tbs olive oil. Heat on the stove or in a microwave. Fluff with fork before serving. I thought it would have benefited from a little gravy but no one else seemed to notice.

5 comments:

Harmonia said...

I really need to start making more loafs or loaves. This sounds neat.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the idea! Unfortunately, bread-making is an art I haven't mastered, so other than quick breads, my results are often less than stellar.

Jennifer C. said...

Katie,

In the recipe is that vegetable broth powder or actual broth? Thanks for the great idea! I'm in the process of learning to make my own bread, so I've had a few loaves that didn't turn out so great.

Katie said...

It's vegetable broth powder. Don't worry, we've all made a few bum loaves.

KleoPatra said...

i wish i could MAKE bread. Good for your to do it.