How To Save Stale Bread By Using It In Your Next Pie

No one likes stale bread, but don't throw away those extra loaves just yet! Dried out and hardened bread can seem lifeless, however, you can make it tasty again by using it in pie crust. Using stale bread for pies also eliminates food waste and keeps the galettes fresh. The first step is to grind the stale bread into breadcrumbs using a food processor and mixing it with butter and a dash of salt. Once the crumbly dough has been throughly blended, press the batter into a pie dish and add your filling. Pop it into the oven and voilà — the dry bread has been reborn as a delectable cobbler. 

While bread is the key to happiness, there are certain types that make for the best pastry shell. White bread, sourdough, croissants, pumpernickel, brioche, challah, rye, whole wheat, and cornbread work best for pies. No matter if you're salivating to make a sweet or savory pie, the type of bread you use matters.

Brioche and challah breads are similar in nature, as they are both puffed-up enriched loaves that contain a rich and light texture. They each have a crumbly finish with sweet undertones. Therefore, brioche and challah as pie bases are simply chef's kiss for sugar-filled tarts. Brioche can trace its roots back to France, while challah is a traditional Jewish pastry eaten on major holidays and has a braided appearance. Both breads use major ingredients such as eggs, flour, sugar and yeast.

For pie flavors such as apple, pumpkin, pecan, and fruit, brioche and challah are perfect because of their buttery and caramelized consistency. Their soft and buttery composition also absorbs fillings from the pies and will give eaters an explosion of taste in their mouths. The breads' airy dough and natural sweetness allows for the pie crusts to stay fluffy.

For those who like more savory flavors in their pies, both rye and sourdough are excellent choices to make crusts. Rye is darker than white and wheat bread, with a bolder yet drier taste. It has a high fiber content and contains flour from rye grain. Its nutty but mild texture can tickle your tastebuds with its tangy and earthy flavor. Sourdough also has a hint of tanginess and can be well, sour, due to the lactic acid that is produced during the fermentation process before it is baked. 

Quiches filled with eggs, vegetables, and an array of cheeses, complement rye and sourdough varieties, while chicken pot pie can also be used with these loaves. Meat pastries (beef, lamb, and pork) also pair well with rye as the nutty taste from the caraway seeds contrasts particularly well with meat. And for a Mediterranean flare, spinach and feta pies work well with a sourdough crust as the feta and bread double down on tanginess.