Culinary Types

Creative Uses for Bread: I’m three weeks into an intensive bread baking course and “my bread basket runneth over.” I’ve got bread in the freezer with barely enough room for ice cubes, bread on the counter and bread in the den. I’ve given bread to relatives, friends and colleagues, and there’s still a surplus. One friend in Canada suggested establishing a roadside bread stand, similar to the lemonade stand of bygone childhood days. Not a bad way to earn some extra cash. As the weather is getting cooler, maybe I can convince the heating oil company to take bread as payment instead of cash.

There have been some practical and delicious solutions. I’ve made Panzanella, the traditional Tuscan bread salad, and tonight I had some laughs with my friends Mary and John over Dutch Gouda and Beer Fondue which went beautifully with cubes of German rye bread. Next weekend the high school crowd arrives for their 30th reunion celebration, and you can bet they’ll get French toast or Strata for brunch.

I’m thinking about bread pudding and bread stuffing, since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but that’s still not going to get me to the back of a very packed freezer. Who would have thought that rolling in dough could be such an issue? If you’ve got any interesting ideas for creative ways to use bread, I’m open to any and all suggestions!

© 2006 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved