I watched Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s War on Waste #Wastenot programme the other night, disgusted at the way our supermarkets throw out all that food. A whole third of food produced doesn’t even get eaten! It reminded me of why we bake to order; we don’t want to be part of that statistic. At the moment our relatively small production number allows us to do this, but as and when we expand we’ll continue to commit to limiting our waste.
Bread is one of the the products which gets regularly wasted; by supermarkets, but also by homes. 32% of bread bought by UK households gets thrown. This is criminal, when bread has so many uses beyond the humble sandwich. It can be used as breadcrumbs, in a bread and butter pudding, as part of a stuffing for your Sunday roast. ‘Real Bread’, that is bread made without the additional chemicals which the mass produced Chorleywood process uses, will last longer. It also goes stale, not mouldy, so can be used for salads like panzanella, or croutons to accompany a seasonal soup.
I’m sure all the bread you buy is eaten, but if not, why not try this recipe for pangratto. Perfect to sprinkle on a pasta or risotto dish to add some texture and flavour.
Ingredients
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 a chilli (deseeded)
3 cloves of garlic (peeled)
3 anchovy fillets
1/2 loaf of stale bread (cubed)
glug of olive oil
Simply whizz all the ingredients together until they are more like breadcrumbs. Add the breadcrumbs to a pan and fry until golden and crisp. Leave to cool and then keep in an airtight container. They’ll last for a good while, and provide you with something to sprinkle on your food at any time.
