What To Do With Leftover Bread

Sometimes you can acquire an abundance of bread--either you've made, bought, been given a ton and now you have more than you can eat in a reasonable amount of time. Or maybe you've been eating so much bread that it's coming out your ears and you don't care to have a bit more. This is my case. I have made a ton and a half of bread, and I have been eating what people don't take. Sometimes it's a lot, and sometimes not so much. Either way, I have a lot of bread that I need to do something with. While talking with my aunt, she suggested I make bread crumbs and croutons out of the leftovers I don't want to eat. What a genius idea! Now, don't be put off by either of these ideas because they are both so simple a five year old can do it.

Thanks to Aunt Kathy I now make bread crumbs, and here's how:
Gather all of your extra bread (regular bread, herbed bread, anything but something like cinnamon raisin--unless you're feeling adventurous) and cut them into slices. Put them on a cookie sheet and bake at 170 degrees F for the amount of times it takes to dry the bread out. Once the bread is dry, throw the slices into a food processor and let it go until you have a fine powder. You can leave the crumbs as is after the food processor, or you can jazz them up with herbs and other flavors. I like to add handfuls of herbs, onion and garlic powder, seasoned salt, pepper--anything you think might be tasty in the breadcrumbs. Give it a whiff, too--does it need something else? Throw it in! Put the finished product into a plastic bag, seal, and put into the refrigerator until you need them. Voila, breadcrumbs to make tasty meatballs and other delicious foods!

Now for the croutons:
Slice bread the width you might like a crouton shape to be--not too thick or thin. This will ensure the herbs stick to the bread. Once the bread has been sliced you'll want to cut the crusts off--if you don't you might chip a tooth. Cube the slices into the desired shape for croutons. Put into a large bowl, and use about three tablespoons of oil for every six slices of bread.In the palm of your hand dump a generous heap of parsley, a little less of basil and oregano, and less still of thyme. You'll also want garlic and onion powder,and  seasoned salt. Well, that's what I did. If you like thyme then dump in a whole handful! It's really about what you like, so throw in a little at a time and add as you feel necessary. On a parchment lined cookie sheet, put the oiled and herbed bread cubes on, single layer. Bake at 300 degree F for 15 minutes, give them a turn, and bake for another 15 minutes. Your times may vary a bit, but should take between 30-45 minutes to completely bake. Make sure they are completely dried out (give one a taste!), and put them in a plastic bag and save for a scrumptious salad!

 What a great way to use leftover bread! Everyone you know will be impressed, too! Especially after they taste them.

What is Salt Rising Bread?!

The starter before fermentation.

As many of you know I am always up for a new baking/cooking challenge, and lately I have gotten many requests to make Salt Rising bread. I had never heard of this before, but since people kept asking for it I decided to do some research and give it a try. Apparently, it can be found in the southern tier, and most restaurants and bakeries do not carry the bread. These people were foaming at the mouth got it! It's one of those more time consuming breads--it isn't difficult by any means, the process just spans over two days. As for most bread, most of the time involved is allowing the dough to rise the proper amount, however, this dough takes even more time to rise than most. And it doesn't seem to rise much until it is put in the oven.

After fermentation-nice and bubbly.

Anyway, Salt Rising bread came about during the Pioneer days when women did not have access to electric or gas ovens, or yeast (sort of essential for baking bread). These innovative women came up with a way to make bread rise without the use of yeast by heating rock salt, and putting that in a sort of crock. The starter is made with cornmeal, flour, and water (or milk). This is put in a container and then put in the rock salt (in the crock), and left covered overnight. It is essential for the starter to stay warm in order to activate the fermentation process.

This dough is so smooth!

I do not have rock salt or a crock, so the modern day alternative is putting the starter in a jar, covering it with a towel, and letting it sit overnight in the oven with the light turned on. You might not expect the oven to get hot with just the light on, but ours clocks in at about 100 degrees F with the light on. That's pretty hot! This has turned out to be the perfect method to get the desired results. My mom made the starter and wrapped it in a heating pad set on low, and absolutely nothing happened. It might be a trial and error sort of thing also.

Ready for the oven, still sort of flattened, but it puffs up.

The desired result: The starter should have risen, should be bubbly throughout, and it should smell like something died two weeks ago and has been sitting in the sun decaying. Yes, it really does smell that bad. The recipe I found said that the bacteria made during the fermentation process is the same as the bacteria made to make cheese. So, the dead sea smell is normal and absolutely essential for delicious Salt Rising bread. Just keep it at an arm's length when you're putting the rest of the ingredients together and kneading it so you don't vom everywhere. I made the mistake of taking a good whiff the first time I made it--I wanted to know what the "cheese smell" actually smelled like. Well, I found out.

Rising in the oven makes this bread look really cool!

Once the starter has risen and is properly stanky, mix it with the rest of the flour, knead it, and let it rise for two hours. Once it has risen you give it a knead, shape it into the bread pans, and let it rise again for two more hours. Like I said, it doesn't appear to rise much, but once in the oven it poofs right up. The end result is really spectacular--all puffed up with an interesting shape, and it feels like a brick. But that's how it is supposed to be, and all those people requesting the bread have come back and said how amazing it is. Whew! I had no idea what to expect, and I'm so glad these people like it so much!

Is It Chowder Yet?: Traditional Labor Day Festivities

Chowder started in the early morning.

 Every year for the past 25+ years my dad's sister Kathy has hostessed what has come to be known as "the Chowder Party." Chowder originated with Aunt Kathy's abundant garden; she has always had gorgeous gardens filled to the brim with vegetables and later on flowers. Chowder was the perfect way to use up all those vegetables, and to get together with family.

Meat on a spit.

Every Sunday before Labor Day the bricks, wood, and chowder vat are set up in the stone driveway in front of the house, the wooden stir-paddle is brought out, the roasts are put on the spit, and the dogs are licking up drippings and burning their faces on the hot metal of the spit. The barn is set up for the rest of the food: appetizers, side dishes, and desserts, and Paul barricades himself with a couple of grills (the roasts are done when he has finished his eleventh beer, I think,--every year, and the meat turns out decadently..it amazes me).

My cousin Tom stokes the fire for the chowder.

Over the years the party has evolved from being sometime between the end of August and the beginning of October to "don't make any plans for Labor Day--that Sunday is the Chowder party." Along with the date, the food at the party has changed too.

A grand Labor Day party.

It started with, of course, chowder, but also included some french bread. Mmm chowder and crusty french bread. Today, however, the food situation has become much more elaborate. It starts with Aunt Kathy up at 3:30AM chopping this and that for the chowder pot and prepping the numerous side dishes she creates to accompany the main event. 

Had to get the pro to check on the chowder.

Chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting.

This year I decided to contribute my great grandmother's chocolate cake, which I recently acquired from Aunt Kathy and have been dying to make. The batter is made into a decadent custard (which I was a touch wary of making at first--I've never made one), but it was so easy and it made the cake so incredibly moist. I have never made a cake that moist--almost gooey! (and not because it was under-baked).

The big debate: Do you like it as soup or chowder? Chowder!

It was so nice to create something that a relative I never met created for the ones she loved. I felt a new connection to my family. I love the way food does that--brings you close to your family even when they're nowhere in sight. I received great praise for my great grandmother's cake, too. I used a chocolate buttercream frosting that I am familiar with instead of making her egg white meringue frosting. Next time though I'm going to be making that frosting.

Such a moist chocolate cake!

All in all the day was as fabulous as I knew it was going to be. I got to sit around outside under the trees with vivid colors from the gardens all around, the smells of the smoky chowder brewing, grills grilling, and chatting with family, and just relaxing and enjoying the day.

It's chowder! And so delicious!

Chowder has always been, and probably always will be, my favorite summer party.