Delicious Ways to Make Toast ~ not Waste!

Apparently, a gobsmacking, 24 million slices of bread are thrown away daily.  What is wrong with people? This post is not only about how not to waste bread but also about serving leftovers on toast – win/win situuation!

The inestimable Love Food Hate Waste people have a new campaign; Make Toast Not Waste. How right they are.  

One simple suggestion they make is freezing unwanted bread which, usefully, can then be toasted from frozen. This is standard procedure for me! In fact I have lots of freezer collections.

Making toast is a no brainer, but here are some …

Alternative Toast Recipes

These are all great ways to use leftover bread and the fourth one is rather different and surprisingly gorgeous.

Cinnamon Toast & More Ideas

Cinnamon toast is rightly famous but how about other flavoured toasts such as salted caramel or vanilla, for instance.  Read about cinnamon toast and more here. 

Melba Toast

This is quick and easy yet quite impressive – serve with paté, cheese, dips etc.

~ Toast not-too-thin slices of bread, making sure both
sides of the bread are golden.
~ While still warm cut off the crusts.
~ Lay each slice flat, put your hand on top of it, and
carefully with sharp knife cut between the two toasted
sides to give two slices instead of one!
~ Traditionally these are then cut into triangles but up to
you!
~ Now toast the untoasted sides under the grill till golden.
Keep an eye on them, they will curl up and, also, they
cook very quickly.
~ Serve hot, warm or cold. They will keep a few days in a
tin.

French Toast ~ of course!

Here’s how to make French Toast, you don’t have to coat it with panko crumbs as mentioned in the post! 

λαδοβρεχτό

The Greeks have an utterly wonderful way of making grilled bread (toast) which I urge you read about and then have a go, it is called λαδοβρεχτό!

The great thing about toast is it can also be a vehicle (strangely enough!) for so many things; cheese on toast and Welsh rarebit are givens but there are so many delicious ways it can play a supporting role with leftovers, my favourite ingredients! ~ win/win situation. Here are some suggestions …

Leftovers on Toast

Bread and Dripping

This is possibly the most famous leftovers on toast dish. You know how, if you chill the meat juices after roasting some beef, you get lovely savoury meaty jelly under a layer of beefy fat?  Well spread it on toast and sprinkle with a little crunchy sea salt; it is so much nicer than you can possibly imagine, and our forebears swore by it!

Avocado on Toast

Try avocado on toast – here I have spread the toast with a little leftover tomato and chilli sauce before adding the avocado.

This is yummy in all sorts of ways; hot, tangy, spicy, creamy and crunchy. I love food!

Leftover Dinner on Toast

Depending, of course, on what you had for dinner, for instance …

~   Leftover fish and seafood, and possibly leftover veggies, are good stirred through and appropriate hot sauce (Alfredo Sauce for instance) and piled onto toast.
~  The same goes for chicken.
~  Most meats, fish and seafood are also good stirred through with mayonnaise (maybe a flavoured mayonnaise) and served on toast. 
~  Pile reheated leftover cauliflower or broccoli cheese on toast, sprinkle with freshly grated cheese and breadcrumbs and pop under a hot grill till melty, crisp and golden.

~   Leftover stews of all descriptions go well with toasted bread too but perhaps in this case serve the toast as a side rather than under the stew or it might get too soggy! Here’s how to make a lovely stew so that you will then have the appropriate leftovers.
~ Spoon hot leftover mince or chilli con carne on toast – top with cheese and grill. 
~   Beans on Toast but not as you know it, Jim.  If you have any canned beans that need using up then heat them up together with a little pasta sauce or cheese sauce or whatever you have, maybe add some shredded chorizo, pulled pork, ham, chicken etc. and pile on toast. Yet again cheese would be good on top.

Fruit on Toast

Butter the toast (leftover brioche or plain cake are good for this too), top with the fruit of your choice, sliced, diced, chopped oreven cooked, as you wish, sprinkle with sugar and pop under a hot grill till caramelised.  Lovely breakfast! 

I’ve tried mango or peaches on toast sprinkled with soft light brown sugar, but I’ve obviously not tried bananas due to the old bananaphobia!

No reason why you shouldn’t try bananas on toast though, maybe spread the toast with peanut butter before applying the banaans or, alternatively, drizzle with chocolate sauce or sticky toffee sauce. 

“Leftover” Fudge on Toast

This also good for breakfast! Just grate the fudge over the toast and pop under the grill to melt.

Best Toast Ever!

For a long while I have been making bread using this very easy bread recipe which makes tasty loaves with a fine crumb but, the best thing about it is it makes the best toast I have ever experienced. Give it a go!

If you have leftover or stale bread and don’t fany toast see here ~ 7 (+) Interestingly Different Ideas for Leftover Bread

Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers

A leftovers handbook

I love cooking with leftovers so much so that I have written a whole book giving every recipe, idea, handy hint, storage info, food pairing advice, cook’s treat and general stuff I can think of for 450 potential leftovers. 

Read more here.

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