New recipes for your leftover breads

You might be throwing away more leftover breads than you need to, warns independent chef Javier Burillo. In fact, there are many ways you could give those breads a new lease in life, if you only knew how to recreate them. Here are two recipes to show you how it works.

Crostini Style Croutons

The ingredients are quite easy to have, says Javier Burillo. What you need is a day-old bread (focaccia or baguette), olive oil, and some coarse sea salt. Below are the directions:

1. Prepare the oven, preheat to 375 °F. Place a parchment paper on a prepared baking tray.

2. Cut the bread into thin slices to make the crostini. Make sure that each slices will measure to about 1/4 inch thick.

3. Arrange the crostini with the flat side down on the baking tray.

4. Lightly brush the slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

5. Place the tray in the oven. Bake for 10 to 15 mins. until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and allow them to cool to room temperature.

Salad Croutons

This is a bit elaborate than the crotini-style croutons, says Javier Burillo. You will need 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, 2 cloves garlic (thinly sliced), 2 cups diced day-old bread (focaccia), 1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme, salt & pepper. Below are the directions:

1. Heat the sauté pan to medium-high. Melt butter, then add garlic. Stir until it turns brown.

2. Remove the garlic. Leave the butter in the pan, then add the diced bread and thyme. Season with salt & pepper.

3. Brown all sides of the bread by stirring and turning it over. Takes about 8 minutes.

4. Once all the sides are evenly golden, remove from the pan and allow to cool to room temperature.

Finally, these two recipes are good examples to turn leftover breads into delectable new dishes. And it’s nice to pair them with some warm, creamy soup, before partaking the main course on the table, adds Javier Burillo.