A couple weeks ago, I made a bunch of loaves of Hamelman's Three-Stage 90% Sourdough Rye. I made a lot more than I usually bake in one go, so the last of the loaves went stale. I was actually pretty pleased about this, though, because I'd been wanting to try making kvass for forever.
To make the kvass, I cubed the stale bread, tossed it in the oven to dehydrate it to crouton-level, then soaked the cubes in a gallon of boiling water overnight with about 1/2 tsp of dried mint and the juice of one lemon. Then I strained out the solids, added 1/4 cup of my rye SD starter and 1/4 cup honey, and left it to ferment for two days. Once it started getting bubbly, I bottled it and stuck it in the fridge for three more days. The kvass was fizzy, quite tart and extremely refreshing after a long, hot hike.
But the trouble was, I now had two jars of mushy bread, lightly flavored with mint and lemon.
It actually didn't taste too bad on its own, so I decided I'd try to use it instead of tossing it out. And it's been so much fun! So far, I've used it to thicken chili and stews, beat it with eggs and kimchi to make a savory bread pudding, and combined it with whole wheat flour, black pepper and green onions then steamed it to make some impromptu buns. I've still got the second jar so I'm trying to come up with some more uses, but I think I'd like to try to create a sweet steamed bun next.
How do you guys like to use up your stale bread?
... so I can soak it in water for a few hours, drain & save the water and use the old bread and water in the next batch of dough.
I hadn't thought to use the soaking water from old bread in new breads. What sort effects does that have on the final loaf?
... (I'm a yeast, not a levain baker - yet), the flavour is just a touch "richer" (can't put my finger on it exactly) by adding the water that's soaked up the essence of the old bread. Its noticeably more complex than the water-only versions of the same formulas - even when I do use the soaked old bread. I do it more as a waste avoidance measure, but if it tasted worse, I wouldn't continue :)
Intriguing, I've never had kvass. There are a lot of bread recipes that include old bread soakers.
I love the idea of making Kvass! I have only tried commercial imported stuff from here. My Russian friend says it's no good compared to homemade/better varieties, so I'll definitely try this out.
A while back, one of my favorite YT chefs, Chef John, posted this recipe of Spanish Garlic (and Bread-) Soup. I have yet to try it, but it looks delicious!
L
Oh man, that garlic and bread soup sounds so good! It actually makes me think a little bit of gazpacho, and now I'm craving that too.
If you can get your hands on a copy of Sandor Katz's Wild Fermentation, there's a great kvass recipe in there. If not, it's also super easy to feehand
Might be a UK thing though. Stale bread soaked in milk, add an egg, mixed spice, blitz. Stir in some dried fruit and bake in a tray....
Quite yummy... At least my customers tell me so!
(Not to be confused with bread and butter pudding - same but different)
-Gordon