5 Delicious Bread Recipes to Prevent Food Waste

If you have a penchant for bread products, but often find your bread looking a little worse for wear before you manage to get through it all, this is for you! These recipes also invite the opportunity to incorporate any leftovers you may have in your fridge, whether it's bacon that needs using now or some berries that aren't looking too great.

I have to ensure my ingredients are low-FODMAP and in line with my food intolerances, but if you don't have dietary restrictions, you can amend these recipes to suit your personal tastes!

As someone who currently lives alone, I generally find it rather difficult to get through a whole loaf of bread or a pack of 8 wraps before staleness sets in. Thankfully, I've discovered a few recipes that either help me prepare meals in advance, or help me use up bread products that are just getting past their best. Here, you'll find three tasty bread recipes and two tortilla wrap recipes.

For whole loaves of bread, I prefer to freeze them and defrost slices of bread as needed, rather than letting a loaf sit in the kitchen until it goes stale.

Uh oh, I forgot to freeze the bread! Let's welcome the first bread recipe!

1. Bread and Butter Pudding

On the occasions where I forget to freeze the bread, it's the perfect time to make a sexy bread and butter pudding! I used to love this as a kid, and whilst I can't have sultanas now, I discovered I like sweet and savoury versions of this dish, and it's easy to make too.

You'll need: stale (not mouldy) bread, butter, milk, eggs and whatever you'd like to throw into the mix! I like blueberries, raspberries, sugar and cinnamon for a sweet bread and butter pudding, or mozzarella, cooked bacon and tomatoes for a savoury bread and butter pudding! You don't need to use whole eggs if you have egg whites available like I always do.

(I generally just use this as an opportunity to empty my fridge of things that are past their best.)

• Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Centigrade
• Grease a baking dish - the size depends on how much bread you have!
• Tear up and butter the bread. You can cut off the crusts, but they do go nice and crunchy which adds a nice texture!
• Add your buttered bread to the greased dish, adding in your extras as you go.
• Mix up eggs and milk (I use lactose-free milk) - the amount will depend on your portion size. You want the bread to soak up the egg mixture, but not be soggy. You can also add herbs/spices into the mixture.
• Gently press the bread until it soaks up the mixture, moving the dish around if needed to get all the egg soaked in. This is where you can add more egg mixture if the bread is looking a bit dry.
• Top with any remaining ingredients, including sugar if you're making a sweet version. The sugar will caramelise nicely as it cooks.
• Cook in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

2. Eggy Bread/French Toast

If you're from the UK, "eggy bread" will be a familiar term to you, although it is more widely known as "French toast". Using the wisdom of the internet, it seems eggy bread is more likely to be savoury, whilst French toast is more likely to be sweet!

It's nice and easy to make and requires eggs, milk and bread. Stale bread works well in this recipe too. You can top it with whatever you like too!

• Preheat a frying pan over a medium heat, and spray it with a low-calorie spray. If you're not worried about calories, you can absolutely cook it in butter, which is delicious, but the calories quickly add up if you have a few slices!
• Whisk together some eggs (or just egg whites if preferred) with your milk of choice. This is the time to add seasonings, whether you're going sweet or savoury - cinnamon and ginger are amazing for a sweet serving, and black pepper and salt are classic for a savoury version.
• Next you'll need to soak your bread in the egg mixture. Don't leave it soaking too long otherwise the bread might break up! But leave it long enough that it soaks in nicely.
• Put the bread in the pan and now for some patience! I often take it out too early and it's still a bit soggy, so you need to be patient and let both sides go golden brown. It should also have a lovely toasty sound to it when you tap it with a spatula!
• Now you can top it with whatever takes your fancy - Nutella, lemon curd, jam, honey, berries or bacon, butter, cheese!

3. Mozzarella in Carrozza

You'll need: two slices of bread, mozzarella (I used fresh but grated would work too!), egg and panko breadcrumbs (optional)

• Cut the crusts off two slices of bread (any bread will do, I used white bread, but I think seeded would be amazing)
• Butter the bread, add mozzarella to the centre , seasoning if required
• Seal the edges by squeezing the layers together, and cut into 4 triangles
• Dip into a whisked egg and roll in panko breadcrumbs (you don't need to do the panko step, but it adds extra crunch!)
• You can also add extra seasonings to your egg or panko - I added chives and smoked paprika
• Fry over a medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes a side. I used garlic-infused oil.
• Let it cool before you put it into your face - melted cheese is HOT!

Let's wrap it up with two tortilla recipes!

These next two recipes are for tortilla wraps as I often struggle to get through the standard pack size of 8. One of these recipes is a real treat, and the other is great for freezer meal prep!

4. Tortilla Pizza

This is an absolutely delicious way to use up some excess tortilla wraps. I even created a double layer, with chilli jam and mozzarella between two tortilla wraps, although you can just use one tortilla if preferred!

It's a meal that you can throw together in 5 minutes, cook for 10 and it's genuinely drool-worthy. You can adapt it to your preferences, dietary needs etc, because it's a pizza!

• Preheat your oven to 180°C⁣
• Grab two tortillas. Spread some sauce or chilli jam on one, topping with mozzarella. Then place the other tortilla on top.⁣
• Top the pizza with more sauce, some more cheese and your toppings of choice.
• Throw some herbs over the top and add some salt and pepper. ⁣
• Cook in the oven for 8-12 minutes and enjoy!⁣

5. Quesadilla

I wanted to make a quick lunch at the weekend, so figured a quesadilla was the way to go! Easy peasy cheesy goodness!

These are great as you can put whatever ingredients you like inside.

• Take a tortilla, and fill one half with your fillings of choice. I used a mix of mature cheddar and grated mozzarella, and added in chopped hot dog and BBQ sauce.
• Fold the tortilla in half and brush melted butter over one side. You may need to cut it in half if your frying pan is small.
• Lay the butter side down in an oiled pan over medium-high heat, and repeat the butter on the top side.
• Seal the open side by pushing the tortilla edges together with a spatula, which will make it easier to flip without accidentally emptying it! You can add some more toppings if you like before sealing it.
• Flip it over after a minute or so or until golden brown.
• Cut into slices and enjoy! Be careful as it will be super hot!

And then there was the breakfast stack!

I decided to create some breakfast quesadillas when I discovered my wraps were short-dated and I had 7 to use in a couple of days - that wasn't going to happen! I didn't want to just freeze them either as I'd be more likely to throw them out to make freezer space. So after a quick Google, I discovered that I'd be able to make quesadillas and freeze them.

I had eggs I needed to use up, as well as some frankfurters after over-buying them when I had a craving (happens to the best of us... yeah?) and I had plenty of grated mozzarella to use. These would be even better with bacon!

I followed the same steps as above, adding in scrambled egg and omitting the butter on the outside of the tortilla. It saved a lot of calories and didn't make too much of a difference.

I put them into freezable food bags and waited for them to cool before putting them in the freezer.

You can defrost these in the toaster or microwave - I'd only recommend the former if you've sealed them nicely so you don't get a cheesy mess in your toaster!

That's a wrap!

I hope these delicious bread recipes help you reduce food waste in your kitchen, and that you enjoy cooking and eating these tasty goodies!

You can find more from me on Instagram @fodmapfeasts - hope to see you there. Victoria :)