11 Uses For Store-Bought Bread Beyond Sandwiches

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When you've got a loaf of store-bought bread, and you don't feel like eating sandwiches again, what are your options? There's no need for even a slice to go to waste, because there's plenty more you can do with a supermarket loaf. Whether you have a basic sliced white bread from the bakery department or something seeded and wholesome, there are plenty of ideas for you.

We're going to introduce you to 11 uses for store-bought bread beyond sandwiches. Maybe your goal is to avoid food waste, or perhaps you're sick of eating the same old thing. Whatever your motivation, you have options. Don't feel like you have to struggle through another PBJ or BLT just because you've got bread in the pantry. When you get creative, there are so many delicious dishes coming your way.

Whether you want something sweet or savory, a whole meal or an accompaniment to a dish, there's something for you here. And if you're not sure which bread to buy when you hit the store, here's our list of grocery store sandwich bread, ranked worst to best.

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Sure, bread often tastes better from a bakery, but you can still make tasty homemade croutons from a store-bought loaf. Usually eaten in soups or salads, croutons are those crunchy bits of bread that tend not to be the star of any meal. But that's because you're used to the hard, tasteless morsels you get in a packet. Homemade croutons are a whole other deal. They're crisp on the outside but softer on the inside. Plus, you can season them however you like.

Our homemade crouton recipe uses store-bought French bread. However, you can use any bread you have to hand. White bread gives you a more classic crouton, but seeded bread or whole wheat bread works well, too, albeit with a different vibe. It's okay if your bread is a bit past its best, so it's a great way to use up odds and ends of loaves that might otherwise go to waste.

The croutons are very easy to make. Simply cube your bread or tear it into chunks if you prefer it rustic. Toss the chunks in olive oil and your choice of seasonings, and bake them until they're golden and crisp. Salt, pepper, and a little garlic will give you a fairly neutral crouton, but you can level them up with your choice of herbs and spices, matching the flavor profile to the dish you're intending to eat them with.

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Whenever you have bread, eggs, milk, and sugar in the house, you're just an hour or so away from a delicious dessert. Bread is normally seen as more of a savory food, but bread pudding is an old classic that takes this everyday staple to the sweet side. Sure, it's old-fashioned, but if you haven't tried it, you're missing out.

It's made by baking slices of bread in a sweet custard mixture. The eggs, milk, and sugar set in the oven to give you a satisfying dessert that's greater than the sum of its parts. It sounds like it wouldn't be all that, but this isn't a dish you should overlook.

Follow a classic bread pudding recipe, and you'll likely add cinnamon and raisins for extra flavor. However, there are all kinds of variations on this old-school dessert. Chocolate chip bread pudding is a common twist, but you could try it with everything from cookie butter to coconut flakes. A large bread pudding can use a full loaf, but if you only have a few slices, it's fine to scale back the recipe.

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You've probably heard of French toast, but do you know what eggy bread is? This British classic is effectively a slightly plainer, usually savory version of French toast. While French toast may contain cream, sugar, and cinnamon in the custard mixture, eggy bread contains eggs, a touch of milk, and a pinch of salt and pepper (although the pepper can be left out). Rather than brioche or challah, it's typically made with a basic sliced white loaf.

While it's occasionally eaten sweet with jam, eggy bread is usually savory. It might be eaten alongside a full English, with baked beans or cooked mushrooms, or with yet more eggs. Even eating it on its own with some ketchup is delicious — and a great tip when your pantry is looking bare.

Want to try it for yourself? It's as simple as whisking up a couple of eggs, adding a splash of milk and seasoning, soaking slices of bread in the mixture, then frying them in oil or butter. You could have a hearty breakfast or an elevated snack ready in just a few minutes. Isn't that better than yet another boring sandwich?

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Panzanella is an Italian bread salad that's a particularly good way to use up stale bread, though your loaf doesn't have to be past its best to give it a whirl. Hailing from Tuscany, this salad combines hearty bread with fresh tomatoes and herbs, giving you a dish that's light yet filling enough for dinner.

Our panzanella recipe calls for torn-up baguette. If you have a store-bought baguette, great. But, if not, you can use what you have on hand. Store-bought French bread, Italian bread, or sourdough would also work well here; otherwise, use any white bread. It's not the kind of recipe that works well with whole wheat or seeded breads, though. Tear your bread into chunks and dry them in the oven, as you would for croutons.

What about the rest of the recipe? It usually consists of chopped fresh tomatoes (use the best you can get your hands on) and fresh basil leaves, though there are variations that use other veggies. Then, there's a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and shallots. Before serving, all the ingredients are combined, and you're left with the kind of salad that gives other salads a bad name.

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Got bread? Then you have basically everything you need to make homemade breadcrumbs. It's basically as simple as whizzing stale bread in a food processor to turn it into crumbs, then drying them out further in the oven. However, you can customize your breadcrumbs to your liking or make other variations.

If you want seasoned breadcrumbs, you can mix them with salt, pepper, herbs, and spices before drying. This makes them less versatile, as the flavor profile might not work for every dish. But if you know what you're using them for, this can be a great option. There's also pangrattato, which are Italian fried breadcrumbs. They're made in a similar way, but instead of being dried in an oven, they're fried in olive oil. They usually contain garlic and herbs for seasoning.

Once you've made breadcrumbs, that's just the beginning of the story. You then get to decide how to use them. You might want to sprinkle them over mac and cheese before baking or even make a sweet dish like brown Betty, which is one good argument for leaving your breadcrumbs plain. Pangrattato makes an excellent topping for pasta dishes. Try it instead of Parmesan or other hard cheeses.

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Dipping practically anything edible into melted cheese is a quick way to improve it. Using your bread for fondue might not be the most straightforward thing to do with it, but it's undeniably delicious. So, crack out your great aunt's vintage fondue set and see that store-bought loaf in a whole new light.

Deliciously retro, fondue is a dish of melted cheese kept warm in a pot, accompanied by bread, veggies, and other delights to dip into it. The cheese component is usually made from a blend of Swiss cheeses like Gruyère and Emmental, although you could experiment with other varieties. This is melted with something boozy — traditionally Kirsch, brandy, or Cognac, but white wine and beer are also options — and cornstarch to emulsify the cheese so it doesn't split.

Fondue should ideally be made in a proper fondue pot. There are electric versions, as well as ones that you heat on the stove and then keep warm over a candle or heat gel. When that's ready, it's time for your bread to make an appearance. Dip cubes of it into the melted cheese using a long fork, and enjoy something that's so much better than a simple sandwich.

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If you're only dipping your loaves in soup, you're missing out on one of its potential uses. Store-bought bread can be a great thickener in soups and stews, and is traditional in particular recipes.

Ribollita, for instance, is an Italian soup that originated in Tuscany. It uses a few slices of day-old bread with the crusts removed, which is cubed and simmered in the broth for around 20 minutes. This leads it to totally break down, lending a pleasant thickness without having the texture of soggy lumps of bread.

Carbonnade à la Flamande is another traditional recipe that uses bread. This is a Flemish beef stew made with dark Belgian beer. In this dish, the bread is slathered with mustard before being added to the stew, lending more depth of flavor.

Whether you follow an easy ribollita recipe or try something more in-depth like the carbonnade à la Flamande, store-bought bread is a great tool in your arsenal for thickening soups and stews. It results in a velvety texture, and there's no need to mess around with cornstarch or flour, which can end up lumpy or powdery.

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A basic slice of store-bought white bread might not make the best garlic bread, but you can transform it into a garlic bread pie. The bread becomes a garlic pie crust to hold the deliciousness inside. And, inside that crust, it's essentially a pasta bake, topped with cheese and cooked to perfection.

First, the bread. You slather each slice of bread with butter and minced garlic and press them into a springform pan. This creates the base, or the crust, of the pie. You'll also need to prepare the pasta, boiling it until al dente and mixing it with marinara sauce — either store-bought or homemade — and your choice of veggies and protein. Then, you dump the pasta mixture inside, top it with a generous grating of cheese, and put the whole lot in the oven for around 40 minutes.

The best thing about this recipe is that it works perfectly with the most basic sliced white loaf. Anything too thick or artisan, and you won't be able to line the pan with it properly. It takes something that's usually middling at best and makes it delicious.

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Want to make something other than sandwiches with your store-bought bread? Well, how about toast? You could argue that it's an open-faced sandwich, but we think it's much more versatile than that. You can pile it high with toppings and get creative.

There are so many toast toppings to try. Avocado toast is a cliche at this point, but it's popular for a reason, and you can spruce it up with everything from charred corn and salsa to ricotta and a drizzle of honey. If you want something equally green, but cheaper and more reliable, smashed peas on toast are also delicious.

Welsh rarebit is cheese on toast with a mustardy twist, and can be turned into a more filling meal by putting a poached or fried egg on top. Mashed chickpeas, figs and labneh, creamy mushrooms — the possibilities are seemingly endless.

Looking for more ideas? Here are some of the unexpected ingredients you could add to your breakfast toast. Sometimes, the right addition or finishing touch can turn a usually boring food into something memorable. So, don't overlook a humble slice of toast. It can deliver so much more than a simple sandwich, and you don't need to worry about overfilling it or making it soggy.

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A strata is essentially a baked bread-and-egg dish that's somewhere between a savory bread pudding and a breakfast casserole. It's made by layering slices or chunks of bread with eggs, milk, and cheese. There are usually some add-ins, like vegetables, sausage, or bacon. It's the perfect way to use up store-bought bread. It can be French bread or a farmhouse-style loaf, but it doesn't have to be. Just your average store-bought bread will do the trick.

To make a strata, you whisk the eggs with milk, salt, and pepper. Then, fold in torn pieces of bread, along with any veggies and proteins you're using. If you're using cheese, that goes in along with the other ingredients. Bake it for around an hour, and you've got yourself a hearty breakfast with no need to stand over the stove.

It's basically like having a cooked breakfast all in one delicious slice. No need to separate the eggs and bread, just serve them together. The finished dish has a custardy, almost quiche-like texture but with a crispness to the crust, and firm pieces of bread inside. It takes a while to make, but it's worth it.

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A summer pudding is one of those dishes that many people feel sceptical about when they first hear it described. But when it's executed well, it tastes absolutely delicious. And, it's a great way to use up a basic sliced white loaf. This isn't the kind of dish where you can experiment with other breads — anything with less structural integrity will turn the pudding into a soggy mess.

For those not in the know, summer pudding is a traditional British dish, consisting of summer berries inside a casing of bread. You start by simmering some summer berries — such as strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blackcurrants — with sugar, letting the juices release to form a light syrup. You then line a bowl with slices of bread and pour in the berry mixture, once cooled. Finally, you seal the top with more bread and leave it to soak up the juices at least overnight.

While it's resting, it's weighed down to make it more dense and sliceable. Then, it's turned out of the bowl and served with cream or ice cream. It might sound like soggy bread and syrupy fruit wouldn't make much of a dessert, but let yourself be surprised by this one.