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We never waste bread now.

(124 Posts)
AussieGran59 Sun 29-Jan-23 05:51:46

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Aldom Sun 29-Jan-23 07:15:29

For more years than I care to remember I've frozen my bread. I just freeze the whole sliced loaf. Usually, wholemeal, seeded. When I need a slice it is easy to remove just the one slice. Either I let the slice defrost naturally for several minutes or I pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.
It's a good way to keep bread fresh and never to have waste. smile

Mamie Sun 29-Jan-23 07:16:20

DH makes all our bread and slices the spelt flour loaves with his handy Lidl bread slicer before freezing. He also makes rolls for the freezer.

teabagwoman Sun 29-Jan-23 07:26:35

I don’t use a lot of bread but always have some in the freezer. I find splitting the loaf in two works for me. My dgd loves bagels so I halve them and open freeze them before bagging up.

Riverwalk Sun 29-Jan-23 07:34:55

I didn't realise until about 10 years ago that you can freeze milk - heard two women behind me on the bus discussing it!

I keep a couple of the two-pint plastic bottles in the freezer - word of advice it takes many hours to defrost so take it out before bed and leave on the draining board if needed for the morning.

Calendargirl Sun 29-Jan-23 08:01:02

The low GI bread I buy from our local baker is now £2.80 a loaf. shock. Expensive, but delicious and hopefully good for us.

Always freeze it, don’t waste any, crusts included. Have also frozen milk for years, just have to be careful if it’s been in freezer for long as the containers can leak as they defrost.

Urmstongran Sun 29-Jan-23 08:10:06

We never have food of any kind to throw away as we live in an apartment above commercial. We pop into Sainsbury’s at some point each day to buy whatever we fancy to eat. I call it my larder.
😊

dragonfly46 Sun 29-Jan-23 08:16:50

Difficult to buy a couple of slices of bread though Urmstongran 😉

Mamie Sun 29-Jan-23 08:22:43

Riverwalk

I didn't realise until about 10 years ago that you can freeze milk - heard two women behind me on the bus discussing it!

I keep a couple of the two-pint plastic bottles in the freezer - word of advice it takes many hours to defrost so take it out before bed and leave on the draining board if needed for the morning.

I keep milk in the freezer, but I do find that it goes off very quickly after defrosting.

Riverwalk Sun 29-Jan-23 08:27:04

Must be your French milk Mamie !

Urmstongran Sun 29-Jan-23 08:30:18

True dragonfly! Mind you, one small sliced brown does us nicely without freezing. Fresh on the first day, toasted the second then down in the lift for a replacement the third.
😁

The only thing I have in the ice box in our fridge (no need here for a freezer) is a bag of frozen peas and usually some chicken thighs as they come in sixes and we only need four. And crumpets are handy in there too.

Marydoll Sun 29-Jan-23 08:57:29

When I was teaching and ran the Nurture Unit, I kept bread in the freezer for the breakfast we had every morning, just taking out the right amount of bread needed for the daily breakfast.
Many of our pupils had not eaten from the night before, so we fed them, sitting together at a table, whilst developing social skills. Some had no idea of table manners and how to eat in a social setting.
We even made jam in my soup maker, from brambles we had foraged.
The school smelled like a jam factory, with no-one being able to work out from where the delicious smell was coming.

dragonfly46 Sun 29-Jan-23 09:03:30

What a brilliant idea Marydoll.

Oldnproud Sun 29-Jan-23 09:10:57

Mamie

Riverwalk

I didn't realise until about 10 years ago that you can freeze milk - heard two women behind me on the bus discussing it!

I keep a couple of the two-pint plastic bottles in the freezer - word of advice it takes many hours to defrost so take it out before bed and leave on the draining board if needed for the morning.

I keep milk in the freezer, but I do find that it goes off very quickly after defrosting.

Not living near a shop, and reliant on a three-weekly (if i was lucky) delivery for all our food, including milk, I started keeping quite a stock of milk in our freezer during lockdown. I started this after they weren't able to bring me a single bottle of milk of any kind with one delivery.

I wrote a number or letter on every bottle (plastic), indicating which order they should be used in.

This worked really well for ages, though I had to check for splits in the bottles before thawing, and defrost in a large container just in case.
However, after a largely problem-free year of doing this, and despite the milk not being 'old', we started getting an increasing number that just didn't taste right when thawed. I have no idea why. The freezer temperature was still perfectly OK.

Anyway, we stopped doing it because of that and now keep a reserve of long-life cartons instead, though still making sure that they are not kept too long and using oldest first.

LRavenscroft Sun 29-Jan-23 09:20:50

We keep our loaf ends for bread and butter pudding or bread crumbs.

Georgesgran Sun 29-Jan-23 09:21:42

I’ve frozen bread and milk for years too. It began when I was looking after my DF twenty years ago, then I started it again when DH was ill/Covid. Still doing it and some weeks I don’t set foot in a supermarket!
When DD2 went into 6th form, the school move the janitor from his little ground floor room and turned it into an accessible sixth form common room. I then supplied a toaster and kettle set, tea and coffee, which was well used to provide breakfast and hot drinks during the school day.

Franbern Sun 29-Jan-23 09:31:03

I have Nimble bread (just 50 calories a slice). Obviously, this must have loads of chemicals as I find that keeping it in my fridge a single small loaf easily last a good 7 or 8 days. I have just two slices each day at my lunch.

I did try keeping bread in freezer (seeded wholemeal) but found this was fine if then toasting it, but never really de-frosted to taste like bread that had never gone into a freezer.

The small difference in the price between a large full sized loaf and its equivalent for a small one is very annoying. Just a further charge on those of us ( and there are so many these days), who live in single person households.

Whiff Sun 29-Jan-23 09:44:51

I freeze bread as well . But don't buy it very often as it's one of the things I love to eat and still trying to lose the last stone and bit.

Before freezers no bread was ever wasted by my parents. Any that had got mould it was cut off and any stale was made into bread pudding which keep for days.

Soak bread in water until soft . Squeeze out excess water put into a bowl with sugar ,dried fruit and suet to taste . Add teaspoon mixed spice . Mix well put into greased tin bake at 180 until piping hot and golden brown . Delicious hot or cold.

Redhead56 Sun 29-Jan-23 09:47:28

Always freeze a big loaf in sections it's a waste otherwise I hate waste white bread freezes better than brown bread.

Kate1949 Sun 29-Jan-23 09:53:38

I hate waste too. We always freeze bread, crumpets, rolls, teacakes etc and take them out when we need them.

Yammy Sun 29-Jan-23 10:02:14

We have a bread machine so make our own,I always keep the crusts in a bag in the freezer for Meatballs or bread crumbs. I batch-bake scones and freeze and I make small jam/mincemeat sponge puddings in dariole moulds and freeze them uncooked just take two out when we need them. About now I use up mincemeat in loaves slice them and freeze.
Nothing to do with bread but I use Sunday's leftover vegetables and enriched gravy in Monday's cottage pie. I also saw someone put baking potatoes in the oven when cooking something else, bake until soft scoop out and mash, use some and freeze some. I never did any of this before Covid.I can hear my gran saying "She had more money than sence.'blush

Fleurpepper Sun 29-Jan-23 10:08:00

French bakeries all have a slicing machine- they will put any loaf through, to your desired thickness. Brilliant idea.

Grantanow Sun 29-Jan-23 10:08:04

We always freeze bread and milk. I found living in France that French long life milk tastes a lot better than the UK variety - it's something to do with the way the French pasteurize it. We never buy the UK variety.

Sago Sun 29-Jan-23 10:11:04

Another bread maker here too, I make two sourdough and two brown loaves a fortnight and freeze them.
We waste nothing.
All our meals are planned since Covid, so I shop accordingly and any left overs end up in the soup.

MawtheMerrier Sun 29-Jan-23 10:15:41

Well I think we’re agreed on that.
Freeze sliced loaves or slice them then freeze. 🥖 🍞
I find it is usually easy enough to pick a slice of two off the end and I pop them straight in the toaster, allowing the extra time of course.
From a “weight” point of view it is “safer” than having a lovely crisp fresh loaf newly out of the bread maker 😳