Use Your Loaf
Save some dough and enjoy every slice!
Did you know 25 million slices of bread are wasted in the UK every day? Ah crumbs!
And it’s not just bread. Each year in the UK households waste the equivalent of 15 billion perfectly edible meals.
Reducing food waste is a great way to save some dough. The average family could be £1,000 a year better off by eating all the food they buy.
Bread is the most wasted food in Norfolk and Suffolk so it’s a great place to start. Saving food will save you money and is good for the environment too, so it’s a win-win!
Bread-y to give it a go? Check out our top three tips to #UseYourLoaf.
Store bread the savvy way
Keep your bread fresher for longer by keeping it in its packaging (or a reusable bread bag) and storing in a cool, dark and dry place, like a bread bin or cupboard. Bread lasts longer at room temperature or in the freezer, and make sure to keep it out of the fridge to avoid moisture.
After you’ve opened a loaf, a tip for keeping your slices fresh is to leave the crust end in place on top of the loaf.
You can freeze bread?
Yes, its loaf changing! Freeze bread at any time by simply placing it in the freezer. Keep it in its packaging, freezer bags or in a container to avoid it drying out. It’s not only loaves you can freeze - wraps, pittas and rolls all freeze well too. Make sure you dry freeze* them individually first to keep them from getting stuck together.
*Wait, what’s dry freezing? It’s simple and can help for those days when you only need one portion of bread. To start, lay the pittas or wraps out on a tray, equally spaced. Then take the tray and put it in the freezer without covering for 2 hours. Once frozen take them out and place them into a container or packet.
Fancy a toastie treat? Pop sliced bread straight from the freezer into the toaster…it’s really that simple!
Use all the bread you buy
Got a few slices of leftover or stale bread? We've got plenty of inspiration to bring that loaf to life, from a traditional Panzanella salad or a hearty Ribolitta soup, to a more adventurous French toast brekkie, and even a classic cheese toastie! Sweet or savoury, we just want to see those slices eaten.
Make sure to love your crusts and all! Whizz those bread ends up in a blender to make tasty breadcrumbs, great for pasta toppers.
#FoodSavvy tip – don’t bin it, bake it. Baguettes can go hard quickly, brush them with milk and pop in the oven for 5-10 minutes, it softens the bread up, making for a tasty and toasty warm baguette.
Buy what you need
Overloafing on bread every week? You are not alone, many of us buy bread out of habit but making sure we have a plan of when and how we’ll use it throughout the week can help.
Before you head to the shop, check what you have in, only buy what you need and make sure there is room in your freezer if you do buy extra.
Still got too much bread? Plan for a special weekend breakfast and make bread the star of your dish. A delicious salmon and scrambled eggs on toast is a tasty treat or win the kids over with egg and dippy soldiers.