I put too many healthy ingredients into my bread to waste so much as a heel (plus I'm very -- ah-hem -- frugal), so I've turned into the "Bread Crumb Queen" and I make and freeze both soft bread crumbs and dried bread crumbs and have an assortment of recipes gleaned from old cookbooks. I use bread crumbs in cookies, brownies, pancakes/waffles, Fruit-of-choice Betty, etc.

I don't think I've ever used my food processor or a blender for making bread crumbs, but they would both be useful gadgets for the process. If you have an old cast iron meat grinder you can make dried bread crumbs in it. Put the slices of dried bread in a zip-lock bag and use a rolling pin to break it into crumbs. I use a box grater.

Soft bread crumbs I make by crumbling the slices to the size I want with my fingers. Bread that is a few days old, or up to a week old works best.

-Grainlady (aka Bread Crumb Queen)
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BREAD CRUMB COOKIES

(Source: The Tightwad Gazette #1)

1-1/4 c. flour
1-1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1/3 c. cocoa
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
1-1/2 t. vanilla
2/3 c. melted shortening
2 c. dry bread crumbs

Sift together dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients and add to dry mixture. Add melted shortening and bread crumbs. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until done.

CRUMB PANCAKES
(Source: "Thrifty Recipes" Contributed by readers Better Homes & Gardens 1928)

Grind or crush dry bread fine. Soak 1 cupful of the crumbs in sweet milk for 30-minutes. Add 1 beaten egg, a little salt and sugar, and 1 t. of baking powder sifted with enough flour to make a batter. Bake on griddle.
Mrs. J.F.P., Nebraska

If you like salads and soups, croutons would be a great use for that bread! Put equal portions of olive oil and butter in a skillet; heat over medium-low heat; add in some minced garlic and cook briefly but don't allow the garlic to brown; add in some 1-inch to 1 1/2-inch cubes of the bread, stir and toss to let the cubes absorb the butter/oil/garlic; put cubes in a 9x13" pan, sprinkle over Italian herb seasoning or your favorite dried herbs; bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes. Testing is very important! Just be sure you don't burn your mouth! (Ask me how I know this.)

Croutons will freeze well in freezer zip bag....that is if you have any left.....ahem.

Teresa

What about a bread pudding? Sorry I don't have a T&T recipe.

Many cultures use bread crumbs/bread cubes to thicken soups. And then there are the good, old fashioned American thrifty methods like bread puddings (you can make savory as well as sweet-sourdough would be good for a savory) or creamed-something-or-other on toast.

I'd go to the park and feed it to the ducks. That's always fun!

I'd second bumblebeez's suggestion. If it's not worth the calories to eat the bread, why add more ingredients and calories to turn it into something else you probably won't like either? If an item doesn't taste right, sometimes it's not worth the time and trouble to salvage it.

"Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em...." LOL

Actually it's not good to feed bread to the birds and ducks.
It's well-known that it swells in their stomachs, so that they are artificially full, and don't forage for healthy foods and grasses.

They also become dependant on people to feed them, and too much bread lying around uneaten just rots and breeds mould and other unsightly stuff.

The easiest thing is bread crumbs or croutons.

I'd make strata. Sourdough is a good texture for strata, and there's lots of flavors going on with strata that would mask the taste. Strata is a great all around dish that you can make for dinner and then serve leftovers heated for breakfast or lunch. Below is a link to a recipe I was tipped off to by one of our forum members. You can use any type of cheese you like if you can't find fontina. I think fontina is similar to white cheddar.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ham, Fontina and Spinach Bread Pudding

I've tried some sourdough breads that I just can't eat. The sourdough flavour is too pronounced for my taste.

When that happens I toss the loaf. I would never use a loaf of sourdough, that I disliked the flavour of, in something else, like a strata, bread pudding or any other baked good because the strong taste of sour dough is going to be prominent regardless of what other ingredients you add.

Just be careful that you don't end up wasting a lot of other good ingredients. It will end up costing you a lot more than just a loaf of bread.

Ann

I would trash it.

Don't you think the taste you don't like in the bread,
Would come through in whatever you made with it?

I, personally, very seldom use bread crumbs for anything.
When they are called for in a recipe,
I usually substitute something with more healthful properties,
Such as oatmeal.
The "Old fashioned" kind.

Rusty

I agree, I'd probably toss it although I'm notoriously cheap. Well, actually, I'd probably give it to Elery, he likes it really sour.

As Ann T mentioned, some sourdough loaves are very sour, so much that I don't enjoy the flavor, so I probably wouldn't like the flavor in something either.

I do make bread crumbs in the food processor, which works very well, and before that I made them in the blender, but a hand grater works well too. I use bread rums of all flavors in metloaf, some are good, some not so much, LOL.

I also like to make thin crunchy garlic toasts by rubbing slices of bread with a garlic clove, drizzling with olive oil and baking in the oven until crisp and brown. Turn it over once.

BUT, if I didn't like the bread, I wouldn't like it as anything else, I don't think.

Annie

I don't have any ideas that are better than those already suggested. I just wanted to comment on how happy I was to hear that there are other people out there (Ann T. & Annie) who don't care for overly sour sourdough bread. I thought I was a fluke of nature (especially since I lived in the Bay Area for almost a decade and still live in the Sacramento area).

You didn't say exactly what it was that you didn't like about the bread, and that would affect what you could use it for or whether you should just throw it out. You could possibly use it for French Toast and adjust the batter to compensate for the off flavor. If the bread is too sour, add more sugar to the batter or just serve more syrup with them. Here's my recipe:

Lars' French Toast

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
2/3 cup water
1 tsp Vodka
2 Tbsp oat flour
2 Tbsp unbleached wheat flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 pieces sliced bread*
butter, for frying
Maple syrup

Directions:

Beat eggs in a small bowl, add water and Vodka and stir to combine.

Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, and add wet ingredients. Pour all but about 2 tbsp of this mixture into a low (square, if possible) bowl for dipping the bread.

Have cast iron skillet on a burner at medium heat.

Dip one slice of bread into batter and allow it to absorb as much of the mixture as possible.

Add 1 tsp butter (more or less) to the skillet, and then slide the bread onto the skillet using a pancake turner. Cook for 2 minutes on each side, and remove to a 220 degree oven to keep warm.

Repeat the process until all four pieces have been cooked. For the last piece of bread, it will be easier to pour the remaining batter on top of the bread, to let it absorb. This is in case the bread is falling apart and does not want to stay in shape.

Serve with real maple syrup. Serves two.

*It is best to use bread that is slightly sweet (or Challah) and that has some spice, such as cinnamon, already added to it. If using plain bread, you may want to add a bit of cinnamon and sugar to the batter.

Lars

Before you toss them:

Garlic, salt, and EVOO in a coffee grinder or blender and make them into a paste.

Slice the bread vey thin, very thin.

Brush the garlic paste on the bread and bake until crispy.

You will not be able to stop eating them.

dcarch

Thanks for the suggestions. The sourdough bread I purchased hardly has any flavor at all, as opposed to a strong flavor, which I like. I think I'll put the slices in my blender and make bread crumbs.

I imagine you could make stuffing from it. Season as you like.