Breads

We love bread! Here are some quick way use our bread, including ways to revitalize bread that is a couple days old.

Bachelor Toast

A freshly baked loaf can be stored on the kitchen counter in its paper bag for several days. Wrapping that bag with a kitchen towel to slow down moisture loss is also helpful. Avoid using plastic wrap as it traps the moisture, encouraging mold spores and ruining the crisp crust.

A good bread knife is a must have item when living with real bread.

Ingredients

Serves as needed

  • 1 loaf dry Roan Mills bread

  • Water to moisten slice

Preparation

Prep: 1 min • Cook: 5 min • Ready in: 6 min

Slice the dry loaf and sprinkle the slices with a generous spritz of water. Toast slices in toaster until golden brown, this will take a couple of rounds but the toast will taste as fresh and delicious as the day it was baked. Repeat this method every time you need toast and you will never toss another loaf of Roan Mills bread into the trash.

If you expect to use all of the dry loaf at once, quickly pass the loaf under cold running water, wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for a few hours or overnight. Slice the softened loaf and toast the slices under a hot broiler, watching very carefully and turning them once to toast the other side. This is fast and easy but requires focus because broiled toast will burn, set off smoke alarms and annoy everyone if left unattended for even a minute.

Recipe from the Roan Mills test kitchen

Warm Table Bread

This is a one time trick and it works really well even on bread that has dried into a rock hard state.

Ingredients

Serves 2-4 people

  • Dry Roan Mills bread

  • Water

Preparation

Prep: 1 min • Cook: 20 min • Ready in: 21 min

A dry loaf can be revived by passing it under a running faucet, shaking off the excess water, placing the damp loaf onto a sheet pan and putting it into a hot 450°F oven for 20 minutes or until crust has crisped up again. The bread will be renewed and is best eaten while still warm.

Recipe from the Roan Mills test kitchen

Crumbs

Homemade crumbs are very useful and easy to have on hand.

Ingredients

  • leftover dry Roan Mills bread

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional

  • 1 teaspoon sea salt, optional

  • 1 teaspoon each thyme, oregano and parsley, optional

Preparation

Prep: 10 min • Cook: 25 min • Ready in: 35 min

After reviving a loaf, it, or any leftovers, could be torn into small pieces scattered onto a sheet pan and returned to a slow oven of 275°F to dry out again. Cool the torn bits of bread and process into crumbs in a food processor. Breadcrumbs can be stored in the freezer for months and used as needed. If you like seasoned crumbs toss the torn bits with salt, olive oil and dried herbs before drying them in the slow oven, process into crumbs with a food processor. One full sheet pan of torn bread would require 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1 teaspoon each thyme, oregano and parsley.

Recipe from the Roan Mills test kitchen

Croutons

Another basic option is to create croutons from a revived loaf. Croutons are baked hard so that they can keep their shape and crunch when tossed into salads and soups

Ingredients

Serves as needed

  • 1 revived Roan Mills Loaf cut into cubes

  • Olive oil as needed

  • Salt as needed

Preparation

Prep: 10 min • Cook: 20 min • Ready in: 30 min

A revived loaf can be cut into bite sized cubes and tossed with a bit of olive oil and sea salt, baked in a 375°F oven for 10-20 minutes or until the croutons have the desired golden color, stir them around on the sheet pan about halfway through baking. Once cooled they can be stored for weeks in sealed jar at room temperature. Croutons can also be used to make a delicious dish of savory winter greens that is a favorite in the test kitchen.

Another method for a crouton with an exterior crunch and a soft interior is take a 1-2 day old loaf, cut into cubes, add olive oil and herb salt(available at our store). Bake in a hot oven or over an open flame until golden brown. Serve with a Caesar Salad.

Recipe from the Roan Mills test kitchen

Crostini

A useful standby to have around in a well stocked pantry, crostini elevate leftovers into a gourmet treat.

Ingredients

Serves as needed

  • 1 revived loaf of Roan Mills Bread

  • Olive oil for brushing

  • Sea salt to taste

Preparation

Prep: 5 min • Cook: 12 min • Ready in: 17 min

A revived loaf can be sliced thin and slices brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and baked in a 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown and the tops are dry. These are crostini and are delicious plain or spread with any number of toppings. We offer our pesto from the Kenter Canyon Farms test kitchen as an example but the possibilities are endless. Crostini are also perfect vehicles for creating leftover magic from the odds and ends that accumulate in the refrigerators of serious cooks. The key is to mash or chop the leftovers a bit so they stay on the crostini. Warm them in a pan and drizzle with a delicious fat, like olive oil, walnut oil or melted butter and little acid, like lemon juice, vinegar or verjus and some good salt. Pile this on top of the crostini and serve them forth either warm or at room temperature.

Recipe from the Roan Mills test kitchen