Bread Butts

Have you ever opened a new bag of bread and went straight for the first slice? Or are you like 91% of people who skip the first slice...just because it's ugly.

According to Urban Dictionary, a bread butt is defined as: "the ends of the loaf of bread that no-one likes."

I personally think this is rude, and I want to convince a large portion of the population that there are plenty of uses for this ugly slice of bread, the crust, the guardian of the fluffiness that is the rest of the loaf.

Because let's face it, it's wasteful and it's petty, you cannot continue to go through life removing the crust off your peanut butter sandwich, it's just not sustainable.

So without further ado I have compiled a list of things to do with this often rejected slice of bread, so that you are not tempted to just throw it out.

1: Make it fancy: I personally think this slice has more texture then the rest of the bread, sure it's a little dry...but warm it up, slap some jam and salted butter and you've got a wonderful afternoon tea snack.

2: Make croutons: Chop of the bread into little squares, toss with oil and seasonings of choice, then toast in the oven until crispy. Bam, you've got croutons for your next Caesar salad.

3: Make breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs are a common food staple at our house. We use them to make milanesas, vegan meatballs and bean burgers mainly anything you want to bind together or give crispiness to. Chop up your bread and toast in the oven until crispy, then pulse in a food processor or blender until a desired breadcrumb consistency is formed.

4: Make bread pudding: You can make a single serving in a mug, or you can freeze the bread butts, until you have enough to make a whole bread pudding that you can share.

Here are some recipes:

Vegan version

Singles version

Impress your mother-in-law version

5: Save it for the birds: Ducks and swans can digest all types of bread, but just like humans, birds need a varied diet to stay healthy. Make a healthier bird feed, by breaking up the bread butts (make sure it's not mouldy) sweetcorn, porridge oats, peas and bird seed.

You feeding the birds:

6: Compost it: If the bread has gone mouldy, because you have rejected it so much, then mix it into your compost bin.

That is why I like bread butts and I cannot lie. 🥁