Just this week I found a (final?) baseball bat-sized zucchini hiding under the plant's leaves in my garden. It was promptly turned into zucchini bread and zucchini muffins (but I still have another monster squash waiting for me in my refrigerator—help?). And I know I’m not alone in the rush to get the last of the zucchini baked into multiple loaves—enough to enjoy some now and freeze some for later.
Unfortunately, if left to dry out, there aren't the plethora of ideas that spring to mind for stale quick breads like there are for "regular" stale bread. Sarah Overton was all too aware of that when she turned to the Hotline this week looking for inspiration with how to use a loaf of dry zucchini bread.
Luckily, whether your loaf started out dry or has just gone stale, here are 4 ways to revive it:
1. Griddle it:
Toasting almost anything in butter makes it better, and quick breads are no exception.
2. Turn it into French toast:
This will improve the dry insides even more than griddling it will, with only slightly more work.
3. Make bread pudding:
Just watch the sugar—as Nancy points out, “the quick bread already has sugar, if you use it in a bread pudding recipe that usually calls for (plain) bread, it might be good to cut the amount of sugar in half or omit it altogether."
4. Layer it into a trifle:
Yes, this option is the most work, but not for naught—it also yields the most impressive results.
How do you like to revive stale quick breads? Continue the conversation on the Hotline post or tell us in the comments below!
Written by: Lindsay-Jean Hard
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Depending on how stale (and where they fall on the sweet spectrum), I also like to turn them into breadcrumbs to top ice cream or Greek yogurt.
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