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Problem (!): Overabundance of sourdough bread.

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6 comments on Problem (!): Overabundance of sourdough bread.

Yeah, yeah, I know, some problem.

Seriously, though, it IS a problem, because I am terribly prone to the "It's just going to go stale, so why don't I slather it in butter and sit hear and eat it while I read blogs" fallacy.

Here's the deal.  I have finally figured out how to produce traditional sourdough sandwich bread (if not beautiful sourdough boules and baguettes) fairly reliably using my bread machine.  I love sourdough bread and want to always have some around for my own personal bread consumption.  But nobody else in the family wants to eat it, except that for some reason Milo periodically decides to gobble half a loaf plain.  (The rest of the time he claims not to like it, probably because it tastes weird with jelly.)

So, who's got a great dinner recipe with sandwich-loaf-shaped sourdough bread (of the dense, rye or wheat variety) as an ingredient?  Stratas, bruschettas, and the like?  I already thought of "grilled cheese sandwiches."  I wonder if maybe I could do one of those spinach-dip things, only on a smaller scale.

Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?  Christy?

UPDATE:  Several suggestions in the comments, including this strata from Smitten Kitchen suggested by Jamie.  

Comments

6 responses to “Problem (!): Overabundance of sourdough bread.”

  1. MrsDarwin Avatar
    MrsDarwin

    What about croque monsieurs? French toasted ham and gruyere sandwiches with bechamel sauce (and more gruyere) on top? I think these are pretty awesome, and I’ve no doubt you could use sourdough bread.
    Ingredients
    * 2 Tbsp butter
    * 2 Tbsp flour
    * 1 1/2 cups milk
    * A pinch each of salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or more to taste
    * 6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups grated)
    * 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (packed)
    * 8 slices of French or Italian loaf bread
    * 12 ounces ham, sliced
    * Dijon mustard
    Method
    1 Preheat oven to 400°F.
    2 Make the béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously, cooking until thick. Remove from heat. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyère. Set aside.
    3 Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, a few minutes each side, until lightly toasted. For extra flavor you can spread some butter on the bread slices before you toast them if you want.
    (Alternatively, you can assemble the sandwiches as follows in step four and grill them on a skillet, finishing them in the broiler with the bechamel sauce.)
    4 Lightly brush half of the toasted slices with mustard. Add the ham slices and about 1 cup of the remaining Gruyère cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slices.
    5 Spoon on the béchamel sauce to the tops of the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère cheese. Place on a broiling pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned.
    If you top this sandwich with a fried egg it becomes a Croque Madame.
    Makes 4 sandwiches.

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  2. Cathie B Avatar
    Cathie B

    Bread Salad
    * dice bread into 1″ cubes, and dry in the oven
    * dice tomatoes
    * dice cheese
    * pour reasonable amount of balsalmic viniagrette dressing on top.
    * Chill
    * Bring to dinner on Saturday 😉 Just kidding
    Toasted Cheese Sandwiches with Tomato Basil
    See my blog for recipe. I butter the bread on the outside, put cheese inside and bake the sandwiches at 450 in the oven so I can get a large quantity done at once. Sourdough would be awesomely awesome with this!
    Gotta get kids ready for Mass.
    Merry Christmas!

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  3. Cathie B Avatar
    Cathie B

    See, I was in such a hurry I screwed up…it’s supposed to be tomato basil soup!

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  4. Jamie Avatar
    Jamie

    There was just a spinach strata recipe at Smitten Kitchen.

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  5. bearing Avatar
    bearing

    Yum! Thanks for the recipes. And Cathie, I would but there’s eggs in the bread!

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  6. Cathie B Avatar
    Cathie B

    Thanks for the heads up! We will have plenty to eat..without eggs 😉

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