According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Food Waste Index Report 2021, over 19 million tons of food is wasted in households every year. That is 130 pounds per person. We reached out to Julie Johnson, owner of NourishMe in Ketchum , for an easy way to reduce food waste in the kitchen! This recipe will help you utilize an often thrown-out ingredient. You will spend less and eat more by turning stale bread into a delicious dessert!

Hillside Grain’s bread is sold at many Valley stores, including NourishMe. Their bread is made with a combination of carefully selected wheat varieties grown on the Stevenson family farm near Silver Creek. In 2019, owner Brett Stevenson built a mill south of Bellevue to turn their family’s grain into flour. Hillside Grain started selling flour in 2020 and expanded into bread baking in 2022. It’s hard to find a more locally grown or made product in the Wood River Valley.

While Hillside’s bread is so delicious that we doubt there will be any leftovers, if it starts to get hard – stop before you throw it out. You can repurpose that bread using this delicious recipe.

Recipe to Reduce Food Waste: Classic Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

Bread Pudding Method

• Cut or tear bread into pieces and place in a large bowl.
• In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt brown sugar, milk, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, raisins, and 2½ tablespoons rum, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved
• Pour butter mixture over the bread and allow to soak for 30 minutes.
• While the bread soaks, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
• After 30 minutes, add 4 beaten local eggs to the soaked bread mixture and stir gently. The bread should be completely saturated with the egg and milk mixture.
• Butter a baking dish, add the bread mixture, and bake for 40-50 minutes until the top browns and the middle is set. Shake the pan to confirm it is not jiggly. Do not overbake or the bread pudding will become dry.

Sauce Method

• Combine the raw cream, organic sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. 
• Stir constantly until butter and sugar melt, being careful not to let the mixture boil.
• When the sugar has dissolved, add 1½ tablespoons rum. 
• Pour the sauce over each slice of bread pudding before serving.

Leftovers can be stored for several days in the refrigerator with the sauce in a separate container. Reheat individual slices and top with the sauce.

For more ways to reduce food waste by using hard or stale bread, check out this recipe for French Toast Casserole. Special thanks to Julie and NourishMe for sharing these recipes and techniques.