Shortcrust pastry made with bread: a recipe suggested by a dear friend, an excellent cook, to avoid wasting the bread that often remains at home. In the past, I used it to make meatballs or cakes, but I never thought of using it to make a shortcrust pastry to use as a base for tarts or cookies. I browsed the Internet to search for various recipes and, as usual, I decided to experiment with my version, inspired by the classic shortcrust pastry recipe. The result was surprising: I didn’t add flour, but simply replaced the required amount with finely chopped bread. It is important to turn the bread into a flour-like consistency; for this, I chopped it twice: first on its own and then together with the sugar, to make it even finer. I put all the ingredients in the stand mixer and achieved an excellent shortcrust pastry, easy to roll out with a rolling pin. Therefore, I decided to share the recipe with you, for those who, like me, want to try it not only to use up leftover bread but also to surprise the family with a different breakfast.
For those who love homemade desserts, I also recommend other recipes such as
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 1 block of 17.6 oz
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 2,076.04 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 226.63 (g) of which sugars 103.76 (g)
- Proteins 30.66 (g)
- Fat 118.11 (g) of which saturated 69.93 (g)of which unsaturated 45.10 (g)
- Fibers 8.61 (g)
- Sodium 1,509.68 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 500 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz stale bread
- 1 egg
- 4.6 oz sugar
- 4.4 oz butter (softened)
- 1/2 lemon zest (grated)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Tools
- 1 Blender
- 1 Stand Mixer
Preparation
To start, you need to cut the stale bread and grind it finely using a food processor. It’s important to grind it as finely as possible to achieve a homogeneous consistency. To simplify this operation, I also add the sugar from the recipe into the processor while grinding the bread. You can follow all the steps in the video above.
After grinding the bread with the sugar, I transfer the mixture into the stand mixer’s bowl, where I have already mounted the leaf hook, ideal for making shortcrust pastry. Then I add the other ingredients: the grated lemon zest, the egg, the softened butter, and a pinch of baking powder. I start the mixer at low speed and let it mix until the dough becomes homogeneous.
Transfer the dough onto a work surface, which does not need to be floured, as the dough will be soft but not sticky. If you feel a slight stickiness, perhaps due to the heat of your hands, you can help form a ball with a light dusting of corn starch, both on your hands and the work surface. Generally, it’s not necessary to add flour, because, as seen in the photo, the dough doesn’t stick. To check, try pressing with a finger: it will be soft but easily workable.
Bread shortcrust pastry can be easily kneaded by hand, but I prefer to use the stand mixer to make the operation faster and easier. You can use the obtained shortcrust pastry immediately, without needing any resting time, to prepare delicious tarts or cookies, depending on what your imagination suggests.
NOTES
Bread shortcrust pastry is an excellent solution for recycling leftover bread and reducing waste in the kitchen. At the same time, it can be an interesting way to vary your desserts. Its texture when cooked will definitely be different from classic shortcrust pastry, but still equally delicious.
If you don’t use all the shortcrust pastry, you can store it in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days, wrapped in plastic wrap.
If you liked the recipe or have questions, feel free to comment here or on social Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and X.
